Amateur radio awards
| Amateur radio awards | |
|---|---|
| What they recognize | Confirmed contacts with a set of places, or other on-air achievements |
| Major sponsors | ARRL, CQ, the IARU, clubs and operating programs |
| Common first award | Worked All States |
| Best-known DX award | DXCC |
| Confirmation | |
| Electronic | Logbook of the World, accepted by the ARRL and for CQ's WAZ and WPX |
| Paper | QSL cards, checked by the sponsor or by a volunteer card checker |
| Program awards | Parks on the Air, Summits on the Air, Islands on the Air |
Amateur radio awards are certificates, plaques and endorsements for achievements on the air, most often for confirmed contacts with a complete set of something: states, continents, countries, zones, call sign prefixes or grid squares. They are offered by national societies such as the ARRL, by programs created by CQ magazine, and by clubs and operating programs around the world. Awards give everyday operating a goal, and chasing them teaches a great deal about bands, propagation and operating skill. Nearly all of them need nothing more than patience, a log and a way to confirm contacts.
The major awards
| Award | Sponsor | Basic requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Worked All States (WAS) | ARRL | All 50 US states |
| Five-Band WAS (5BWAS) | ARRL | All 50 states on each of 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters |
| Triple Play | ARRL | All 50 states on each of CW, phone and digital, confirmed through Logbook of the World |
| Worked All Continents (WAC) | IARU, administered by the ARRL | Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America |
| DXCC (DX Century Club) | ARRL | 100 entities on the DXCC list |
| DXCC Trident | ARRL | 100 DXCC entities on each of CW, phone and digital, confirmed through Logbook of the World |
| VUCC (VHF/UHF Century Club) | ARRL | 100 grid squares on 6 or 2 meters, fewer on the higher bands |
| Worked All Zones (WAZ) | CQ | All 40 CQ zones |
| WPX (Worked All Prefixes) | CQ | 300 call sign prefixes for a single-mode award |
Worked All States is the usual first goal. A modest station can finish it on a single band and mode in months, and it comes with endorsements for particular bands and modes. Five-Band WAS asks for all 50 states on each of five bands, and the Triple Play asks for all 50 on three different modes.
For 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the ARRL is running America250 Worked All States, a year-long event. Contacts with all 50 states made during 2026 and confirmed through Logbook of the World earn a commemorative certificate, $30 for ARRL members and $35 for others, plus shipping. Stations signing W1AW/portable operate from every state in turn, and gold sticker endorsements, $5 each, are offered for working the W1AW portable stations in all 50 states, ARRL-affiliated club stations in all 50 states, or all 50 states on each of CW, phone and digital. Contacts on 60 meters or through repeaters don't count, and the event ends on December 31, 2026.
Worked All Continents is a quick, satisfying award for a newcomer: one confirmed contact with each of six continents.
DXCC is the standard measure of a DXer. The DXCC list holds about 340 current entities, which include countries plus territories and islands counted separately, such as Alaska and Hawaii. After the first 100 come endorsements, separate awards by band and mode, Five-Band DXCC, the DXCC Challenge, which counts entities on each band separately, and the Honor Roll for those who have confirmed nearly every entity on the list.
Several DXCC certificates recognize particular kinds of station. QRP DXCC is a one-time award, with no endorsements, for 100 entities worked with 5 watts output or less. Mobile DXCC is for 100 entities worked from a land vehicle, with the radio powered by the vehicle and the antenna mounted on it; the vehicle doesn't have to be moving, but maritime and aeronautical mobile contacts don't count. Contacts from any date count for both. QSL cards are not sent with the application, though the ARRL may ask for proof, and each certificate costs $20 mailed within the US. At the other end of the scale, the 10-Band DXCC plaque requires 100 entities on each of 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10 and 6 meters, counted through Logbook of the World (paper QSL cards count once they have been checked for DXCC and credited there).
The DXCC Trident, introduced by the ARRL in August 2025, is a plaque for confirming at least 100 current DXCC entities on each of three modes: CW, phone and digital, with RTTY counted as digital. Credits must come through Logbook of the World; QSL cards are not accepted, and satellite contacts don't count. Contacts made on or after November 1, 1976 are eligible, and endorsements follow at 200, 300 and Honor Roll levels.
VUCC counts grid squares on VHF and above. It takes 100 squares on the 6-meter and 2-meter bands and for satellite contacts, 50 on the 222 and 432 MHz bands, and fewer still on the higher microwave bands. The ARRL publishes a "Grid Chase" list of the VUCC leaders on each band from 6 meters to 241 GHz, plus satellite and laser contacts. It also ran the International Grid Chase for the whole of 2018, a year-long event in which new grid squares on each band and mode were counted every month, with scores reset at the start of each month.
The Fred Fish Memorial Award (FFMA), created in honor of Fred Fish, W5FF, asks for confirmed contacts with all 488 grid squares in the 48 contiguous states on 6 meters. There is no fee, but applicants in the US must be ARRL members. The ARRL's list of recipients shows 57 awards issued between 2008 and 2024.
WAZ, created by CQ magazine, uses the 40 CQ zones that divide the world for awards and the CQ World Wide contests, and has a five-band version of its own. WPX, also a CQ award, counts distinct call sign prefixes such as W0, K6, VE3 or JA1, so new prefixes, including special event calls, keep it interesting for years. CQ magazine stopped publishing after its October 2023 issue. Logbook of the World still passes WAZ and WPX credits to the CQ award managers, but check the current status with the award manager before applying.
Other awards
Beyond the big names are thousands of others. County hunters try to work every county in the US; clubs and national societies offer awards for working their members or their regions; and special event stations send certificates for working them. QRP clubs reward low-power achievements, sometimes measured in miles per watt.
The ARRL also has several smaller awards. The Rag Chewers' Club certificate marks a single conversation lasting at least 30 minutes, and the First Contact certificate commemorates a new ham's first contact; the other station in that contact can send it as a surprise. The Mentor Award is a certificate to give to someone who has helped a ham in amateur radio, such as an Elmer. All three are free PDF certificates, downloaded from the ARRL website, filled in and printed. Membership in the A-1 Operator Club can't be applied for: it comes only by nomination from two existing members, who judge on-air operating alone, including signal quality, procedure, copying ability, judgment and courtesy; speed is not what counts. The Code Proficiency certificate, open to non-hams as well as hams, is earned by copying one of W1AW's Morse code qualifying runs and sending in one minute of solid copy. The first certificate costs $10, and $7.50 endorsement stickers record higher speeds, up to 40 words per minute.
The CQ DX Marathon is a year-long DX competition rather than a certificate for life. From January 1 to December 31, each country on CQ's DX Countries List and each of the 40 CQ zones counts one point the first time it is worked, on any band from 160 through 6 meters and any mode, but not through repeaters. No QSL cards or other confirmations are needed, and logs are entered online by early January. Entry classes include Formula 100W, limited to 100 watts and vertical or wire antennas, as well as classes for bigger stations, so a modest station can compete with others like it.
The portable operating programs keep score automatically. Parks on the Air tracks awards for hunters and activators on its website, from numbers of parks worked to activations of a single park. Summits on the Air awards Mountain Goat and Shack Sloth for 1,000 activator or chaser points, and Islands on the Air starts with a certificate for 100 island groups.
Confirming contacts and applying
An award contact must be confirmed by the other station, and most sponsors accept two kinds of confirmation.
- Logbook of the World (LoTW), the ARRL's electronic system, credits matching contacts automatically. Applications for DXCC, WAS, VUCC and the Triple Play can be made online from the LoTW website, and LoTW passes confirmations to the CQ award managers for WAZ and WPX.
- Paper QSL cards can be mailed to the sponsor for checking, but many hams instead take them to a volunteer card checker appointed by the ARRL, often found at club meetings and hamfests, so that valuable cards never go in the mail. CQ has had checkers of its own for its awards.
Each award has its own rules, so read them before starting. Most require all contacts to be made from the same country, and some from within a limited distance of one location. Contacts through terrestrial repeaters generally don't count, though satellite contacts often do and may earn their own endorsements. Most sponsors charge a modest fee, and some offer discounts to members.