Club stations
| Club stations | |
|---|---|
| Licensee | An amateur radio club, through its license trustee |
| Minimum size | Four members |
| Trustee | A licensed amateur designated by a club officer |
| Applications | Through a Club Station Call Sign Administrator (CSCSA) |
| Call signs | |
| First call sign | Sequential, assigned when the license is granted |
| Vanity calls | One per club; format limited by the trustee's license class |
| In memoriam calls | A deceased member's call, with a close relative's written consent |
| License term | 10 years, renewable |
A club station is an amateur radio station licensed to a club rather than to an individual. Its license gives the club a call sign of its own, used for the club's shack, its repeaters, Field Day, special events and other group operations. The license is held for the club by a trustee, a licensed member who is responsible for the station. A club station license carries no operating privileges of its own: everyone who operates it does so under their own license.
Requirements
Under Part 97 (§97.5), a club must meet several conditions to hold a station license. It must:
- have at least four members;
- have a name;
- have a document of organization, such as a constitution or bylaws;
- have a management structure, such as elected officers;
- have a primary purpose devoted to amateur radio activities consistent with Part 97.
Most ham radio clubs meet these easily. Schools, scouting groups, emergency communications teams and museums often form small clubs specifically so that they can hold a station license.
The trustee
The trustee is designated by an officer of the club and must hold an amateur operator license. The rules say the grant is held by the trustee, but it is held on the club's behalf, and the trustee is expected to act in the club's interest. Typical duties include keeping the station within the rules, deciding who may operate it and act as control operator, keeping the station's records, and making sure the license is renewed on time.
A club can change trustees, for example when the old trustee moves away or becomes a Silent Key. The change is filed through a Club Station Call Sign Administrator with supporting documents, such as signed minutes of the meeting where the change was approved. If no one is able to serve as trustee, the club station must stay off the air until one is appointed.
Getting a club license
The FCC does not accept new club applications directly. Since the early 2000s they have gone through Club Station Call Sign Administrators (CSCSAs), volunteer amateur organizations that check and file club applications for the FCC. As of 2026 the ARRL lists five: the ARRL VEC, W4VEC, W5YI-VEC, the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club VEC and the Central Alabama VEC. Each has its own form and instructions; the ARRL uses Form 605-C, which must be signed by the trustee and a second club officer.
The club first registers for its own FCC Registration Number (FRN) in CORES, separate from the trustee's personal FRN, and should give a club email address rather than a personal one. Once the application is granted, the club receives a sequential call sign, and the license appears in the Universal Licensing System under the club's name, with the trustee listed. FCC application fees for new licenses, renewals and vanity requests apply to clubs as they do to individuals.
Club licenses run for 10 years. Renewals and other changes, such as a new club name, also go through a CSCSA. See License renewal.
Vanity and in memoriam calls
After the club has its first license, the trustee may apply in the ULS for a vanity call sign for the club. The formats available depend on the trustee's license class, so a short 1×2 call requires an Amateur Extra trustee. Since 2011, a club may hold only one vanity call sign at a time; to get a different one, it must give up the vanity call it has.
A club can also ask for an in memoriam call: the call sign of a deceased member, kept on the air in that person's memory. The deceased's license must first be canceled by the FCC. The trustee then applies with the written consent of one of the deceased's close relatives, such as a spouse, child, parent or sibling, and includes that consent and proof of the member's club membership with the application. Unlike an ordinary vanity request, an in memoriam request does not have to wait two years after the member's death. Many clubs carry the call of a founder or longtime member this way.
Operating a club station
Any licensed amateur the trustee allows may serve as control operator of the club station, but only within the privileges of their own license class. A Technician at the microphone of a club station holding a 1×2 call has Technician privileges, not Extra privileges. The station identifies with the club's call sign. During Field Day and other group operations, several operators may run separate stations under the one club call at the same time.