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How to keep a logbook

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How to keep a logbook
Required in the US?No general requirement since 1983, but any station records must be made available to the FCC on request (§97.103)
TimeA few seconds a contact
Skill levelBeginner
You will needA paper logbook, or logging software on a computer, phone or web browser
What to record
EssentialsDate and time in UTC, call sign, band or frequency, mode
Usual extrasSignal reports, name, location, grid square
Log file formatADIF
Contest log formatCabrillo

How to keep a logbook covers recording a station's contacts, choosing between paper and software, and turning the log into confirmations for awards. A ham's log is a list of contacts, or QSOs, each noting when it happened, who was worked and on what band and mode. Rules on logs differ by country, but a log is worth keeping anyway: it is the memory of the station, the basis of every QSL and award, and useful evidence if a question about interference ever comes up. For the software side in more depth, see Logging software; for confirmations, see QSL cards and logging.

Is a log required?

In the US, the FCC removed the general logging requirement for amateurs in 1983. The same order gave its local field engineers authority to require station records when needed to resolve interference problems, rule violations or obviously deficient operation.[1] The current Part 97 rules contain no general log requirement. Section 97.103 mentions station records twice: it says the FCC presumes the station licensee is also the control operator unless the station records show otherwise, and that the licensee must make the station and its records available for inspection when an FCC representative asks.[2] A few rules do require specific records. On the 60-meter band, a station using any antenna other than a half-wave dipole must keep the manufacturer's antenna gain data or its own gain calculations in its station records (§97.313(i)), and an FCC Regional Director can order a station sending unspecified digital codes or spread spectrum to keep a record of everything it transmits (§§97.309(b), 97.311(c)).[3] When a guest operates your station, or several people share a club station, a note of who was the control operator is worth keeping.

Other cases where records are needed or wise:

  • Contests. The FCC doesn't require contest logs, but sponsors do: without a log, a score isn't counted.[4]
  • Awards and activations. Most awards count confirmed contacts. Parks on the Air works differently: activators submit their logs as ADIF files, and hunters get credit only from those uploads, without sending logs of their own.[5]
  • Interference complaints. Dates, times and frequencies show when your station was, and wasn't, on the air; see Radio frequency interference.

Other countries set their own rules, so check the conditions of your license or ask your national society.

Step by step

  1. Choose paper or software. A paper logbook needs no power and suits a hilltop or a park. Software looks up each call sign, warns of duplicate contacts, reads the frequency from the radio and uploads contacts for confirmation. Many hams log on paper or a phone in the field and type or import those contacts into a main log at home.
  2. Set a clock to UTC. Log the date and time in UTC, not local time. The ADIF standard defines its dates and times in UTC,[6] and a contact logged in local time may fail to match the other station's log.
  3. Record the essentials. The ADIF specification suggests that a contact can be represented by its date, start time, frequency or band, the other station's call sign and the mode.[6] Most hams add the signal reports sent and received, the other operator's name and location, and their grid square. Add anything an award or program needs, such as a park reference, and notes on your own power or antenna if you like comparing setups.
  4. Pick a program. The table below lists examples from several authors, not recommendations. Try a free one first; ADIF makes it easy to move later.
  5. Export your log as ADIF. The Amateur Data Interchange Format (ADIF) is an open standard for exchanging log data between programs from different makers. Files usually end in .adi, and ADIF 3 adds an XML form, .adx. The current version is 3.1.8, whose specification is dated 12 October 2026.[7][6] An ADIF file is how a log moves from one program to another and how contacts reach the confirmation services.
  6. Confirm your contacts. A confirmation, or QSL, shows that the other station logged the same contact.
    • Logbook of the World (LoTW), run by the ARRL, matches uploaded logs. Getting a certificate, uploading and viewing confirmations are free, with a fee only when confirmations are submitted for award credit, and ARRL membership isn't required. Uploads are signed with the free TQSL program.[8]
    • QRZ Logbook is a mix of free and paid subscription features, and shows which logged contacts are confirmed.[9]
    • eQSL is a service for exchanging electronic QSL cards.[10]
    • Club Log offers log analysis, most-wanted lists, a search of DXpedition logs and OQRS (Online QSL Requests), a way to request a QSL card from stations that offer it.[11][12]
    • Paper QSL cards go direct by mail or through a QSL bureau. See Amateur radio awards for which confirmations each award accepts.
  7. Log contests in a contest logger. A contest logger such as N1MM Logger+ checks for duplicates as you go and writes the finished log in Cabrillo, the file format that contest sponsors accept for logs. The World Wide Radio Operators Foundation administers the specification, now at version 3.[13] Sponsors take logs by web upload or email, and the ARRL encourages even casual entrants to send one, since every log helps the sponsor check others.[4] See How to enter your first contest.
  8. Back up. Export the whole log to ADIF regularly and keep copies away from the logging computer, such as on a USB drive and in cloud storage. If you use LoTW, back up the TQSL certificate too. Photograph or scan paper log pages once they are full.
Log each contact while it is happening, not afterward from memory. A guessed time or a miscopied call sign can stop a confirmation from matching, and the other station has no way to fix your log.

Example logging programs

Costs are as stated on the makers' pages in November 2026.

Program Platform Main use Cost
N1MM Logger+ Windows Contests Free[14]
Log4OM 2 Windows 7 or later, 64-bit General logging Free[15]
ACLog (Amateur Contact Log) Windows General logging $39.99 one-time, after a 45-day free trial[16]
MacLoggerDX macOS General logging Paid; free demo of 15 minutes a session[17]
CQRLOG Linux General logging Free, open source (GPL)[18]
Wavelog Web browser, on your own server General logging Free, open source (MIT)[19]
QRZ Logbook Web browser General logging Free, with some features for subscribers[9]
Ham2K Portable Logger (PoLo) Android, iOS Portable operating Open source; see the app stores[20]
HAMRS Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS Portable operating Maker's page lists paid Sync plans ($1.99 a month or $19.99 a year) and no price for the app[21][22]

Digital-mode programs such as WSJT-X can pass each finished contact to a logger; see How to set up FT8.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Federal Register, vol. 48, no. 165, 24 August 1983, cross-referencing the FCC's order in PR Docket 82-726, "Elimination of logging requirements in the Amateur Radio Service", adopted 26 May 1983.
  2. ↑ 47 CFR 97.103, eCFR.
  3. ↑ 47 CFR Part 97, Subpart D, eCFR, up to date as of 15 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Contest Basics, ARRL.
  5. ↑ Submitting Logs and Hunter Guide, Parks on the Air.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 ADIF Specification 3.1.8, ADIF Developers Group, updated 12 October 2026.
  7. ↑ ADIF, ADIF Developers Group.
  8. ↑ LoTW Help, ARRL.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 QRZ Logbook API, QRZ.com.
  10. ↑ eQSL.cc, eQSL.
  11. ↑ Club Log, Club Log.
  12. ↑ Club Log help desk, Club Log.
  13. ↑ Cabrillo, World Wide Radio Operators Foundation.
  14. ↑ N1MM Logger+ and Introduction, N1MM Logger+ documentation.
  15. ↑ Log4OM 2 and Download, Log4OM (Daniele Pistollato, IW3HMH).
  16. ↑ Amateur Contact Log, N3FJP Software.
  17. ↑ MacLoggerDX, Dog Park Software.
  18. ↑ CQRLOG, GitHub.
  19. ↑ Wavelog, Wavelog project.
  20. ↑ Ham2K Portable Logger, Ham2K.
  21. ↑ HAMRS, HAMRS.
  22. ↑ Pricing, HAMRS.
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