General Class Amateur Radio

General is the second licence, and the one people take when local contacts are no longer enough. It opens most of the HF bands, which is what makes long-distance and worldwide contacts possible. The exam is 35 questions with 26 needed to pass.

You must hold or pass Technician first, but you do not need to wait: a Volunteer Examiner team will let you sit Technician and General at the same session, and there is no extra fee for trying the next one on the same day. Many people pass both in a morning.

The material moves from the basics into transmission lines, antennas, propagation and the rules that come with worldwide operating.

Amateur exams are not given by the FCC. They are run by Volunteer Examiner teams — licensed amateurs accredited by a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator — and there is no exam season. Sessions run all year, in clubrooms, libraries and hamfests, and a great many are held over video link, so you can usually find one within a week or two wherever you live.

Find a session through ARRL's exam session search, the HamStudy session list which is mostly remote sessions, or a coordinator such as Laurel VEC, whose teams charge no exam fee.

**Before the exam** get an FCC Registration Number from FCC CORES. You cannot be licensed without one, and getting it at the door wastes everybody's time. Bring photo identification.

**Costs.** Most teams charge a modest exam fee, and some charge nothing. Separately the FCC charges an application fee when the licence is granted; the current amount is on the FCC fee schedule.

**After you pass** the team files the result, and the FCC issues your call sign — usually within a few days. You may not transmit until it appears in the FCC licence database.

The question pool this course drills is the one published by the NCVEC and it is valid through 2027-06-30. Pools are replaced on a four-year cycle, and this course follows them.