Okay, you think you’re ready to take your license exam(s). What next? The good news is that you no longer have to go the the FCC office in downtown Seattle. Instead, you are free to take your exam from a team sponsored by one of a dozen or so Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VECs). You need to find a licensing session run by a Volunteer Examiner Team (VET). Each VEC used to have a geographic focus and conduct in-person exams. Today, several of the VETs also run exams on-line.
Note that you are required to register with the FCC’s CORES system before your exam session and receive a FCC Registration Number (FRN). The FRN is free.
The FCC allows each VEC/VET to charge a nominal fee ($15 or so to conduct and process the exam). The FCC also requires a $35 license fee that covers 10 years.
Check out the following links:
- The ARRL’s page on license exam sessions: http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/search
- Western Washington license exam sessions (scroll down the page): http://www.n7cfo.com/amradio/hf/cls&ve.htm
- Ham Study’s page for the AE7TD team: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/ae7td
For more information, contact our training lead, Pat Pat@pathackett.com