What Is Ham Radio? A project of the
National Amateur Radio Alliance

What the FCC publishes about you

A ham license is a public federal authorization, and the record of it is a public document. Before you fill in the application, it is worth knowing exactly what ends up online - and what does not.

Anyone can search the FCC's license database by name or callsign, for free, without an account. Sites like QRZ copy that database, so whatever you file turns up in several places within days. None of this is a reason not to get licensed. It is a reason to spend two minutes deciding which address you write down, because changing it later does not scrub the copies.

Published for anyone to see

  • Your legal name.
  • Your mailing address, exactly as you filed it.
  • Your callsign and license class.
  • Your FCC Registration Number (FRN).
  • Your answer to the felony conviction question on the application.
  • Dates and status - when you applied, when the license was granted, when it expires, and any previous callsigns.

Never published

  • Your Social Security number. The FCC uses it to identify you when you register, and it never appears in public records - your FRN stands in for it.
  • Your email address. One is required on every application, but the FCC keeps it masked and uses it only to write to you.
  • Your phone number.

Use an address you are happy to publish

The FCC asks for a working mailing address, not a residential one. A PO box, a mailbox service, your work address, or your club's address - with their agreement - are all fine, and this is what most people who value their privacy do.

Whatever you use, mail sent there has to reach you. Mail that bounces back to the FCC is grounds for suspending or revoking a license, and you are required to keep the address current.

Already licensed at your home address?

You can change the address on your license at any time, free, through the FCC's online system. That fixes the official record; directories that copied the old entry may keep it, so contact those sites separately if it matters to you.

If it is your child's license

A license issued to a minor carries the child's legal name and the address on the application, both public. Families often use a PO box or a parent's work address for that reason. See our guide for parents.

Getting help

The FCC Licensing Support Center answers questions about your record and how to change it: 877-480-3201, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, or through the FCC's Wireless Licensing Help Center.

A fuller reference, with citations to the FCC rules, is in the NARA wiki: privacy and the public license record.