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At every Pacificon℠ we offer License Testing for those who want to get their first amateur radio license or those who want to upgrade to a higher class license. Examination sessions are available on Saturday and Sunday. We will assist you with completion of the necessary paperwork prior to taking your exam.

Exam Requirements: A fee of $15 dollars is charged for the examination, $5 if under 18. You may pay with cash or check.  Applicants under 18 pay $5 for the exam and can get a $35 refund of the FCC fees from the ARRL.

You must obtain a Federal Registration Number (FRN) from the FCC.gov website before arriving. See our Obtain an FRN web page for instructions.

Please bring a government-issued ID like a driver's license. Otherwise, bring a current utility bill or a postmarked envelope to establish your current residency as shown on the exam registration paperwork, and one of the following:

* a birth certificate  (must have the appropriate seal)

 *a library card or

* a student body card

You do not need to obtain a Pacificon℠ registration badge if you are *only* coming to the Marriott Hotel for the license examination

however we hope you stay to enjoy all the event has to offer by registering and getting a badge.

FCC Requirements: The FCC will bill you for $35, which must be paid before the FCC will issue a call sign to you as a Technician. Upgrades to General and Amateur Extra do not require an extra fee to the FCC.

Additional Examinations: If you pass an examination test you are permitted to take the next higher license examination test at no additional charge in the same testing session or the next day while you are at Pacificon℠.

Retaking the Exam: If you almost passed the exam on your first try, and would like to try again, you may retake the exam for an additional $15 fee.

Morse Code is no longer required for any level of amateur radio license. All Morse Code testing requirements for the Amateur Radio Service in the USA were eliminated on February 23, 2007. Some portions of the ham bands remain reserved for Morse Code use. The mode remains popular for POTA and SOTA but licensing requirements were removed.

In the US new licenses are available for three levels, or "license classes". These are: Technician Class, General Class and Amateur Extra Class. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grants these licenses. With only three License Classes and no Morse Code requirement, getting started in ham radio or upgrading your license class has never been easier!

Amateur radio operators are required to pass a written exam displaying knowledge and understanding of key concepts. This practice is in contrast to other personal radio services such as Citizens Band (CB) Radio, Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS), General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) or Family Radio Service (FRS). In return, amateur operators are granted operating privileges in larger and different frequency segments of our shared radio spectrum and are allowed to use both higher power levels and a wide variety of communication techniques. Once you pass your first exam and become a licensed amateur operator you are issued a unique call sign. The holder of a call sign uses this on the air to legally identify their transmissions and station during all radio communications.  If you'd prefer to have a different call sign, you may apply to the FCC for a "Vanity" call sign.

https://Exam.Tools (aka examtools.org) Candidates use https://ham.study (aka hamstudy.org) to sign up for exams.

Volunteer Examiners: All the people administering our exams are Pacificon Volunteers representing the ARRL VEC and the FCC. Generals and Extras start by volunteering with arrl.org/volunteer-examiner (see the VE Manual) and are encouraged to read the docs.exam.tools. The overview and video by AI6MS are helpful to get started. VE teams wishing to practice using exam.tools in a sandbox can use examtools.dev and hamstudy.dev after doing duplicate sign ups the same way they did for exam.tools. This is explained well in the docs.exam.tools.

The very first ARRL VEC session was held Sep 2, 1984 at Pacificon(sm)!

We administered the very first ARRL VEC session in 1984 (see page 9 of the VE Manual) when the FCC started authorizing VECs to administer exams. We are still helping people like you get their ticket. If you pass your General or Extra you can join us on the other side of the table as a VE, a very memorable and rewarding experience.