[OMIK] FCC Extends License Expiration

[Lloyd Mitchell KO4L]

The National Association of Amateur Radio® reports that the FCC has
extended the filing deadline to March 5, 2026, for amateur radio licenses
that otherwise were due to expire from October 1, 2025, to March 5, 2026.
The announcement is included in an FCC Public Notice (DA-25-943) released
on Monday, November 17, 2025.

The news follows the recent reopening of the federal government on November
13, following a lengthy 43-day shutdown. Since reopening, many federal
agencies, including the FCC, have resumed activities, though reducing
backlogs and rebounding to full operations may take some time. This
includes continued delays in filing amateur radio license applications.

The FCC Public Notice includes:

For personal radio licensees (i.e., Amateur, Ship, Aircraft, GMRS, and
Commercial Operator Licenses), renewal filings originally due on October 1,
2025, through and including March 5, 2026, are now due on March 5, 2026.
Further, we confirm that licensees whose licenses have expired and whose
renewal filing deadlines have been extended above may rely on their timely
renewal filing (by the extended deadline) to support continued operation
pursuant to section 1.62 of the Commission’s rules.

ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM,
explained that the announcement means that amateurs whose license expired,
or will expire, between October 1, 2025, and March 5, 2026, may continue to
operate upon completing a license renewal filing by March 5, 2026.

Somma added that the FCC ULS systems are available again, which include the
license manger system, FCC license search, and application search
databases, as well as the CORES system. She noted, however, that Electronic
Batch Filing (EBF) is not yet available.

 “The EBF system is used by ARRL VEC and all VEC organizations to file exam
sessions, individual applications, and club license applications,” said
Somma. “This means that applications for new and upgraded licenses, as well
as individual and club license filings, are not being processed at this
time.”

During the shutdown, the ARRL VEC urged its Volunteer Examiners to continue
giving ham radio exam sessions (see important information below For ARRL
VEC exam candidates). “We have over 2,500 license applications ready to
file as soon as the EBF system becomes available and fully operational,”
added Somma. “ARRL VEC is prepared to submit the backlog of sessions and
applications to FCC for issuing licenses.”




Lloyd M. Mitchell (KO4L)
OMIK Secretary
lmitchell at gmail.com