Ham Radio Frequencies by License Class
Exactly where a Technician, a General and an Extra may transmit
— and what you are allowed to do once you get there.
This is a breakdown of the frequencies you are permitted to use with your license. The tables are divided by the three license classes of ham radio operator — Technician, General and Extra.
If you would rather have this at the operating position on paper, the same privilege references are one of the appendices in Ham Radio for Non-Techies.
- CW Morse code
- Phone Voice — SSB, AM or FM
- Data Digital modes such as FT8 and RTTY
Every frequency below is the edge of a privilege, not a suggestion. Where a band is split, the lower part is for CW and data and the upper part is for voice. CW is legal anywhere you hold privileges, voice portions included.
HF, MF and LF — 2200 Meters Through 10 Meters
These are the long-distance bands, and they are the only place your license class changes what you may do. A Technician has four narrow slices here. A General gets nearly all of it. An Extra gets the rest.
| Band | Technician | General | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2200 m135.7–137.8 kHz | No privileges | 135.7–137.8 kHzAll modes · 1 W EIRP | 135.7–137.8 kHzAll modes · 1 W EIRP |
| 630 m472–479 kHz | No privileges | 472–479 kHzAll modes · 5 W EIRP | 472–479 kHzAll modes · 5 W EIRP |
| 160 m1.800–2.000 MHz | No privileges | 1.800–2.000 MHzAll modes, whole band | 1.800–2.000 MHzAll modes, whole band |
| 80 / 75 m3.500–4.000 MHz | 3.525–3.600 MHzCW only · 200 W No data, no voice | 3.525–3.600 MHz CW / data 3.800–4.000 MHz phone | 3.500–3.600 MHz CW / data 3.600–4.000 MHz phone |
| 60 m5 MHz | No privileges | 5351.5–5366.5 kHzPhone, CW, RTTY, data · 9.15 W ERP Plus four channels at 100 W ERP | 5351.5–5366.5 kHzPhone, CW, RTTY, data · 9.15 W ERP Plus four channels at 100 W ERP |
| 40 m7.000–7.300 MHz | 7.025–7.125 MHzCW only · 200 W No data, no voice | 7.025–7.125 MHz CW / data 7.175–7.300 MHz phone | 7.000–7.125 MHz CW / data 7.125–7.300 MHz phone |
| 30 m10.100–10.150 MHz | No privileges | 10.100–10.150 MHzCW and data only · 200 W No voice, for anyone | 10.100–10.150 MHzCW and data only · 200 W No voice, for anyone |
| 20 m14.000–14.350 MHz | No privileges | 14.025–14.150 MHz CW / data 14.225–14.350 MHz phone | 14.000–14.150 MHz CW / data 14.150–14.350 MHz phone |
| 17 m18.068–18.168 MHz | No privileges | 18.068–18.110 MHz CW / data 18.110–18.168 MHz phone | 18.068–18.110 MHz CW / data 18.110–18.168 MHz phone |
| 15 m21.000–21.450 MHz | 21.025–21.200 MHzCW only · 200 W No data, no voice | 21.025–21.200 MHz CW / data 21.275–21.450 MHz phone | 21.000–21.200 MHz CW / data 21.200–21.450 MHz phone |
| 12 m24.890–24.990 MHz | No privileges | 24.890–24.930 MHz CW / data 24.930–24.990 MHz phone | 24.890–24.930 MHz CW / data 24.930–24.990 MHz phone |
| 10 m28.000–29.700 MHz | 28.000–28.300 MHz CW / data 28.300–28.500 MHz SSB phone200 W · SSB voice only, no AM or FM | 28.000–28.300 MHz CW / data 28.300–29.700 MHz phone | 28.000–28.300 MHz CW / data 28.300–29.700 MHz phone |
VHF, UHF and Above
From 6 meters upward there is nothing to compare. A brand-new Technician holds exactly the same privileges here as an Extra of forty years — every mode, every band, under the same power limits. This is the part of the hobby that is fully open to you the day your callsign appears.
| Band | Technician, General and Extra alike |
|---|---|
| 6 m | 50.000–54.000 MHzCW only below 50.100 MHz, every mode above it |
| 2 m | 144.000–148.000 MHzCW only below 144.100 MHz, every mode above it |
| 1.25 m | 222.000–225.000 MHzAll modes Also 219–220 MHz, but only for fixed point-to-point digital message forwarding, 50 W max, with written notice to the ARRL 30 days before you transmit |
| 70 cm | 420.000–450.000 MHzAll modes No transmitting on 420–430 MHz north of Line A, which runs near the Canadian border. Lower power limits apply near some military bases. |
| 33 cm | 902–928 MHzAll modes No transmitting from the White Sands Missile Range area of Texas and New Mexico, 50 W max within 241 km of it, and four small segments are off-limits in parts of Colorado and Wyoming |
| 23 cm | 1240–1300 MHzAll modes |
| 13 cm and up | 2300–2310 and 2390–2450 MHz · 5.650–5.925 GHz · 10.0–10.5 GHz · 24.00–24.25 GHz · bands above 47 GHzAll modes |
Six Things the Chart Leaves Out
60 meters changed in 2026
On February 13, 2026 the old five-channel arrangement was replaced. There is now a continuous band at 5351.5–5366.5 kHz, limited to 9.15 watts ERP and 2.8 kHz of bandwidth. Four legacy channels survive at 100 watts ERP — 5332.0, 5348.0, 5373.0 and 5405.0 kHz. Those four are center frequencies, so on USB you set your dial 1.5 kHz lower: 5330.5, 5346.5, 5371.5 and 5403.5 kHz. The old 5358.5 kHz channel is gone; it now sits inside the new band and takes the lower power limit with it. General and above only, and always secondary to other users.
30 meters has no voice at all
Not for Generals, not for Extras, not for anyone. It is CW and data only, capped at 200 watts. It is also narrow — 50 kHz, about a sixth of 40 meters.
Technician HF is mostly Morse code
On 80, 40 and 15 meters a Technician may send CW only. FT8, RTTY and other data modes are not allowed there, and neither is voice. Your only HF data and voice privileges are on 10 meters: data and CW from 28.000 to 28.300 MHz, and SSB voice from 28.300 to 28.500 MHz. On all four HF slices the limit is 200 watts, not the 1,500 watts allowed elsewhere. On VHF and UHF that cap does not apply.
2200 and 630 meters need permission first
Before you transmit on either, you must notify the Utilities Technology Council with your callsign, the band and your antenna coordinates, then wait 30 days. You may never operate within one kilometer of a power line carrying control signals on those frequencies, and UTC will tell you during that wait if your location is too close. Both bands are fixed-location only. Power is measured as radiated power — 1 watt EIRP on 2200 and 5 watts on 630, except in Alaska within 800 km of Russia, where 630 meters is limited to 1 watt EIRP.
One 40-meter exception you will probably never need
General and Extra operators may use voice at 7.075–7.100 MHz, but only from stations west of 130° West longitude or south of 20° North latitude — in practice Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Pacific territories. If you are in the lower 48, it does not apply to you.
Two license classes are missing, and that is correct
The FCC stopped issuing Novice and Advanced licenses in April 2000. Existing holders may renew indefinitely, so a few are still on the air, but nobody can earn one today. The three classes above are the ones you can actually test for.
Want This Checked For You?
A table tells you where your privileges start and stop, but it will not tell you whether the frequency somebody just called out is one you are allowed to answer on. Type any frequency into Pocket Elmer and it gives you a straight yes or no for your license class, at that exact frequency — including the awkward cases where your privileges stop partway through a band. It will also tell you the maximum power and which modes you are allowed to use there.