FCC Ham Radio Rules You Need to Know: Part 97 Basics

Part 97 of the FCC rules governs amateur radio. It's not that long — you can read the whole thing in an afternoon. Most of it is common sense once you understand the principles. But some specific rules trip people up, and violations can mean fines or license revocation.

I'm not a lawyer. This isn't legal advice. But here's what every ham needs to know to stay out of trouble.

Station Identification

The rule everyone learns first and the one most commonly violated unintentionally.

Requirement: Identify with your callsign at least every 10 minutes during a communication AND at the end of your last transmission.

Format: Callsign must be in English, CW, or a digital mode specified for the band. Phone = speak it. CW = send it. FT8 = the protocol handles it automatically.

Tactical IDs: You can use tactical identifiers ("Command Post," "Net Control," etc.) during emergency operations, but you still must give your FCC callsign every 10 minutes.

Third-party traffic: If a non-licensed person is speaking on your station (a family member, a visitor), YOU are responsible for identifying and for everything they say.

Common mistake: Getting deep into a ragchew and forgetting to ID for 20 minutes. Set a mental timer or use an actual one. It matters more than you think — enforcement is complaint-driven, and some people on 75m will absolutely file.

If you are not licensed yet, our beginner's guide to getting your ham license covers every step.

Transmitting Power

Rule: Use the minimum power necessary to maintain the desired communication. The MAXIMUM varies by license class and band, but the principle is minimum necessary.

Maximums:

• Technician: 200W PEP on the HF segments where Tech has privileges (47 CFR 97.313(c)(1)); 1,500W PEP on VHF/UHF and above, subject to band-specific limits
• General: 1,500W PEP on most bands
• Amateur Extra: 1,500W PEP everywhere

Technician HF power note: This trips people up constantly. A Technician licensee is limited to 200W PEP on the HF segments where Tech holds privileges — not the 1,500W available on VHF and above. Running an amplifier past 200W on 10 meters as a Technician is a real violation, not a technicality.

Exception: 200W max on 30 meters. 50W max on some sharing bands. Always check the band plan.

In practice: nobody's getting cited for running 100W into a dipole. The "minimum necessary" rule becomes relevant when someone's running legal limit into a kilowatt amp to talk to a station 10 miles away on a repeater. Don't be that person.

Prohibited Content

Things you absolutely cannot do on ham radio:

1. Encrypt communications (with limited exceptions for spacecraft telecommand). Everything you transmit must be decodable by anyone with appropriate receiving equipment. No codes, no ciphers, no encryption.

2. Transmit music. Exception: incidental music as part of a retransmission of manned space station communications, or one-way transmissions for specific test purposes.

3. Broadcast (one-way transmissions to a general audience). Ham radio is point-to-point or point-to-multipoint, not broadcasting. CQ is calling for a response — not broadcasting.

4. Communicate for commercial purposes. You cannot use ham radio to conduct business, advertise, or facilitate commerce. Exception: you can mention that you sell something if asked, but you can't use the frequency as a sales channel.

5. Transmit obscene or indecent language. 47 CFR §97.113(a)(4). The definition of "indecent" is fuzzy, but consistent profanity on a frequency will eventually generate complaints.

6. Intentionally interfere with other stations. Jamming, deliberate QRM, playing recordings to disrupt — all violations with real enforcement consequences.

7. Transmit false or deceptive signals. Including false distress calls.

Band Privileges by License Class

Technician:

• Full VHF/UHF/microwave
• Limited HF: CW on parts of 80m/40m/15m, all modes on small portion of 10m (28.3-28.5 MHz)

General:

• Everything Tech has + most of HF (with some segments still Extra-only)

Amateur Extra:

• All amateur frequencies and modes

The critical thing: KNOW YOUR PRIVILEGES. Transmitting outside your authorized frequencies is a real violation that gets you a warning letter (or worse). The ARRL band plan charts (free, printable) should be taped to your operating desk until you've memorized them.

Third-Party Traffic

You can let a non-licensed person talk on your station in the US. You're the control operator — responsible for everything.

International: Third-party traffic is ONLY allowed with countries that have a third-party agreement with the US. Before letting your friend say hi to a station in Japan — check if Japan has a third-party agreement (they don't). Most European countries don't either.

List of countries with US third-party agreements: check ARRL website. It's shorter than you'd expect.

Automatic Control

Repeaters, digipeaters, APRS iGates, and other unattended stations operate under automatic control. Rules:

• Must identify properly
• Must have a way to shut down remotely if causing interference
• Some bands are restricted from automatic control (check before you put an unmanned station on a band)

Enforcement

The FCC's enforcement division (Enforcement Bureau) handles amateur radio complaints. The process:

1. Someone files a complaint
2. FCC investigates (sometimes via direction-finding)
3. If violation confirmed: warning letter, fine (forfeiture order), or license revocation
4. Fines can be significant — $10,000+ for serious/repeated violations

What actually gets enforced in 2026:

• Intentional interference (jamming) — the FCC's #1 amateur enforcement priority
• Operating without a license
• Malicious interference during emergency communications
• Repeated, documented violations after warnings

What rarely gets enforced but is still illegal:

• Occasional profanity (unless repeated and complained about)
• Minor technical violations (slightly over-power, imperfect identification)
• Music playing briefly

This doesn't mean the minor stuff is OK — it means enforcement is complaint-driven and resource-limited. Follow the rules regardless.

Common Mistakes That Generate Complaints

1. Forgetting to ID on a repeater (repeat offenders get noticed)
2. Transmitting on frequencies outside your license class privileges
3. Over-driving audio or running excessive power on a repeater input
4. Kerchunking (keying up without identifying) — technically a violation
5. Using ham frequencies for business purposes ("hey, bring the work truck to the jobsite" — illegal if it's commercial)

The Spirit

Part 97 exists to ensure amateur radio serves its purposes: technical experimentation, emergency communications, and radio art. The rules keep the spectrum usable for everyone.

Most hams never have an enforcement issue because the rules are fundamentally reasonable. Identify yourself. Don't be a jerk. Don't encrypt. Don't broadcast commercially. Use appropriate power.

That's 95% of compliance right there.