Marine Radio Station Laws

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Am I required to have a radio on board?

We must first define compulsory equipped and voluntary equipped vessels. This is pretty easy to figure out: If you are required by law to have a radio station on board, you are compulsory equipped. If you are not required by law to have a radio station on board, but choose to do so anyway you are a voluntary equipped vessel.

Most recreational boaters in the U.S. have voluntary equipped vessels. This means for the most part they are not required by law to have a licensed marine radio station except under certain cicumstances.

Here is a simple table to illustrate who is required by law have a radio station on board:

Marine Radio Stations
At any point in this table you answer YES, you are required to have a licensed radio station.
Is your vessel any one of the following:
  1. A cargo ship over 300 gross tons navigating in the open sea;
  2. Certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry more than 6 passengers for hire in the open sea or tidewaters of the U.S.;
  3. A power driven vessel over 20 meters in length on navigable waterways;
  4. More than 100 gross tons certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry at least one passenger on navigable waterways;
  5. A tow boat of more than 7.8 meters in length on navigable waterways;
  6. An uninspected commercial fishing industry vessel required to carry a VHF radio;
  7. Required to carry an Automatic Identification System (AIS) transceiver by U.S. Coast Guard regulation?
If You Answered YES to any of the above -   If You Answered NO to all of the above -
 
You are a compulsory equipped vessel and are required by law to have a licensed radio station on board.   You are a voluntary equipped vessel and are not required by law to have a licensed radio station on board.
-END-  
    Is your vessel sailing foreign or communicating with foreign radio stations?
    -AND / OR-
    You use MF/HF single sideband radio, sat comm, or telegraphy.
   
    If you answered YES to either statement above -
   
    You are voluntary equipped, but still required to have a licensed radio station on board.
    -END-
     
 

So... Do You Need a Station License?

Now that you have checked the table above and have determined that you either need or maybe just want to have a licensed radio station aboard your boat, how do you do that?

To get you on the right track to get your Ship Station License (the formal term), we are going to send you to our FCC Licensing Page.