GMRS
General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) - GMRS radios operate on 8 UHF frequencies that were set aside by the FCC for family use. A license is required (five year term) which covers your entire family, including (grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, in-laws, sons, daughters, and pretty much any one related by blood or marriage). The purpose is to facilitate the communications of families over a limited distance.
- FCC License: Yes
- Max Output: 50 watts
- Frequency: 1 meter (UHF)
- FCC Reg: Part 95
Applying for a GMRS license should be done online.
License Fee:
Since the FCC has eliminated the $5 per year regulatory fee, the cost for a family GMRS license has dropped from $90 down to $65. The fee, which was previously assessed at $5 per year, added $25 to the total cost of a GMRS license, which has a term of five years.
§ 95.119 Station identification.
- (a) Except as provided in paragraph (e), every GMRS station must transmit a station identification:
- (1) Following the transmission of communications or a series of communications; and
- (2) Every 15 minutes during a long transmission.
- (b) The station identification is the call sign assigned to the GMRS station or system.
- (c) A unit number may be included after the call sign in the identification.
- (d) The station identification must be transmitted in:
- (1) Voice in the English language; or
- (2) International Morse code telegraphy.
- (e) A station need not identify its transmissions if it automatically retransmits communications from another station which are properly identified.
Ham radio license does NOT cover the GMRS frequencies.
View a table of FRS/GMRS Frequences and Channels.