What changed
Privacy and the public license record — edited Aug 30, 2026 by Unknown editor
This is the first recorded version, so every line is shown as added. Note: Imported from content/wiki
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An amateur license is a public federal authorization, and the record of it is a public document. Anyone
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can look up any call sign in the FCC's Universal Licensing System (ULS) and read the licensee's name and
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mailing address, free and without an account.[^1] Third-party sites such as QRZ and callsign lookup apps
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mirror that database, so what the FCC publishes ends up in a dozen places within days.
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None of this is a reason not to get licensed. It is a reason to think for two minutes about which address
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you write on the application, because changing it afterwards does not remove it from the mirrors.
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## What is published
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Everything below is visible to the public in ULS:[^2]
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- Your **legal name**.
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- Your **mailing address**, exactly as filed.
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- Your **call sign** and **license class**.
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- Your **FCC Registration Number** (FRN).
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- Your answer to the **felony conviction question** on the application.
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- **Transaction history** — application dates, grant and expiration dates, administrative review status,
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and previous call signs.
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## What is not published
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- **Social Security number.** The FCC uses it to identify you in CORES and never discloses it; the FRN
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stands in for it everywhere the public can see.[^3]
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- **Email address.** An email address has been required on every application since June 2021, but the FCC
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masks it from public view in ULS and uses it only to correspond with you.[^4]
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- **Telephone and fax numbers.**
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## Keeping your home address private
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The FCC requires a *working mailing address* — not a residential one. If you would rather your home
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address not be searchable, file one of these instead:
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- A **PO box** or commercial mailbox.
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- A **work address**.
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- A **club's address**, with the club's agreement.
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Whatever you use, mail sent there must reach you. Correspondence returned to the FCC as undeliverable is
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grounds for suspension or revocation of the license, and the address must be kept current by filing a
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modification when it changes.[^5]
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If you are already licensed at your home address, you can change it at any time through ULS at no cost.
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That updates the FCC record, but copies already taken by third-party directories may persist; contact
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those sites individually to have the old entry corrected.
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## For parents
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A license issued to a minor carries the child's legal name and the address on the application, both
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public. Many families use a PO box or the parent's work address for exactly this reason. See
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[getting an FCC FRN](/wiki/licensing/fcc-frn) for how a parent registers on a child's behalf.
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## Getting help
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The FCC Licensing Support Center takes questions about what appears in your record and how to change it:
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**877-480-3201**, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, or through the FCC's Wireless Licensing
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Help Center online.[^6]
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[^1]: FCC, Universal Licensing System license search, https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp
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[^2]: ARRL, FCC Licensee Privacy, https://arrlhq.org/fcc-licensee-privacy
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[^3]: FCC, Fact Sheet — FCC Registration Number, https://wireless.fcc.gov/amateur/factsheet206.pdf
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[^4]: ARRL, Amateurs' Email Addresses Will Continue to Be Kept Private, FCC Says, https://www.arrl.org/news/amateurs-email-addresses-will-continue-to-be-kept-private-fcc-says
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[^5]: 47 CFR 97.23, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/section-97.23
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[^6]: FCC, Wireless Licensing Help Center, https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/available-support-services