Individuals  - The FCC updates their procedures fairly regularly. Contact the FCC directly for up-to-date instructions on how to cancel your license. For assistance, call the FCC Licensing Support Center at 877-480-3201 (Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET), or submit a help request on the FCC’s Wireless Licensing Help Center website. 

Clubs  - A 605-C form must be completed and submitted to a Club Station Call Sign Administrator (CSCSA) in order to cancel a club station license.

Report a silent key to the FCC  -  Follow the instructions below on how to report a deceased licensee to the FCC and to have their license canceled in the FCC database.

List a Silent Key in QST magazine's Silent Key column. Learn More  

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The FCC has specific requirements for canceling the license of a silent key and applying for a vanity call sign. Please review the following steps carefully.

FCC Call Sign Reassignment Policy
The FCC will not reassign a call sign that is presently licensed to an individual or club and listed as ACTIVE in the FCC database
To make a call sign eligible for reassignment, a request to cancel the license must be submitted to the FCC, or two years must have elapsed since the license expired, and the license status must be listed as CANCELED. The FCC does not accept faxed or mailed documents. All required documents must be uploaded through the FCC website. 

FCC Requirements for Canceling a Silent Key’s (deceased licensee) License in the FCC database
To cancel the license of a silent key, the FCC requires a signed request submitted through their online Support Services web portal.

The request must include:

• The deceased licensee’s name and call sign.
• A brief explanation of why you are requesting the cancellation (e.g., “He was my father; he passed away on 1/1/2026”).
• Provide evidence of death.
  o   A death certificate, or
  o   A dated newspaper obituary that includes the date of death.
  o   Important: The entire obituary must be attached to the request. A website link to the obituary is not sufficient. 

Important details:

• The request must be physically signed by the individual submitting it.
  You may type the request, print it, sign it, then scan and attach it to the e-request.
  A handwritten request is also acceptable but must be scanned and attached.
• The FCC does not accept faxed or mailed documents.

On the FCC’s Support Services website, click on "Submit a help request", complete the online form and attach the required documentation. At the bottom of the help request page you can attach a file(s) before submitting the information to the FCC.

Processing Time and Verification
Allow the FCC one to two weeks to cancel the license. You can verify the cancellation by checking the FCC license database.
If the license has been canceled, the FCC will show the license STATUS as “CANCELED.”
Please note: The effective date of the cancellation will be the day of the former license holder’s death.

Applying for a Vanity Call Sign
Once the license is canceled, an eligible family member may apply for the call sign as a vanity call sign.

• The time allowed to apply depends on the date of death and may range from 30 days to 2 years before the call sign returns to the pool of publicly available call signs.
• Apply as soon as possible after cancellation to avoid any issues.
• Submit the vanity application through the FCC’s License Manager Filing System.
• Applying online and paying the $35 FCC application fee is quick and easy and should take less than 10 minutes.
• The FCC typically takes about 18 days to process the vanity application and reassign the call sign to the requesting individual.

Additional information about vanity call signs is available on the ARRL’s Vanity Call Signs webpage.
If you have any questions or issues with your password to login, you can call the FCC CORES help desk.  FCC Customer Help Line: 877-480-3201 (Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET).

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Clubs Applying for a Silent Key's Call Sign as a Vanity Call Sign
The FCC will not reassign a call sign that is presently licensed to an individual or club, unless they receive a signed written request to have the license canceled--or until two years have elapsed since the license may have expired. Only one person or club can hold a single call sign at one time.  See FCC notification section above for instructions on cancelling a license in the FCC database.

After the license is canceled in the system, the club will have a limited amount of time to apply for the club member’s call sign in memoriam depending on the date of death.
The time allowed may be as little as 30 days or up to 2 years to apply for the call sign as a vanity call sign before it goes back into the pool of available call signs.
View amateur radio club vanity call sign procedures, eligibility, call sign availability, and information here: http://www.arrl.org/club-call-signs   

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If you have any further questions, please contact ARRL VEC.

List a Silent Key in QST magazine's Silent Key column. Learn More