AG15
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 15  ARLB015
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  May 16, 2019
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB015
ARLB015 The FCC is Not Reinstating a Vanity Call Sign Fee

An erroneous report this week suggested that the FCC planned to
again impose an Amateur Radio vanity call sign application
(regulatory) fee of $70 for the 10-year term. This incorrect
conclusion resulted from an incomplete reading of the May 7 FCC
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the matter of the assessment
and collection of regulatory fees for fiscal year 2019.

Although the Schedule of Regulatory Fees does show a $7 annual fee
for Amateur Radio vanity call signs, a boldface heading in that
section of the NPRM states, 'REGULATORY FEES. This section is no
longer is effect as it has been amended by RAY BAUM'S Act of
2018...'

Section 9(e)(2) of RAY BAUM'S Act gives the Commission discretion to
exempt a party from paying regulatory fees when the FCC determines
that the cost of collection exceeds the amount collected. A new
section 9(e)(1) incorporated the Amateur Radio vanity fee exemption
from FCC rules into the statute.

The NPRM makes clear in several other places that regulatory fees no
longer apply to Amateur Radio licenses. The FCC eliminated the
regulatory fee for Amateur Radio vanity call signs in 2015.