AG23
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 23  ARLB023
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  December 12, 2022
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB023
ARLB023 New General Question Pool Released for Ham Radio Licensing
Effective July 1, 2023

The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators' (NCVEC)
Question Pool Committee (QPC) has released the 2023 - 2027 General
Class FCC Element 3 Syllabus and Question Pool to the public. The
new General Question Pool is effective July 1, 2023, through June
30, 2027.

The new pool incorporates some significant changes compared to the
2019 - 2023 version. Its 432 questions were modified slightly to
improve wording and to replace distractors; 51 new questions were
generated, and 73 questions were eliminated. This resulted in a
reduction of 22 questions, bringing the total number of questions in
the pool down from 454. The level of difficulty of questions is more
balanced, and the techniques and practices addressed have been
updated.

The pool is available as a Microsoft Word document and PDF online
at, www.ncvec.org/page.php?id=369 . The single graphic
required for the new General Question Pool is available within the
documents, or separately as PDF and JPG file formats.

'The newly revised pool must be used for General-class license exams
starting July 1, 2023,' said ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM,
who is a member of the NCVEC Question Pool Committee. 'New test
designs will be available to ARRL Volunteer Examiners on that date.
The ARRL VEC will supply its officially appointed, field-stocked VE
teams with new General exam booklet designs around mid-June.'

General class examination candidates preparing for their exams using
the 9th edition of The General Class License Manual, and/or the 6th
edition of ARRL's General Q & A are encouraged to test by, or
before, June 30, 2023. New editions of ARRL licensing publications
will be available in May, for exams taken on, or after, July 1,
2023.