Contrary to what you may have heard or read, the collection of application fees for the amateur radio service and certain other services will NOT begin on April 19, 2021.Although April 19, 2021 is the date the rules in the FCC Report and Order adopted last December generally take effect – i.e., one month after the R&O was published in the March 19, 2021 Federal Register – certain parts of those rules, including collection of the application fees for the amateur radio service, will NOT begin on that date.
The effective date for new amateur radio fees has not yet been established. The FCC explicitly states in the published Notice that the fees will not take effect until:
* the requisite notice has been provided to Congress; AND
* the FCC’s information technology systems and internal procedures have been updated; AND
* the Commission publishes future notice(s) in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of such rules.
The League’s counsel for FCC matters estimates that the effective start date for collecting the fees will be some time this summer, but regardless of the exact timing we will have advance notice.