FCC Requires Payment of Vanity Call Sign Fee at Renewal Too??
Now that we have reached the first ten year period for Vanity callsigns and are now renewing them, the question on many lips is, "Do I have to pay a vanity call sign fee again when I renew my license?" The answer is, "Definitely yes, if you want to keep your vanity call sign for another 10 years." The FCC has steadfastly maintained from the very start of the vanity call sign program that payment of the vanity call sign regulatory fee would be required for renewal applications as well as for new applications.
Part 97 provides that Amateur Radio licensees may apply for renewal only within 90 days of the expiration date of their licenses. Those who wish to retain their current vanity call signs will have to pay the vanity call sign fee, now $20.80 for the 10-year license term. This fee is always subject to change and was reduced fall 2006.The ARRL VEC, which handles routine Amateur Radio license renewal applications as a service for League members, notes that it does not plan to process Amateur Radio vanity call sign renewal applications. ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, says that's because the VEC is currently not equipped to handle the regulatory fees that vanity renewals will require.
The vanity call sign fee has fluctuated over the years, but it's far lower than the $70 the FCC first announced in its 1994 Report and Order. The fee subsequently was reduced to $30 for the initial rounds of vanity call sign filers in 1996. Over the 10 years of the program, the fee has varied from a low of $12 to a high of $50.All Amateur Radio licensees filing renewal applications, whether or not they hold a vanity call sign, must have an FCC Registration Number and use it on the application. Vanity call sign renewal applications may be filed via the FCC's Universal Licensing System (ULS), and payment may be made online using a credit card. Filing is also possible on hard copy forms.
License application and renewal information and links to the required forms are available on the ARRL Amateur Application Filing FAQ Web page. The FCC's forms page also offers the required forms.The FCC Pittsburgh Bank Contractor address: The manually filed vanity applications using an FCC Form 605 and the Schedule D, Parts 2 and 3, and also the Form 159 with the $20.80 fee, must be sent to:
FCC Wireless Bureau ApplicationsPO Box 358130
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5130
The payment-type code for vanity applications for the Form 159 is WAVR. The Form 159 Lockbox Number is the post office box you are mailing the forms (for example, for non-electronically filed applications, the Lockbox is "358130"; for electronically filed applications, where the payment only is sent by mail (not electronically), the Lockbox is "358994").
When submitting a vanity application electronically and when the fee is paid by check or money order, ULS will assign a file number and show the correct fee amount due as well as the payment type code on a confirmation screen. Click the "Form 159" button to put this information onto the Form 159. Print the completed form and mail it with the proper fee. Payments made for electronic filed applications (except credit card payments), go to a different post office box. All mailed (payments not made by credit card on-line) payments for electronically filed applications will go to: FCC
ULS Electronic Filings
PO Box 358994
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5994