AA7HW: In-Person Amateur Radio License Exam Instructions

Thank you for your interest in an in-person Amateur Radio License Exam session. Please carefully read the following instructions:
  • The AA7HW VE Team occasionally conducts in-person Amateur Radio License Exam session. Please click here for a listing of available in-person sessions, or to register.
  • If you are interested in a Remote (Zoom) rather than an in-person Amateur Radio License Exam session, please refer to the Instructions for a Remote Amateur Radio License Exam session.
  • The exam will be conducted in Terrell Hall room 112, 5624 N Borthwick Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97217, on the Portland Community College Cascade Campus in North Portland.
  • We strongly encourage candidates to register in advance, since most people will find it easier to register using their home computer than to register using the tablets we will have available on site.
  • You may optionally Click Here to Pay in advance using Square. We accept Credit or Debit Cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. In order to ensure that your payment is correctly credited, email me and include your PIN number from HamStudy if the name or email used to pay does not match the name or email used to register.
  • If you prefer, you may pay on site. We accept cash (exact change preferred), check (payable to AA7HW VE Team), or credit or debit cards.
  • Please bring a government issued photo ID.
  • You will most likely take your exam using a tablet that we supply. The tablet provides a choice of a standard or RPN calculator that you may use. We will begin the exam session with a brief presentation on Taking Amateur Radio License Exams on tablets.
  • In the unlikely event that there is a problem with the tablets, you may take your exam using a printed exam and a bubble answer sheet. If this is the case, you are permitted to use a non-programmable calculator that you supply.
  • We will supply a sheet of scratch paper that you may use during the exam.
  • If you are registering to upgrade your existing license, please ensure that the name on your registration exactly matches the name on your existing FCC amateur radio license. If you alter your name in any way, your upgrade will not go through. This includes adding / removing a suffix (e.g. Jr or Sr), adding / removing a middle initial, or adding / removing spaces. If you have made any such changes during the registration process, please email me as soon as possible so that I can correct this prior to the exam.
  • If you discover an error in your registration data (for example, your name or address), please let me know so that I can save time by correctiong this prior to the exam session.
  • If you held a Technician class Amateur Radio License prior to March 21, 1987, or if you have ever held a General, Advanced, or Amateur Extra class Amateur Radio License, you may be eligible for a General or Amateur Extra license upon passing the Technician exam. If this applies to you, please let me know prior to your exam session, so that we can apply for exam credit. Here is some information on How to Find Old Amateur Radio Call Signs.
  • Effective April 19, 2022, the FCC will charge a $35 fee for new licenses, license renewals, and applications for vanity call signs. The fee will not apply to license upgrades. These will be payable directly to the FCC. For more information, refer to After your License Exam: Pay $35.00 FCC Fee.
  • The FCC will send you an email when your license is issued. To check on the status of your license, visit the FCC Universal Licensing System License Search web page and search for your license using your FRN.
  • After you complete your license exam, we will provide you with a What's Next handout.
  • If you have any questions or comments, or if you need assistance or need to cancel your registration for this in-person Amateur Radio License Exam Session, please email me.

Herb Weiner, AA7HW