This isn’t a comprehensive guide by far but these are the resources I like to guide people to if they’re interested in taking the licensing exams for amateur radio in the US.
KB6NU’s No Nonsense Study Guides – Free downloads available of PDF versions, ebook versions also available for Amazon Kindle, epub, etc…
HamStudy.org – an interactive study system based around generating practice exams
For practice exams:
AA9PW’s practice exam generator
Android exam generator app free and no ad garbage. Yay.
So, once you can take a practice exam and pass it reliably, find out where to take the real thing near you:
Some exam sessions are walk-in, others may require advance reservations.
What to bring to the exam session:
Photo ID
A calculator (ideally not a graphing calculator)
Your FRN number, if you have one already. This can make the filing process with the FCC faster and easier. You can apply for an FRN number ahead of time. It is not necessary to have an FRN number ahead of time, it just makes things easier.
The exam fee ($14 at the time I wrote this – not needed if you’re at a Laurel VEC session)
Once you successfully pass the exam, if this is your first license, you will need to wait for your call letters to be assigned before you go on the air. If you have an FRN number, go here and search by your FRN number each business day. Continue until it comes up. Celebrate. 😀
QRZ.COM maintains a daily list of all new/changed licenses where you may also find yourself.
Good luck and see you on the airwaves 🙂
FRN number is like ATM machine. Redundant. 🙂
That’s just fine. Keep calm and carry on.
– Department of Redundancy Department