CQ Kids · For parents
Ham radio for kids
A guide for parents and grandparents: how a child can start listening today, earn a license of their own, and talk on the air with you right beside them.
New to ham radio yourself? Watch the CQ Kids episodes together; each one ends with an activity you can do at home.
Why ham radio for kids
Ham radio is science kids can hear. Radio waves, antennas, batteries and even satellites stop being textbook ideas and start answering back.
It also builds confidence: speaking clearly, taking turns and talking with adults and other kids across town or around the world. And it’s a hobby a family can share, from a first listen together to helping out at a local event.
Start by listening
Anyone can listen to ham radio. A license is only needed to transmit, so a child can start today.
Listen to a local repeater on an inexpensive handheld radio, or use an online receiver in a web browser to hear hams around the world with no radio at all. Many clubs also run a weekly net, an on-air meeting that’s easy to follow.
How a kid gets a license
There’s no minimum age for a US amateur license. Kids take the same Technician test as adults: 35 multiple-choice questions from a public question pool, with 26 right needed to pass. Volunteer examiners give the test in person and online.
The FCC charges $35 for a new license. Exam teams may charge a small session fee: the ARRL’s teams charge $15, or $5 for anyone under 18, and some teams, like Laurel VEC’s, charge nothing. Check the team’s rules for young candidates when you sign up; some ask for a parent’s help or consent.
Free practice tests and flashcards make studying manageable, and studying together works well.
How to get a license, step by stepStudy tools and exam sessions
Letting your child talk on the air
A licensed ham can let someone without a license, including a child, talk on the air from their station. The rule is that the licensed operator stays right there the whole time, listening and supervising.
Contacts with other countries are allowed only if that country has a third-party agreement with the United States, so stick to US stations unless you know the country is on the list. Youth events like Kids Day are made for exactly this.
Starter equipment
A handheld radio for the local 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands can cost less than $40 and reaches local repeaters. Earphones help in a busy house. To only listen, a web browser is enough.
Youth events and programs
These are great first times on the air, often with a club helping out.
- Jamboree on the Air (JOTA): the world Scout organization’s radio event, the third full weekend of October each year. Scout troops get on the air with local hams.
- ARRL Kids Day: twice a year, generally the first Saturday in January and the third Saturday in June. Kids talk on the air with a licensed ham.
- School Club Roundup: twice each school year, in October and February, for school radio clubs.
- ARISS school contacts: schools and youth groups apply to ARISS for a scheduled radio contact in which students talk directly with astronauts on the International Space Station.
- Youth on the Air: summer camps for young licensed hams.
Find a local club
A local club is the best next step. Clubs teach license classes, host exam sessions and youth events, and have experienced hams (often called Elmers) who love helping new operators, young ones especially.
Licenses are public
A license record in the FCC’s public database shows the licensee’s name and mailing address. When you apply for your child’s license, you can use a PO box or another address instead of your home address.
Rules and fees checked in September 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us with the feedback link at the bottom of the page.