Overview

The General Mobile Radio Service, or GMRS, is a personal two-way radio service created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States. Transmitting on GMRS frequencies requires a license from the FCC, however no knowledge test is required to obtain a license. A license covers you and your immediate family members and is valid for 10 years. Currently, the fee is $35 for the 10-year term, which is only $3.50 per year!

License

A license from the FCC is required to transmit on GMRS frequencies. There is no knowledge test to obtain the license, simply pay the required fee and a callsign will be issued to you. A license covers you as well as your immediate family members (i.e. spouse, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and in-laws).

Cost

A GMRS license is valid for 10 years and costs $35, or only $3.50 per year. When you consider that this covers your immediate family as well, this makes GMRS an economical way to stay in touch with your family.

GMRS Rules

The FCC has developed a set of rules that govern the Personal Radio Services, which includes FRS, GMRS, MURS, and CB Radio to name a few. These rules fall under Part 95 of Title 47, Chapter 1, Subchapter D of the Code of Federal Regulations. Part 95 is further broken up into Subparts A - M. Subpart A covers all of the Personal Radio Services, whereas Subpart E covers GMRS specifically.

These rules must be followed at all times in order to make GMRS a safe and friendly environment, and to prevent harmful interference to other stations.