If a parent, grandparent or other relative was a ham, their old call sign may be available to you. K6SBR sat cancelled for 21 years before Cody applied for it in 2023. Here is the process, with the rules that matter.
This is a plain-language guide written by an operator, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; the FCC's amateur call sign page and 47 CFR 97.19 are the authority.
Find the old call sign and its status
Search the FCC Universal Licensing System by call sign or by your relative's name. The record shows the grant date, expiration date and, for lapsed licenses, the cancellation date. For K6SBR it showed a grant on December 26, 1989, expiration December 26, 1999, and cancellation on March 7, 2002. If the search turns up nothing, older records (before the mid-1990s) may only exist in printed callbooks; sites like HamCall and old Radio Amateur Callbook scans can fill the gap.
Check that the call is actually available
A call sign becomes available to vanity applicants two years after the license that held it expired or was cancelled. That two-year wait is waived for a close relative of a deceased holder, which the FCC defines as spouse, child, grandchild, stepchild, parent, grandparent, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or in-law. If someone else has since been granted the call, it is theirs; you can only wait and watch. ULS will show an active license if so.
Make sure your license class qualifies
Call sign formats are grouped by license class. A one-by-three call sign with a K, N or W prefix, like K6SBR, is a Group C call sign and can be requested by Technician Class and above. Shorter formats (one-by-two, two-by-one, and two-by-two with an A prefix) need Advanced or Amateur Extra Class. If your relative held an Amateur Extra Class call sign and you hold a General Class license, you will need to upgrade first.
Get an FRN and log in to ULS
You already have an FCC Registration Number if you hold a license. Log in at the ULS License Manager with your FRN and password. If you have never set a password, the CORES system walks you through it.
File the vanity application
In ULS License Manager, choose your license, then "Request Vanity Call Sign." The form lets you list up to 25 call signs in order of preference. Put the family call first. You can file the same application through the ARRL VEC vanity service if you prefer a person checking it. The FCC application fee is charged per application and must be paid within ten days or the application is dismissed; check the current amount on the FCC fee page before you file.
Wait for the grant
The FCC processes vanity applications in receipt order, roughly 18 days after filing, so that any competing applications filed the same day can be sorted out. Your new call appears in ULS when granted, and your old call is released. Cody's K6SBR grant came through on April 14, 2023.
Update everything that carries your call
QRZ, Logbook of The World (a new certificate is needed for the new call), eQSL, your club roster, repeater database entries, your QSL cards and, if you keep one, your website. LoTW keeps the old call's log under the old certificate, so your history is not lost.
Things that trip people up
- The two-year wait runs from expiration, not from the date the FCC marks the call cancelled, which can be later.
- If the relative is still living, they can simply apply to have the call assigned to you after they change to a different call, or you can both apply in sequence; the close-relative waiver covers deceased holders.
- Great-grandchildren are not on the FCC's close-relative list. That did not matter for K6SBR because the call had been available for two decades, but a recently lapsed great-grandparent's call means a normal two-year wait.
- A dismissed application does not refund the fee. Confirm availability and class before you file.
The long version of this guide, with the FCC rule text and what my own application looked like, is the post How to get a family member's call sign. Questions can go to Cody through QRZ.com.