United States Amateur Radio Band Plan by License Class

This is the table every amateur needs and most people only half remember. It is drawn directly from Part 97 of the Federal Communications Commission rules, specifically sections 97.301 and 97.305, which are published in full at ecfr.gov. Transmitting outside your privileges is a rules violation rather than an etiquette problem, so it is worth reading once properly.

Band by band, with what each one is actually like

160 m, 1.800 to 2.000 MHz

Night-only regional and DX band. Antennas are physically enormous, which is the whole challenge.

160 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	None	No privileges on this band
General	1.800 to 2.000 MHz	CW, phone, image, RTTY, data
Amateur Extra	1.800 to 2.000 MHz	CW, phone, image, RTTY, data

80 m, 3.500 to 4.000 MHz

The regional night band. A full-size dipole is 125 ft tip to tip, so most people compromise.

80 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	3.525 to 3.600 MHz	CW only, 200 W PEP maximum
General	3.525 to 3.600 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	3.800 to 4.000 MHz	CW, phone, image
Amateur Extra	3.500 to 3.600 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	3.600 to 4.000 MHz	CW, phone, image

60 m, 5 channels near 5.3 MHz

Channelized and shared with federal users. Amateurs are secondary and must yield.

60 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	None	No privileges on this band
General	5 fixed channels MHz	USB, CW, digital, 100 W PEP ERP maximum
Amateur Extra	5 fixed channels MHz	USB, CW, digital, 100 W PEP ERP maximum

40 m, 7.000 to 7.300 MHz

The most reliable all-around HF band. Regional by day, continental to worldwide at night.

40 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	7.025 to 7.125 MHz	CW only, 200 W PEP maximum
General	7.025 to 7.125 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	7.175 to 7.300 MHz	CW, phone, image
Amateur Extra	7.000 to 7.125 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	7.125 to 7.300 MHz	CW, phone, image

30 m, 10.100 to 10.150 MHz

No phone allowed anywhere, ever. A quiet CW and digital band that is open most of the day.

30 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	None	No privileges on this band
General	10.100 to 10.150 MHz	CW, RTTY, data only, 200 W PEP maximum
Amateur Extra	10.100 to 10.150 MHz	CW, RTTY, data only, 200 W PEP maximum

20 m, 14.000 to 14.350 MHz

The worldwide daytime DX band and the reason most people upgrade to General.

20 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	None	No privileges on this band
General	14.025 to 14.150 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	14.225 to 14.350 MHz	CW, phone, image
Amateur Extra	14.000 to 14.150 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	14.150 to 14.350 MHz	CW, phone, image

17 m, 18.068 to 18.168 MHz

A narrow band with no contest activity, which makes it the most civil place on HF.

17 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	None	No privileges on this band
General	18.068 to 18.110 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	18.110 to 18.168 MHz	CW, phone, image
Amateur Extra	18.068 to 18.110 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	18.110 to 18.168 MHz	CW, phone, image

15 m, 21.000 to 21.450 MHz

Daytime DX that depends heavily on the solar cycle. Excellent near a sunspot maximum.

15 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	21.025 to 21.200 MHz	CW only, 200 W PEP maximum
General	21.025 to 21.200 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	21.275 to 21.450 MHz	CW, phone, image
Amateur Extra	21.000 to 21.200 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	21.200 to 21.450 MHz	CW, phone, image

12 m, 24.890 to 24.990 MHz

Another narrow, quiet band. Opens hard when 10 m does.

12 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	None	No privileges on this band
General	24.890 to 24.930 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	24.930 to 24.990 MHz	CW, phone, image
Amateur Extra	24.890 to 24.930 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	24.930 to 24.990 MHz	CW, phone, image

10 m, 28.000 to 29.700 MHz

The one HF band with real Technician phone privileges. Antennas are small and worldwide contacts are possible at solar maximum.

10 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	28.000 to 28.300 MHz	CW, RTTY, data, 200 W PEP maximum
	28.300 to 28.500 MHz	CW and phone, 200 W PEP maximum
General	28.000 to 28.300 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	28.300 to 29.700 MHz	CW, phone, image
Amateur Extra	28.000 to 28.300 MHz	CW, RTTY, data
	28.300 to 29.700 MHz	CW, phone, image

6 m, 50.0 to 54.0 MHz

The magic band. Usually local, occasionally continent-wide through sporadic E in the warm months.

6 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	50.0 to 54.0 MHz	All authorized modes
General	50.0 to 54.0 MHz	All authorized modes
Amateur Extra	50.0 to 54.0 MHz	All authorized modes

2 m, 144.0 to 148.0 MHz

Where nearly every new operator starts. Repeaters, nets, and the whole handheld ecosystem.

2 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	144.0 to 148.0 MHz	All authorized modes
General	144.0 to 148.0 MHz	All authorized modes
Amateur Extra	144.0 to 148.0 MHz	All authorized modes

1.25 m, 222.0 to 225.0 MHz

Nearly empty in most of the country, which is either the drawback or the appeal.

1.25 m segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	222.0 to 225.0 MHz	All authorized modes
General	222.0 to 225.0 MHz	All authorized modes
Amateur Extra	222.0 to 225.0 MHz	All authorized modes

70 cm, 420.0 to 450.0 MHz

The second handheld band. Better than 2 m inside buildings, worse over open terrain.

70 cm segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	420.0 to 450.0 MHz	All authorized modes
General	420.0 to 450.0 MHz	All authorized modes
Amateur Extra	420.0 to 450.0 MHz	All authorized modes

33 cm, 902 to 928 MHz

Shared with unlicensed devices. Popular for amateur data links and mesh networking.

33 cm segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	902 to 928 MHz	All authorized modes
General	902 to 928 MHz	All authorized modes
Amateur Extra	902 to 928 MHz	All authorized modes

23 cm, 1240 to 1300 MHz

Amateur television, satellite work and microwave experimenting start here.

23 cm segments by class

Class	Segment	Modes and limits
Technician	1240 to 1300 MHz	All authorized modes
General	1240 to 1300 MHz	All authorized modes
Amateur Extra	1240 to 1300 MHz	All authorized modes

The rules that apply everywhere

• Minimum necessary power. Part 97.313 requires you to use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications. The 1500 watt figure is a ceiling rather than a target, and the rule is enforceable.
• Identification. You must identify with your call sign at least every ten minutes during a communication and at the end of it, in English by voice or in Morse code.
• Control operator responsibility. Whoever is the control operator is responsible for the station's transmissions regardless of who is speaking into the microphone.
• No broadcasting, no music, no business communication, with narrow exceptions for emergencies and for retransmission of space shuttle or station communications.
• An RF exposure evaluation is required of every station. There is no power level exempt from it. Run it on the RF exposure calculator.

Band plans versus rules

The tables above are law. Within those segments, amateurs also follow voluntary band plans that keep incompatible modes apart: Morse code at the bottom of each band, then narrow digital modes, then voice higher up. Nothing in Part 97 stops a General transmitting single sideband at 14.030 MHz where the rules allow it, and doing so would drop a 3 kHz voice signal into the middle of a Morse code segment where a dozen people are working weak signals.

The convention worth knowing without looking anything up: below 10 MHz use lower sideband, above 10 MHz use upper sideband, and on 60 metres use upper sideband regardless. That is a convention rather than a rule everywhere except 60 metres, where it is written into the authorisation.

How the exams test this

Frequency privileges appear on all three question pools and they are pure recall, which makes them the cheapest marks available. Technician draws 35 questions in total, General draws 35 questions in total, Amateur Extra draws 50 questions in total, and rules and regulations is the largest single block on the Technician exam at six questions.

The specific facts worth memorising for the exams: a Technician has 200 watts maximum on HF, the 10 metre voice slice runs 28.300 to 28.500 MHz, the General voice segment on 20 metres starts at 14.225 MHz, and the Extra-only phone segment on 20 metres runs 14.150 to 14.175 MHz. Those four facts answer a surprising number of pool questions. Full breakdown on the question pool guide.

What each band costs in antenna terms

Privileges are only half the picture. The other half is whether an antenna for the band fits your lot, and that changes the practical value of an upgrade considerably.

This is why 20 metres is the band most people work the world on: it is the lowest band where a half-wavelength support is realistically achievable, which is what turns a regional antenna into a DX antenna. Run your own numbers on the dipole calculator and the antenna height calculator.

For a first HF antenna covering several of these bands from one wire, an end fed half wave such as the JYR8010 8-band end fed half wave, 150 W$89.99 needs one support and covers 80 through 10 metres, and a LDG Z-11ProII automatic antenna tuner$225.44 tuner finishes whatever it does not match. The complete station is the $2,017 first HF build.