Beginner's Corner
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) REGARDING AMATEUR EXAMINATION/LICENCE
1. Who can become a Radio Amateur(HAM)?
Answer: Any citizen of India who is above 12 years of age can become a ham by qualifying the Amateur Station Operators Licence (RESTRICTED) examination and obtaining a valid license.
2. Can I apply for the examination if I am below 18 years?
Answer: Yes. Applicants between 12-18years can apply for the RESTRICTED grade examination by providing an Undertaking by the parent/guardian in the prescribed format. For GENERAL grade- Applicants between 12-18years can apply for the GENERAL grade examination by providing an Undertaking by the parent/guardian in the prescribed format. Applicant above the age of 18 years can apply for both without any undertaking.
3. What are the various categories and fees of examination?
Answer: A candidate can apply for any of the below categories:
4. What are the examination centres?
Answer: Examination may be conducted at any of the Wireless Monitoring Station/International Monitoring Station in India.
The list of Monitoring Stations is given below:
1. Ahmedabad
2. Ajmer
3. Bengaluru
4. Bhopal
5. Bhubaneswar
6. Chennai
7. Dehradun
8. Dibrugarh
9. Goa
10. Gorakhpur
11. Hyderabad
12. Jalandhar
13. Jammu
14. Kolkata
15. Lucknow
16. Mangalore
17. Mumbai
18. Nagpur
19. New Delhi
20. Patna
21. Raipur
22. Ranchi
23. Shillong
24. Siliguri
25. Thiruvananthapuram
26. Vijayawada
27. Vishakapatnam
5. What is the pattern and duration of examination?
Answer: The examination consists of two parts; Part A: Basic Electronics and Part B: radio Regulations. The Restricted Grade examination consists of 25 Questions each in Part A and Part B and is for one hour. The General Grade Examination consists of 50 Questions each in Part A and Part B and is for two hours. The General Grade candidates will have to additionally undertake an examination in Transmission and Reception of Morse Code. For detailed syllabus, please refer to the circulars.
6. How many marks are needed to pass the examination?
Answer: For Restricted Grade, the maximum marks will be 100 and candidate must secure at least 40 % in each section and 50% in aggregate for a pass.
For General Grade, the maximum marks will be 100. A candidate must secure at least 50% in each section and 60% in aggregate for a pass. In addition, a candidate shall have to pass both Morse Reception and Sending simultaneously.
7. Can I take the examination at any centre?
Answer: The applicant can choose the examination centre at any Wireless Monitoring Station/International Monitoring Station as per their convenience. However, no change will be allowed after submission of application.
8. Can I change the centre of examination after application?
Answer: No change in Exam Centre is permitted after submission of application.
9. Can I change the category of examination after submission of application?
Answer: No change in category will be permitted after submission of the application.
10.Can I apply for both GENERAL and RESTRICTED?
Answer: Yes. A candidate can apply for both General and Restricted categories. If a candidate passes in Part I and II, he/she will be issued a GENERAL Licence. If a candidate passes only in Part I of the examination he/she will be issued a RESTRICTED Licence.
11.Can I take the General Grade examination after passing Restricted Grade?
Answer: Yes. You will need to apply again for General Grade after the completion of the Restricted Grade examination.
12.Are there any exemptions from the exam?
Answer: Candidates having the following Qualifications are exempted from appearing in Part A of the Examination
(i) B. Tech/BE Degree in Electronics or Telecommunication
(ii) B.Sc/M.Sc with Electronics or Telecommunication
(iii) Diploma in Engineering with Electronics or Telecommunication
13.How do I check the status of application?
Answer: The status of the application can be checked on the Saral Sanchar portal.
14.When will the examination be conducted?
Answer: The Date, Venue and Time of the examination will be intimated to the candidate by the respective Monitoring Station. The examination will be conducted as and when there are sufficient number of candidates.
15.What if I reside in another city in which no monitoring station is situated?
Answer: For examination venues in cities other than where Wireless Monitoring Stations/International Monitoring Stations are situated, there should be a minimum of 20 candidates and the centre should be either a School/University/Education Centre/Amateur Radio Society or Club. The application may be submitted to the nearest monitoring station.
16.What documents do I need to carry for the examination?
Answer: The Admit Card is to be produced for verification at the time of the test. At least one original valid Photo Identification Card (such as Aadhaar Card, Driving Licence, Passport, PAN Card, Voter ID,) should also be presented. Date of Birth Proof, Address proof, Proof for Exemption in Part A and Undertaking certificate (For students between ages 12 and 18) may also be produced to the examiner for verification.
17.Does WPC provide any training?
Answer: No, WPC does not provide any training for the examination.
18.What should I do after passing the examination?
Answer: After passing the examination, you may apply for Amateur Wireless Telegraph Station Licence/ Certificate on the Saral Sanchar Portal.
8. Can I choose my own call sign?
Answer: You can give a choice of 3 callsigns. Based on availability, a callsign would be assigned.
19.What is the licence fee?
Answer: A licence fee as below is payable after passing the examination.
20.Do I need to take permission to participate in a hamfest at some other location?
Answer: No permission is required for a temporary change of location.
21.Do I need to inform WPC for a permanent change of address?
Answer: Yes, you need to intimate WPC when there is a permanent change of location. You can apply on the Saral Sanchar portal when there is a permanent change of location and pay the requisite fee of Rs 200/- for re-issue of the licence.
22.Can I get a duplicate copy of the licence?
Answer: Yes. In case of loss/damage of original licence, you can apply for a Duplicate copy of licence on the Saral Sanchar Portal and pay the requisite fee of Rs 100/-.
23.How can I get a special call sign?
Answer: The following documents may be submitted to WPC Wing for the issue of special call sign.
a) Application
b) Individual Consent
c) Copy of valid Amateur License
24.How to pay the examination fee?
Answer: The prescribed license fee is to be paid through Non Tax Receipt Portal (NTRP) available on webpage http://bharatkosh.gov.in under the following accounts heads:
a. Purpose head: “Amateur Exam conducted by Wireless Monitoring Stations and RHQs b.
Payment type: “Exam fee”
c. Function head: “127500103050100 - Proficiency Certificate”
d. PAO and DDO details are as under: -
25.How to pay the license fee?
Answer: For issue of licence, renewal, issue of duplicate licence, issue of reciprocal licence or change of location, the details of payment head for making payment through NTRP is as under:
a) Purpose: Amateur license
b) Payment Type: License Fee/ License Renewal Fee/ Late Fee/ Fee for issue of duplicate
license
c) Pay & Account Office (PAO): 077188-Controller of Communication Accounts, PAO HQ
d) Correspondence Address: Assistant Wireless Adviser (COP), WPC Wing, DOT, 6th Floor,
Sanchar Bhawan, 20 Ashok Road, New Delhi-110001
26.Whom should I contact for any further queries?
Answer: For any further queries, please reach WPC at +91-11-2303 6534, +91-11-2303 6539.
Instructions for filing online applications for appearing in Amateur Station
Operators Certificate (ASOC) Examination and issuance of certificates/license.
1. Applicant shall first register themselves as an indivudual on Saral Sanchar Portal
https://saralsanchar.gov.in . The login credential shall be send to the authorized
person’s registered email ID and mobile number through which the applicant may
log in to the portal.
2. The applicant needs to fill the application /registration forms with due care to avoid
any error(s). The applicant shall ensure that all documents to be uploaded in the
portal are digitally signed and in PDF format only and size of each document
should be less than 50kb. In case of photographs, size of photos should be less
than 50kb and format should be in JPEG format.
3. Kindly keep the following documents ready before applying online application:
a) Scanned coloured photograph and signature (both shall be in separate files in
JPEG format and less than 50kb in size each).
b) Scanned copy of proof of Date of Birth document(s) duly attested by Gazetted
officer of Central or State Government (in PDF format ).
c) Scanned copy of proof of Address document(s) (copy of any one of Aadhar
card/Election card/Driving License/Ration Card/ Electricity Bill/Bank
Passbook/Telephone bill/ Rent agreement etc) document(s) duly attested by
Gazetted officer of Central or State Government (in PDF format ).
d) Scanned copy of receipt of payment through NTRP Portal(Bharatkosh) (in
PDF format)#1
4. The application submitted finally on Saral Sanchar Portal by applicants would be
scrutinized by WPC/WMO, DoT. Upon scrutiny of documents, photographs,
payments/fees etc., necessary instructions on payment, correction & re-uploading
of documents etc. would be conveyed to the applicant through email/sms alerts.
This can also be monitored/downloaded by applicants on Saral Sanchar
dashboard of the applicant’s login.
5. Applicant may communicate with respective WPC Nodal through portal and may
also submit additional/required documents, if any. Applicant may also raise a
helpdesk reqquest through portal.
6. Upon grant/rejection of certificates, permissions or licenses, the same would be
intimated to the applicant and same can be downloaded from portal by logging-in
to the dashboard.7. Examination and license fees shall be paid through Bharatkosh(NTRP) portal
(https://bharatkosh.gov.in/) only and scanned copy of payment receipt details shall
be uploaded during filing online application (in PDF format) #2.
#1,#2 Note:
A1) Prescribed examination fees for appearing in the ASOC Exam are as under:-
TABLE-1
Sl. No. Grade Fee (amount in Rs)
1 Restricted 100
2 General 100
3 General & Restricted (both) 200
A2) The applicable fee as per table-1 is to be paid through Non Tax Receipt Portal
(NTRP) avaiable on webpage http://bharatkosh.gov.in under the following
accounts heads:
I. Purpose head: “Amateur Exam conducted by Wireless Monitoring
Stations and RHQs”
II. Payment type: “Exam fees”
III. Function head: “127500103050100 - Proficiency Certificate”
IV. PAO and DDO details are as under:-
TABLE-2
Regional
Headquarters
Name of the pay & Account
Office (PAO) under NTRP .
Corresponding Centre of
Examinations (Monitoring Stations)
Western Regional
Hq, Mumbai
077148-Controller of
Communication Accounts,
Maharashtra
Drawing & Disbursing Officer:-
201562 DDO CCA
Ahmedabad,
Bhopal,
Goa,
Mumbai,
Nagpur,
Raipur
Northern Regional
Hq , New Delhi
077177-Controller of
Communication Accounts,
New Delhi
Drawing & Disbursing Officer:-
201540 DDO CCA
Ajmer,
Dehradun,
Gorakhpur,
Jalandhar,
Jammu,
Lucknow,
New Delhi
Souther Regional
Hq, Chennai
077153-Controller of
Communication Accounts,
Tamilnadu
Drawing & Disbursing Officer:-
201579 DDO CCA
Bengaluru,
Chennai,
Hyderabad,
Mangalore,
Thiruvananthapuram,
Vijaywada,
Vishakhapatnam
Eastern Regional
Hq, Kolkata
077155-Controller of
Communication Accounts,
West Bengal.
Drawing & Disbursing Officer:-
201589 DDO CCA
Bhubaneswar,
Dibrugarh,
Kolkata,
Patna,
Ranchi,
Shillong,
SilliguriB1) Prescribed license fees/license renewal fees for General & Restricted Grades
are as under:-
TABLE-3
Sl.
No.
Type of Fee Period Fee (amount in Rs)
1. License fee 20 years 1000/- for each grade
Life Time (i.e. upto the age of 80
years)
2000/- for each grade
2. Renewal fee 20 years 1000/- for each grade
B2) The applicable fee as per table-3 is to be paid through Non Tax Receipt Portal
(NTRP) avaiable on webpage http://bharatkosh.gov.in under the following
accounts heads:
I. Purpose head: “Amateur License”
II. Payment type: “License fee/License renewal fee”
III. Function head: “127500103050100 - Proficiency Certificate”
IV. PAO and DDO details are as under:-
TABLE-4
Payment Type Pay & Account
Office (PAO)
Correspondence Address
License Fee/
License Renewal
Fee/ Late Fee/ Fee
for issue of duplicate
license
077188-Controller
of Communication
Accounts, PAO HQ
205155- DDO,
SO(Cash), New
Delhi
Assistant Wireless Adviser (COP), WPC Wing,
DOT, 6th Floor, Sanchar Bhawan, 20 Ashok
Road, New Delhi-110001
Tel. No.+ 91 11 2303 6534; 6539/
+91 11 2303 6181
FAX. No. +91 11 2371 6111
8. Initially, for a period of 3 months, hard copies of applications will also be accepted
alongwith online applications.
9. Scanned copies of requisite documents duly attested by Gazetted officer of
Central or State Government to be uploaded in the respective fields/places while
applying online through portal.
********