From the ARRL VE Newsletter, May 2015:

” FCC Goes Paperless”

 In order to streamline procedures and save money, the FCC stopped routinely printing and mailing licenses in February.

  There are a number of ways a license holder can obtain an official copy of their license. The official license will display the FCC logo and the watermark “Official Copy” will be printed across each page of an official authorization from FCC.

  1.  Download and Print License:  The licensee can log into the FCC ULS License Manager System http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/ with their FRN and password to ‘Download the Electronic Authorization’ of the official license.  On the ‘Download Authorizations’ page the license holder will add their call sign to the ‘Authorizations to Download’ and then click download. The PDF of the license can be saved to a computer and printed later or the file can be opened and printed immediately.

  2.  Login and Set Paper Preferences:  The licensee can log into the FCC ULS License Manager System http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/ with their FRN and password and set their own paper authorization preferences for future mailings. This option determines whether a user will receive paper authorizations (printed license and FRN information) from the FCC. The license holder would select either YES or NO and then click SAVE. By selecting YES, you will continue to receive paper authorizations printed and mailed by the FCC. By selecting NO, you will not receive authorizations printed and mailed from the FCC. This preference will affect all granted authorizations on this FRN.

 3.  Receive License via email:  When modifying, renewing or requesting a duplicate copy of the license, a licensee who already has an FCC Registration Number (FRN) and provides a valid e-mail address under “Applicant Information” while logged in to the ULS system will receive an official ULS-generated electronic authorization via e-mail.

The action of adding a valid e-mail address into the FCC system can also be performed by a VEC filing new, upgraded, modified or renewed licenses on behalf of applicants.

 4.  Contact FCC:  Licensees may contact FCC Support via the web, by telephone (1-888 225-5322) or by mail to request paper licenses. Please note that FCC recently stopped using distinctive paper stock to produce hard copy licenses and has been printing these on “standard, white recycled paper.” The Bureau noted that the distinctive paper stock it had used was six times more expensive than the plain recycled paper it now uses.

  All this information is located on the VE Resources page www.arrl.org/resources-for-ves in the section titled “Obtain a License Copy”.

 Additional Information

 An unofficial “reference copy” can always be printed from the FCC’s ULS License database http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/.

 New licensees may choose to register their SSN (social security number) with the FCC and receive a FRN before the exam date to make retrieving a copy of their new license after the session much easier.

 VE Teams may accept photocopies or printouts of licenses from the follow sources:  the official license or reference license printed from the FCC website, and license data printed out from the ARRL website or QRZ website. This information can be found on the ARRL web page what to bring to an exam session. “

SEE: The ARRL ‘How to Obtain License Copy Page

That means you will no longer receive an automatic mailing from the FCC with your new license or upgrade, unless you change your preferences in the ULS.   Editor

House Resolution 1301 (The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015) was introduced on March 4, 2015 to continue the effort begun in 2014 with HR 4969. ARRL President Kay Craigie and other ARRL officials visited Capital Hill to garner support and co-sponsors for this resolution, and to educate lawmakers on Amateur Radio. Text of the bill is at: HR 1301. Urge your Congressperson to become a co-sponsor of this legislation. More information at: ARRL HR-1301 page

Story from ARRL Newsletter for March 26, 2015

“ARRL President, Directors, and Officers Educate and Advocate on Capitol Hill

ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, made a new Amateur Radio friend on Capitol Hill this month as she headed a contingent of League Directors, officers, and staff advocating for H.R. 1301 — The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015. Not only that, but Rep Daniel Benishek, KB8TOW (R-MI), signed on as an H.R. 1301 cosponsor. Others new to the fold include Reps Eliot Engel (D-NY), David Joyce (R-OH), Jackie Walorski (R-IN), Kay Granger, (R-TX) and Pedro Pierluisi (NP/D-PR), raising the total number of cosponsors to 28. Benishek is one of two known radio amateurs in Congress. The other is Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), who heads the subcommittee that will consider H.R. 1301.

“I visited 10 Congressional offices, including that of Dr Daniel Benishek, who represents Michigan’s 1st District. Dr Benishek is also an ARRL member,” President Craigie said this week. “He was very friendly, and I appreciated his meeting with me to talk about the bill.” Benishek’s legislative aide sat in on the conversation, she said. “We were already in the area for the Executive Committee meeting on March 21.”

If approved and signed by President Obama, the measure would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private land use restrictions — also known collectively as “deed covenants, conditions, and restrictions,” or CC&Rs.

President Craigie said she got a cordial reception at all of the Capitol Hill offices she visited, and there was good dialogue with the staff people she met. “I don’t mind probing questions,” she added. “They show that the staff person is actually thinking about the points I’m making.”

Rep Walden, also an ARRL member, and two of his subcommittee staffers met with ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB; West Gulf Division Director Dr David Woolweaver, K5RAV; ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, and President Craigie to talk about strategy for H.R. 1301 going forward.

“At the end of the meeting, I asked Rep Walden how the ARRL could help him to help us,” President Craigie recounted. “He replied that it’s essential to continue educating people on the Hill — members of Congress, Senators, and their staffs — about the value and importance of Amateur Radio.”

President Craigie said ARRL officials can’t do the job by themselves, though. “ARRL members throughout the country must take advantage of every opportunity to convince our lawmakers that Amateur Radio is beneficial and that this bill is key to maintaining Amateur Radio as a resource,” she said. She encouraged ARRL members to write or call their US House members, urging them to sign on as H.R. 1301 cosponsors. A regularly updated H.R. 1301 page on the ARRL website includes key “talking points” and other information for Amateur Radio delegations or individuals to use when contacting US House members for their support.

President Craigie pointed out that one opportunity to contact their representatives in person would be during the Easter recess, March 27 through April 12, when lawmakers or their aides will be available at their district offices. At this time, League members are being encouraged to contact only US House members. Similar legislation has not yet been introduced in the US Senate.

“Members of Congress may hold open town hall meetings or be available to meet with constituents in the home district,” President Craigie pointed out. “The information we need to prepare ourselves is posted on the ARRL website. It’s not rocket science. It’s just telling someone briefly in plain English how Amateur Radio makes our communities better places to live and then asking for co-sponsorship of H.R. 1301.”

Others in the ARRL team visiting Capitol Hill were First Vice President Rick Roderick, K5UR; Second Vice President Jim Fenstermaker, K9JF; Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG, and ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD.”