Summary

The US government entered a spending shutdown today, furloughing non-essential workers and suspending programs that have payroll or expenses covered by FY25. The FCC in particular has addressed the situation with this public notice, indicating that a few systems are operational, but most are shuttered. As we know, FCC systems are pretty labyrinthine, so the big question for amateur is, “what works, and what doesn’t?”

According to the FCC Public Notice:

During a suspension of normal operations some public facing filing systems and databases will remain available while others will not, as per the following list:

• (1) … the Daily Digest, the Commission Online Registration System (CORES),… will remain available;
• (2) …
• (3) …

All other Commission electronic filing and database systems will be unavailable to the public until normal agency operations resume.

ULS, EBF, Fee Filer, and CORES are the 4 critical systems required for amateur license issuance. Depending on the specifics of what does or does not work about CORES will affect exam registration / issuance, while the others control application submission and invoice payment.

ULS

The Universal Licensing System (ULS) has been taken offline. Any attempts to use its functionality beyond home screen display result in being redirected to the public notice page.

License & Application Search

Offline; it is not currently possible to authoritatively validate any ULS licenses or applications - current or past. QRZ, HamCall, or other callbook services remain functional, since they do not interface with ULS in realtime, but those are not the official record of licensing in the United States - proceed with a grain of salt (as always).

Account Login

Account login is disabled, so it is not currently possible to access any protected areas of ULS.

Downloading Official License Copies

Without being able to log in to access License Manager, it is not currently possible to download a current Official Copy of your Amateur Radio license.

Submitting applications interactively

Without being able to log in to ULS, it is not possible to submit a license modification for items such as license renewal, name change, address change, email update, etc.

Daily Downloads

The FCC Public Access Files were generated overnight on Tuesday, 9/30/25. With no changes ULS, it is unlikely they will generate again until the FCC resumes normal working operations.

CORES

CORES is the FCC system that allows for FRN management - including tax name changes and issuance of new FRNs. An FRN is required for application submission; VEs have not been allowed to accept a Social Security or other TIN in several years.

Account Login

Account creation and login appear to function; however, this is a currently unsupported operation, so the FCC HelpDesk will not be able to assist at this time if anything goes wrong. UPDATE 10/2/2025 - Account creation redirects to the shutdown notice; login continues to work for existing accounts.

FRN Registration

Registering a new FRN appears to function; however, this is also a currently unsupported operation, so the FCC HelpDesk will not be able to assist at this time if anything goes wrong.

Electronic Batch Filing (EBF)

EBF is the system that VECs use to submit applications to the FCC for new licenses, upgrades, renewals, or other items. This system is currently turned off and non-functional, so no applications may be submitted to the FCC at this time.

Fee Filer

Fee Filer is the FCC system that coordinates issuing invoices and accepting payments. It is currently turned off and non-functional, so no invoices can be paid. This means that if you have a submitted application requiring submission of an application fee, you cannot do so until the FCC resumes normal working operations. See the public notice for deadline guidance - however, you should consider it likely that you will need to contact your testing team to have them resubmit your application.

Can I still test with a VE team?

Yes, maybe, probably - generally speaking, there is no real-time FCC dependence for administering exams. If you have an existing FRN or have successfully registered for a new one, a VE team is more than capable of giving an exam and providing a CSCE. However, you will not be able to receive a new license or have an upgrade reflect in ULS until EBF is operating under normal operations. For new licenses, a CSCE does not convey operating privileges, so you will not be able to operate on your own until such a time as the new license is issued. Upgrades are, of course, able to immediately use their new operating privileges by appending the appropriate identifier (/KT, /AG, /AE) to their callsign when identifying. That said, how a given VE team is handling testing during the down period is up to the specific team; check with your local contacts to be sure.