May 3, 2023, was the end of the transition period for the new FCC rules governing RF exposure which eliminated previous station evaluation exemptions.

Licensees have enjoyed a 2 year grace period during which they could have performed these evaluations and made any needed adjustments to their stations.

RF exposure evaluation of ALL Amateur Radio stations—and compliance reassessment subsequent to station modifications which could affect exposure—is now mandatory.

As detailed in a May 2023 QST article by Greg Lapin, N9GL, the rules now require amateur radio operators to perform station evaluations. The Amateur Radio Service is no longer categorically excluded from certain aspects of the RF exposure rules, and licensees can no longer avoid performing an exposure assessment simply because they are transmitting below a given power level.

The ARRL website features an RF Exposure landing page with resources, such as an RF exposure calculator, the entire RF Safety section from the 100th Edition of the ARRL The Handbook, a video explaining the topic, FAQs about the subject, and more. These tools and resources are available to the public without an ARRL membership or website account. ¹

Anyone who has taken an exam or renewed their license in the last few years has had to agree to the following statement (either on an NCVEC form 605 or was asked a question on the FCC website):

I have read and WILL COMPLY with Section 97.13(c) of the Commission’s Rules regarding RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) RADIATION SAFETY and the amateur service section of OST/OET Bulletin Number 65 (OET65 addresses evaluating RF compliance).

Other RF Exposure related resources and discussions available on-line include:

• KA0LDG’s RF Exposure Evaluation presentaion
• N7OH RF Exposure Calculator - this calculator allows radio operators to conduct multi-band exposure calculations; simplifies calculations for stations with multiple radios, feedlines and antennas; and stores station data as browser cookies to assist with periodic reassessments. A browser which supports HTML5 is required to use this calculator; JavaScript must be enabled.
• ARRL Helps Radio Amateurs Comply with New RF Exposure Evaluation Rules (on the Amateur Radio subreddit).
• FCC Exposure Rules Soon to Affect Every US Radio Amateur (on the Amateur Radio subreddit).

Two years ago KA0LDG made a presentation titled RF Exposure Evaluation for Amateur Radio Operators (PDF and Powerpoint versions are available in the Training and Education | Presentations folder on the RRRA Groupware server) in anticipation of the updated FCC RF exposure rules.

This week ARRL reports in ARRL General Bulletin ARLB011 (2021) and the Updated Radio Frequency Exposure Rules Become Effective on May 3 News story:

The FCC has announced that rule changes detailed in a lengthy 2019 Report and Order governing RF exposure standards go into effect on May 3, 2021. The new rules do not change existing RF exposure (RFE) limits but do require that stations in all services, including amateur radio, be evaluated against existing limits, unless they are exempted. For stations already in place, that evaluation must be completed by May 3, 2023. After May 3 of this year, any new station, or any existing station modified in a way that’s likely to change its RFE profile—such as different antenna or placement or greater power—will need to conduct an evaluation by the date of activation or change. ¹

According to Greg Lapin, N9GL, chair of the ARRL RF Safety Committee and a member of the FCC Technological Advisory Council (TAC):

“For amateurs, the major difference is the removal of the categorical exclusion … which means that every ham will be required to perform some sort of calculation, either to determine if they qualify for an exemption or must perform a full-fledged exposure assessment. For hams who previously performed exposure assessments on their stations, there is nothing more to do.” ²

Amateur Radio operators—especially those who have never conducted an RF exposure evaluation of their station—are encouraged to review the ARRL News Updated Radio Frequency Exposure Rules Become Effective on May 3 article and visit the ARRL RF Exposure page for more information and resources.

RF Exposure Calculators

• VP9KF Amateur Radio RF Exposure Calculator
• N7OH RF Exposure Calculator - HTML5 calculator with local storage