Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service

Lore & Background

The concept of a standby Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service was developed in 1952 as a result of input from the American Radio Relay League and the Department of the Army's Office of Civil Defense. This was prompted by the experience of World War II, during which the Amateur Radio Service was silenced and a new War Emergency Radio Service (WERS) had to be created from scratch, a process that took six months. The resulting standby RACES service was designed to provide a quicker and smoother transition in the event the President ever needed to silence the regular Amateur Radio Service again when invoking the War Powers Act of 1941. Despite many wars involving the United States since the enactment of the rules on August 15, 1952, this has never happened.

FCC licensed amateur radio operators may choose to enroll in RACES by registering their amateur radio license and station with the appropriate emergency management official, and may receive credentials according to the emergency management agency's policies. RACES stations are only activated by the state, county, or local emergency management authority to operate on their behalf. Only amateur radio stations previously registered with state and local governments can be activated. Other amateur radio operations might be suspended, and operations under RACES rules might be restricted to certain frequencies within the amateur radio bands. If registered RACES stations conduct on-air training not at the request or direction of the emergency management official, those stations are operating in the amateur radio service, not RACES.

In the past, actual RACES station licenses were issued to civil defense organizations. To prevent abuse by officials who were not licensed amateur radio operators, limitations on non-emergency operation and stations that might be contacted were incorporated into Part 97.407. Such RACES station licenses are no longer issued; any operations under RACES rules now use licensed amateur radio operators as control operators. In daily practice, most amateur radio operators enrolled with their local government for possible RACES operations are also members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), organized by the American Radio Relay League. ARES provides emergency communications in the conventional Amateur Radio Service without the need for an emergency declaration from the government or direction from the emergency management official.

Reader's Guide

RACES holds significance as a legally distinct emergency communications framework within the amateur radio service, authorized under FCC Part 97.407. Its legacy stems from the lessons of World War II, when the Amateur Radio Service was silenced and a new War Emergency Radio Service had to be created from scratch, taking six months. The 1952 creation of RACES as a standby service aimed to avoid such delays in future national emergencies. Although the President has never invoked the War Powers Act to silence amateur radio since the rules were enacted, RACES has been used to supplement communications during a wide variety of emergencies, including natural disasters, technological disasters, nuclear accidents, nuclear attack, terrorist incidents, and bomb threats. The service requires operators to register with emergency management agencies and be activated by them, distinguishing it from the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), which operates without such government direction. The historical issuance of RACES station licenses to civil defense organizations has ended, with operations now relying on licensed amateur radio operators as control operators. In practice, many RACES-enrolled operators also participate in ARES, reflecting overlapping but distinct roles in emergency communications.

Did You Know?

• The service was designed to provide a quicker transition than the six months it took to create the War Emergency Radio Service during World War II.
• RACES stations are only activated by state, county, or local emergency management authorities.
• RACES station licenses for civil defense organizations are no longer issued; operations now use licensed amateur radio operators as control operators.