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E1F08

COMMISSION RULES · Miscellaneous rules: external RF power amplifiers; prohibited communications; spread spectrum; auxiliary stations; Canadian amateurs operating in the US; special temporary authority

E1F08§ 97.113(c)E1F →

Which of the following types of amateur station communications are prohibited?

  1. ACommunications transmitted for hire or material compensation, except as otherwise provided in the rules
  2. BCommunications that have political content, except as allowed by the Fairness Doctrine
  3. CCommunications that have religious content
  4. DCommunications in a language other than English
Why Section 97.113(a)(2) and (c) bar amateurs from transmitting communications in which the operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications for hire or for material compensation, direct or indirect, unless a specific exception in the rules applies. The Amateur Service is defined as a noncommercial, self-training and technical hobby service, so business use of the spectrum is off limits. The rules carve out narrow exceptions, such as a teacher using amateur radio as part of classroom instruction and a club station control operator being paid to transmit bulletins or code practice.
Watch out Political or religious content is not restricted by Part 97 at all (the Fairness Doctrine was a broadcast rule and no longer exists), and non-English communications are allowed, though identification must be in English.
Ham radio is a hobby, not a business: no pay for transmitting. Content (politics, religion, language) is not regulated.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
47 CFR 97.113(c) Prohibited transmissions.

(a) No amateur station shall transmit:

(1) Communications specifically prohibited elsewhere in this part;

(2) Communications for hire or for material compensation, direct or indirect, paid or promised, except as otherwise provided in these rules;

(3) Communications in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer, with the following exceptions:

(i) A station licensee or station control operator may participate on behalf of an employer in an emergency preparedness or disaster readiness test or drill, limited to the duration and scope of such test or drill, and operational testing immediately prior to such test or drill. Tests or drills that are not government-sponsored are limited to a total time of one hour per week; except that no more than twice in any calendar year, they may be conducted for a period not to exceed 72 hours.

(ii) An amateur operator may notify other amateur operators of the availability for sale or trade of apparatus normally used in an amateur station, provided that such activity is not conducted on a regular basis.

(iii) A control operator may accept compensation as an incident of a teaching position during periods of time when an amateur station is used by that teacher as a part of classroom instruction at an educational institution.

(iv) The control operator of a club station may accept compensation for the periods of time when the station is transmitting telegraphy practice or information bulletins, provided that the station transmits such telegraphy practice and bulletins for at least 40 hours per week; schedules operations on at least six amateur service MF and HF bands using reasonable measures to maximize coverage; where the schedule of normal operating times and frequencies is published at least 30 days in advance of the actual transmissions; and where the control operator does not accept any direct or indirect compensation for any other service as a control operator.

(4) Music using a phone emission except as specifically provided elsewhere in this section; communications intended to facilitate a criminal act; messages encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning, except as otherwise provided herein; obscene or indecent words or language; or false or deceptive messages, signals or identification.

(5) Communications, on a regular basis, which could reasonably be furnished alternatively through other radio services.

(b) An amateur station shall not engage in any form of broadcasting, nor may an amateur station transmit one-way communications except as specifically provided in these rules; nor shall an amateur station engage in any activity related to program production or news gathering for broadcasting purposes, except that communications directly related to the immediate safety of human life or the protection of property may be provided by amateur stations to broadcasters for dissemination to the public where no other means of communication is reasonably available before or at the time of the event.

(c) No station shall retransmit programs or signals emanating from any type of radio station other than an amateur station, except propagation and weather forecast information intended for use by the general public and originated from United States Government stations, and communications, including incidental music, originating on United States Government frequencies between a manned spacecraft and its associated Earth stations. Prior approval for manned spacecraft communications retransmissions must be obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Such retransmissions must be for the exclusive use of amateur radio operators. Propagation, weather forecasts, and manned spacecraft communications retransmissions may not be conducted on a regular basis, but only occasionally, as an incident of normal amateur radio communications.

(d) No amateur station, except an auxiliary, repeater, or space station, may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur station.

eCFR text as of 1 Sep 2026 · read on ecfr.gov
← E1F07 All of E1F E1F09 →

The rest of E1F

  1. E1F01 On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?
  2. E1F02 What privileges are authorized in the US to persons holding an amateur service license granted by the governm…
  3. E1F03 Under what circumstances may a dealer sell an external RF power amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz …
  4. E1F04 Which of the following geographic descriptions approximately describes "Line A"?
  5. E1F05 Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the con…
  6. E1F06 Under what circumstances might the FCC issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to an amateur station?
  7. E1F07 When may an amateur station send a message to a business?
  8. E1F08 Which of the following types of amateur station communications are prohibited?
  9. E1F09 Which of the following cannot be transmitted over an amateur radio mesh network?
  10. E1F10 Who may be the control operator of an auxiliary station?
  11. E1F11 Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier…
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