Amateur Extra License Exam Practice

The top US amateur radio license, with every amateur privilege. Practice with the official question pool until you know every answer.

Start practicing · Topic Study · Sample questions

What's on the Exam

  1. Commission rules (6 questions): Frequency privileges; Station restrictions and special operations; Automatic and remote control; Amateur Space and Earth stations; Volunteer examiner program; Miscellaneous rules.
  2. Operating procedures (5 questions): Amateur radio in space; Television practices; Contest and DX operating; Operating methods.
  3. Radio wave propagation (3 questions): Electromagnetic Waves and Specialized Propagation; Transequatorial propagation; Propagation prediction and reporting.
  4. Amateur practices (5 questions): Test equipment; Measurement technique and limitations; Receiver performance; Receiver performance characteristics; Noise and interference.
  5. Electrical principles (4 questions): Resonance and Q; Time constants and phase relationships; Coordinate systems and phasors in electronics; RF effects in components and circuits.
  6. Circuit components (6 questions): Semiconductor materials and devices; Diodes; Digital ICs; Inductors and piezoelectricity; Semiconductor materials and packages for RF use; Electro-optical technology.
  7. Practical circuits (8 questions): Digital circuits; Amplifiers; Filters and matching networks; Power supplies and voltage regulators; Modulation and demodulation; Software defined radio fundamentals; Operational amplifiers; Oscillators and signal sources.
  8. Signals and emissions (4 questions): Fourier analysis; Modulation and demodulation; Digital signals; Keying defects and overmodulation of digital signals.
  9. Antennas and transmission lines (8 questions): Basic antenna parameters; Antenna patterns and designs; Practical wire antennas; Yagi antennas; Impedance matching; Transmission lines; The Smith chart; Receiving antennas.
  10. Safety (1 question): Safety.

How the Exam Works

Format
50 multiple-choice questions, one from each group of the Amateur Extra question pool. You pass with 37 correct (74%).
Questions
Every question comes word for word from the public Amateur Extra pool (599 questions, in use from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028). The answers do too, though their order can change.
Where
At an exam session run by volunteer examiners, in person or online with video supervision.
Cost
The session fee is usually $15 or less. Upgrading costs nothing at the FCC: its $35 fee is only for a new license.
Results
Graded at the session, so you know right away. The FCC then issues your license, valid for ten years.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the Amateur Extra exam?

50 multiple-choice questions, one from each of the 50 groups in the Amateur Extra pool. You need 37 correct to pass (74%).

Where do the questions come from?

From the Amateur Extra question pool, which the NCVEC Question Pool Committee publishes for anyone to use. Every exam question and its answers are taken from it word for word. The current pool has 599 questions, in use from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028.

Do I need a General license first?

You need to have passed the Technician and General exams (Elements 2 and 3) to be granted Amateur Extra, but you can take them at the same session.

Is there a Morse code test?

No. The FCC dropped Morse code testing for every license class in February 2007.

Ready to start?

Take a practice exam: one question from each group of the pool, just like the real thing.