Growth & Application Volume
Historical intake of new GMRS license applications (purpose = NE) across 31 years from 1996 to present.
All-Time Peak Year observed
108,322
2024 Highest single-year volume on record
Current Year (YTD) observed
66,044
2026 Same period last year: 57,645
Annual Application Volume (1996–2026)
Complete year-by-year new license application receipts.
| Year | Applications Received | Historical Context & Milestones |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 66,044 | YTD / Partial |
| 2025 | 68,960 | Outage FCC ULS offline during the federal government shutdown beginning 2025-10-01. October has no receipts at all; November is partially recovered and is published as observed. |
| 2024 | 108,322 | All-Time High All-time annual volume record (108,322 new applications) |
| 2023 | 71,089 | |
| 2022 | 70,099 | FCC application fee lowered to $35 (~34% sustained volume increase) |
| 2021 | 49,984 | |
| 2020 | 34,030 | Post-lockdown communications surge |
| 2019 | 15,207 | |
| 2018 | 12,320 | |
| 2017 | 10,700 | Part 95 Reform enacted (10-yr license terms) |
| 2016 | 9,109 | |
| 2015 | 7,053 | |
| 2014 | 6,772 | |
| 2013 | 6,100 | |
| 2012 | 5,797 | |
| 2011 | 5,507 | |
| 2010 | 5,814 | |
| 2009 | 6,776 | |
| 2008 | 7,951 | |
| 2007 | 11,907 | |
| 2006 | 15,665 | |
| 2005 | 17,912 | |
| 2004 | 22,612 | |
| 2003 | 25,875 | Early electronic ULS expansion (>25k filings) |
| 2002 | 15,363 | |
| 2001 | 3,447 | |
| 2000 | 1,375 | |
| 1999 | 1,009 | ULS full computerized rollout (WP* prefix era) |
| 1998 | 796 | |
| 1997 | 1,340 | |
| 1996 | 1,479 | Earliest digital ULS application records |
Recent Monthly Intake (Last 36 Months)
Month-by-month filings.
| Month | New Applications | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11 | 3,019 | Month in progress |
| 2026-10 | 6,717 | |
| 2026-09 | 5,386 | |
| 2026-08 | 6,149 | |
| 2026-07 | 5,532 | |
| 2026-06 | 6,175 | |
| 2026-05 | 5,495 | |
| 2026-04 | 6,049 | |
| 2026-03 | 7,465 | |
| 2026-02 | 6,325 | |
| 2026-01 | 7,732 | |
| 2025-12 | 7,071 | |
| 2025-11 | 4,244 | |
| 2025-10 | — | Upstream outage |
| 2025-09 | 5,923 | |
| 2025-08 | 5,905 | |
| 2025-07 | 6,820 | |
| 2025-06 | 6,209 | |
| 2025-05 | 5,563 | |
| 2025-04 | 6,004 | |
| 2025-03 | 6,450 | |
| 2025-02 | 6,553 | |
| 2025-01 | 8,218 | |
| 2024-12 | 7,351 | |
| 2024-11 | 7,612 | |
| 2024-10 | 13,577 | |
| 2024-09 | 7,139 | |
| 2024-08 | 7,333 | |
| 2024-07 | 7,854 | |
| 2024-06 | 6,638 | |
| 2024-05 | 7,542 | |
| 2024-04 | 10,410 | |
| 2024-03 | 11,761 | |
| 2024-02 | 11,074 | |
| 2024-01 | 10,031 | |
| 2023-12 | 6,459 |
Active Licenses, Weekly
Active licenses in each weekly FCC snapshot. The record starts with the first archived weekly file, 2026-09-27; nothing earlier was kept.
| Snapshot | Active Licenses |
|---|---|
| 2026-11-01 | 465,268 |
| 2026-10-25 | 463,504 |
| 2026-10-18 | 462,245 |
| 2026-10-11 | 460,770 |
| 2026-10-04 | 459,435 |
| 2026-09-27 | 458,084 |
active licences in each weekly FCC snapshot, from the first archived weekly file (2026-09-27); nothing is recorded before it.