For US student pilots

Do you need a radio license to fly a plane in the US?

For flights inside the United States, no. The FCC says no Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit is required to operate VHF radio equipment on board an aircraft when that aircraft is flown domestically. Unlike the UK, where pilots hold a separate radio license, a US pilot certificate is all you need to talk to ATC at home.

The permit does matter the moment you fly or communicate internationally, and the FAA has its own expectations of your radio work that are nothing to do with the FCC. Here is where the line falls.

When you do need an FCC permit

For an aircraft flying or communicating internationally, the FCC requires at least one person on board to hold a Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit, and the aircraft itself needs an aircraft radio station license. A trip to Canada, Mexico or the Bahamas counts.

The permit is applied for on FCC Form 605. There is no test, and once issued it is valid for your lifetime. The FCC charges a fee for the application; check the current figure on fcc.gov when you apply.

What the FAA expects instead

The FAA does not license your voice. It expects you to use the standard phraseology in the Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapter 4 Section 2, “Radio Communications Phraseology and Techniques”, and the Pilot/Controller Glossary. Your radio work is judged in two places: by your examiner on the practical test (the checkride), and by every controller you talk to afterwards.

There is one more date to watch. Under 14 CFR 61.56 you may not act as pilot in command unless you have completed a flight review within the preceding 24 calendar months, with at least an hour of ground training and an hour of flight training. That review is the natural moment to get rusty radio work back up to standard; see the rusty pilot radio refresher.

So what do you actually need before you key the mic?

For a student pilot flying in the US: nothing on paper beyond your training. What you need is the skill: the alphabet and numbers spoken the AIM's way, the shape of an initial call, readbacks, and the calm to say it when the frequency is busy. That is a practice problem, not a paperwork one.

Sources: FCC, Aircraft Stations; eCFR, 14 CFR 61.56; FAA, AIM 4-2. Checked October 8, 2026. Rules change; the FCC and FAA pages are the authority.

Who you are talking to — ground station names

Call a facility by its name and its type. [AIM 4-2-6, TBL 4-2-1]

(Name) Ground: Ground control in the tower — taxi, before you move on the movement area.
(Name) Tower: The airport traffic control tower — runway, takeoff, landing, the pattern.
(Name) Clearance Delivery: IFR clearances at busier airports.
(Name) Approach / Departure: Radar approach control — VFR flight following, Class B and C airspace, sequencing to the tower.
(Name) Center: The air route traffic control center — en route, flight following away from a terminal area.
(Name) Radio: A Flight Service Station — weather, flight plans, in Alaska airport advisories.
(Name) UNICOM: The non-government station at an airport — wind and runway on request.
(Name) traffic: Not a station: the self-announce address on a CTAF at an airport with no operating tower. [AIM 4-1-9]

Initial contact

The first call to a facility, or to a new controller within it, has a fixed shape. [AIM 4-2-3 a 1]

1. Facility: “Columbia Ground”, “Miami Center”…
2. Your full identification: Type and registration, no “N”.
3. Position: On the airport surface, always. In the air, position and altitude help the controller — include them if the frequency is not busy.
4. The request: Or the type of message to follow, if it is long.
5. “Over”: Only if required — rarely on VHF.

Columbia Ground, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, south ramp with Information Charlie, request taxi, VFR to Memphis.

Miami Center, Baron Five Six Three Hotel, request VFR traffic advisories.

Saying “Information (letter) received” on the first call saves the controller reading you the weather. Do not overload a busy controller: name, identification, “request flight following”, then details when asked. [AIM 4-2-3 a 3]

There is no “with you”, no “checking in”, and no “traffic in the area, please advise”. [AIM 4-2-1 c, 4-1-9 g 1]

Acknowledging & reading back

Acknowledge every call-up and clearance with your identification — at the start or the end — and one of the standard words. [AIM 4-2-3 c]

Wilco: Received, understood, will comply. [P/CG]
Roger: Received all of your last transmission. Never an answer to a yes/no question. [P/CG]
Affirmative / Negative: Yes / No. [P/CG]
Unable: Cannot comply with the instruction. Say what you can do instead. [P/CG]
Say again: Repeat — “say again all after (fix)”. [P/CG]
Stand by: A pause, not an approval or a denial. Call again if the wait is long. [P/CG]

What must be read back

Runway assignments: The runway, including left/right/center, in the first readback of a taxi, departure or landing clearance. [AIM 4-4-7 b 4]
Hold-short instructions: Word for word. ATC is required to obtain this readback. [AIM 4-3-18 a 9, 10]
Any clearance to enter a runway: Line up and wait, cross runway (number), cleared for takeoff. [AIM 4-3-18 a 9]
Altitudes, vectors, altitude restrictions: In the sequence given, with your identification. [AIM 4-4-7 b 2]
Squawk codes and frequency changes: Read back the code; acknowledge the frequency. [AIM 4-2-3 d]
Not read back: Wind, traffic information, weather — acknowledged, never required.

November Five Charlie Tango, roger, cleared to land runway nine left.

Runway three six left, taxi via Alpha, hold short of taxiway Charlie, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot.

The skill is the thing. Practice it.

TowerTalk puts you on frequency with an AI controller at your own airport and grades every call against the AIM, so you find out what a controller would have noticed while nobody is listening.

Try the free radio check Free radio check

Study aid, written in our own words from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Change 3, 7/9/26) and the Pilot/Controller Glossary, with paragraph references so you can check each point. Last reviewed October 8, 2026; awaiting review by a US flight instructor. It does not reproduce those documents and is not a substitute for them — always defer to the AIM, the current FAA publications, your instructor and your examiner. TowerTalk is not approved or endorsed by the FAA.