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Current Information on Radio Licenses for U.S. Boats Traveling to Canada
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In April of this year, we received a question on radio licenses for U.S. boats traveling in Canada. (To read the question and our response, click here.) Today, reader Wade Griffith asks if there has been any change in the requirements. Here is the question and our response:
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August 2, 2001
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Has there been any change in the Canadian requirements for ship station licenses and/or operator permits for U.S. pleasure boats? Many thanks.
--Wade A. Griffith
M/V Maxum Force
Spokane, Wash.
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Response
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Radio license requirements remain as outlined on page 23 of the 2001 Waggoner. For travel between the U.S. and Canada you will need an Individual Operator Permit for at least one adult on the boat. The cost is $50.
Technically speaking, a station license also is required for the boat, even though no station license is required for U.S. vessels operating in U.S. waters, and even though Canada doesn't require station licenses for its own small pleasure craft. A station license costs $120, and lasts for 10 years. The above applies to pleasure craft 65 feet l.o.a. and under. Pleasure craft over 65 feet and all commercial vessels need station licenses, even for operation within the U.S.
Those are the regs, now the reality about station licenses. There is supposed to be a reciprocity agreement, wherein small pleasure craft can travel between the U.S. and Canada without need for station licenses. Canada has signed its side of the agreement, but for bureaucratic reasons the U.S. has not signed its side. Canada does not enforce U.S. regulations, and no agency in the U.S. is looking at pleasure craft returning from Canada to see if they have station licenses. Draw your own conclusions.
There are no conclusions to be drawn about Individual Operator Permits, however. Even though they are not required within the U.S., Individual Operator Permits are absolutely required for foreign travel. This is an international convention, and there are no reciprocity agreements waiving the requirement. If you can't find an application locally, contact the FCC at 1-888-5322 and they will send an application to you.
--Bob Hale
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