Walkie-talkie license by region
Most walkie-talkies bought for a family, a trip or an event need no license. In Europe and the UK the free kind is called PMR446. In the US the free kind is called FRS, and a stronger kind, GMRS, needs a license that costs $35 and has no exam.12345
Which radios need a license?
Pick a country: every kind of radio is listed with whether you can use it freely, need a license, or may not use it there.
Pick your country in the checker to see every common radio service and whether it is free, needs a license or is not allowed there. The table below sums up the three services that most walkie-talkie packs are sold under.
| Where | Free to use | Needs a license | Not allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU and UK | PMR446, 0.5 W12 | Business radio on its own frequencies | FRS and GMRS radios from the US67 |
| US | FRS, 2 W38 | GMRS, $35 for 10 years, no exam45; business radio under Part 909 | PMR44610 |
| Canada | FRS and GMRS, both license-exempt1112 | Business radio | PMR44613 |
"License-free" means you need no license of your own. The radio itself must still be an approved model, and you must stay inside its power limit.
Walkie-talkie license in Germany
Walkie-talkies are legal in Germany. An ordinary PMR446 set needs no license, no registration and no fee. The Bundesnetzagentur, the German regulator, gives the right to use the 446.0-446.2 MHz band to everyone in a general assignment, valid until 31 December 2035.14
To stay inside the rule, buy a handheld PMR446 radio with a built-in antenna and a power of 0.5 W ERP. ERP is the power that actually leaves the antenna. The radio must also meet the German Radio Equipment Act, so buy a set sold for the EU market.14
Do not bring a US FRS or GMRS radio. Germany has no FRS service, and 460-470 MHz belongs to licensed business radio.7
Germany has two more free choices. One is a band at 149.0-149.1 MHz for handhelds, with 1 W ERP and no repeaters.15 The other is CB radio at 27 MHz, which the assignment limits to private, non-commercial use.16
PMR446 license in the EU and UK
PMR446 is the walkie-talkie service of Europe and the UK. All eight European countries in our license table let you use it without a license: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Poland, Latvia and the UK.12
The rules are the same everywhere. The radio is a handheld with a built-in antenna, it sends at 0.5 W ERP or less, and it cannot be a base station or a repeater.1 Business use is allowed in the UK and in Germany, so a shop or a building site can use PMR446 radios too.214
Leave the settings alone. Latvia says it plainly: the channels set at the factory must not be changed.17 Radios for this service are in PMR446 walkie-talkies.
FRS and GMRS license in the US and Canada
FRS is the free service. It has 22 channels, and no license is needed for personal or business use.3
Channels 1-7 and 15-22 allow 2 W ERP, and channels 8-14 allow 0.5 W ERP.8 The radio must be FCC-certified and keep a built-in antenna that you cannot remove.318
GMRS is the licensed service. You must be at least 18 years old, you take no exam, and the license costs $35 for 10 years.45 You apply online with the FCC.5
One GMRS license covers your immediate family: spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and in-laws.4 Everyone in that list can use your radios without a license of their own.
On the 462 and 467 MHz channels, a radio with more than 2 W is a GMRS radio, because 2 W is the FRS limit. A GMRS hand-held may send 5 W ERP on channels 1-7.819
Companies cannot get a new individual GMRS license. They use FRS or a business license.4
In Canada, FRS and GMRS use the same 22 channels and need no license. The US repeater channels are not available there.1112 More on the two services is in FRS and GMRS walkie-talkies.
Walkie-talkies that are not allowed
A walkie-talkie made for one region often has no legal channels in another. These are the cases to avoid.
- A US FRS or GMRS radio in the UK or Europe. Ofcom says US FRS sets cannot be used license-exempt in the UK and are likely to interfere with Home Office radio.6 Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy list no FRS service either, and in Germany, Spain and Italy the 462-467 MHz band is held for licensed business or network use.720212223
- A PMR446 radio in the US. The 446 MHz channels sit inside the US 70 cm amateur band, and the FCC rules have no PMR446 service.10 Canada has no license-exempt PMR446 service either.13
- A business radio on PMR446 channels. A PMR446 radio must have a built-in antenna, and a business radio with a screw-on antenna does not meet that rule.1 Latvia adds that radios which need a permit must not be reprogrammed to act as PMR446 sets.17
- A bigger antenna on an FRS radio. FRS radios must keep a non-removable antenna, and PMR446 radios must keep a built-in one.181
The two big free services also use different frequencies. PMR446 sits at 446 MHz and FRS at 462 and 467 MHz, so even two legal radios of these kinds cannot talk to each other. Compare them here, or read about all types of two-way radio.
Compare two radio types
Pick two kinds of radio: see how they differ and whether they can talk to each other.
Business radio license in the US, UK and Germany
Many small businesses never need one. FRS in the US and PMR446 in the UK and Germany allow business use.3214
You need a business license when you want more power or a frequency of your own. A business radio works on frequencies assigned to its user, and the license sets the power. In the US the license comes under Part 90, the FCC rules for business radio. Systems built on these licenses are covered in business two-way radio systems.
| Country | License | Cost | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | Part 90 Industrial/Business Pool license | $105 for a new license, $35 to renew24 | Companies, schools, clinics and clergy groups, for their own work; no exam9 |
| UK | Business Radio Simple UK Light license | £75 for 5 years25 | Handheld or mobile radios at 5 W ERP on 19 shared frequencies anywhere in the UK; no base stations25 |
| Germany | Individual frequency assignment for Betriebsfunk (business radio) | One-time fee plus a yearly charge; the amount depends on band, area and exclusivity26 | Radio networks for your own use; retail and logistics sites have a general assignment for in-house radio27 |
In the US, new business applications normally go through a frequency coordinator, an approved body that picks a free frequency for you and charges its own fee.28 In Germany, an assignment is usually handled by a regional office.26
Ham radio license
A ham (amateur) radio license is a personal license for hobby radio, and you pass an exam to get it. In the US the exam is given by volunteer examiners, there is no Morse test and the fee is $35.295 In the UK the license is free online, and the RSGB runs the exams.30
In Germany the Bundesnetzagentur runs the exams, and the entry class N covers 10 m, 2 m and 70 cm.31 Ham licenses do not allow business traffic.2930
Penalties for breaking walkie-talkie license rules
In the US the FCC has proposed fines for unlicensed GMRS use. It proposed $10,000 for a car dealership in 2011, and $30,000 in 2013 for a company and its parent that used a GMRS frequency for more than nine years.3233 Both were businesses, and a business cannot hold a GMRS license.3233
In Germany the user answers for breaking the rules, including corrective measures and fines for administrative offenses. Inspectors may enter a property where they suspect the source of interference.14
Questions
Do you need a license for a walkie-talkie?
Not for the common family radios: PMR446 in Europe and the UK and FRS in the US need none. GMRS in the US needs a license, and radios on business frequencies need one in the US, the UK and Germany.13492526
Do you need a license for an FRS radio?
No. FRS is authorized by rule in the US, for personal and business use, as long as the radio is certified and stays within 2 W ERP.38
How much is a GMRS license and do I need an exam?
The FCC charges $35 for 10 years, and there is no exam. You must be 18 or older, and the license covers your immediate family.45
Do I need a license for a walkie-talkie in the UK?
Not for PMR446, which is exempt under Ofcom's rules at 0.5 W ERP. A business that wants 5 W radios needs the Simple UK Light license, which costs £75 for 5 years.225
Are walkie-talkies legal in Germany?
Yes. PMR446 handhelds with a built-in antenna and 0.5 W ERP are free to use for everyone, without registration or fee, under the general assignment valid until 31 December 2035.14
Sources
- UK Interface Requirement 2030 · Ofcom
- Frequenzplan (August 2026) · Bundesnetzagentur
Show all 33 sources
- RSS-210 Issue 11, Annex E · ISED Canada
- SP 462/467 MHz, Issue 2 · ISED Canada
- Canadian Table of Frequency Allocations (2022) · ISED Canada
- Allgemeinzuteilung SRD, Vfg. 91/2025 · Bundesnetzagentur
- Allgemeinzuteilung 149 MHz handhelds, Vfg. 45/2025 · Bundesnetzagentur
- Allgemeinzuteilung CB radio, Vfg. 21/2021 · Bundesnetzagentur
- PMR446 · Elektroniskie sakari (Latvia)
- Portofoons en mobilofoons · Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur
- PNRF Tabella B, 450-470 MHz · MIMIT
- 47 CFR 1.1102, application fees · Cornell LII
- Betriebs- und Bündelfunk · Bundesnetzagentur
- Allgemeinzuteilungen, list of general assignments · Bundesnetzagentur
- Amateurfunk: exams, fees, AFuG and AFuV · Bundesnetzagentur
