PMR446 frequencies: channel chart for the UK and Europe

PMR radio meaning: what PMR446 is

PMR446 stands for Private Mobile Radio on 446 MHz.7 It is the walkie-talkie band anyone in the UK and Europe may use with no license: 446.0 to 446.2 MHz, shared by many users with no booking.12 Two radios talk directly on one channel, with no network, base station or repeater in between.2 One set of channels and rules covers the CEPT countries of Europe, and the UK applies the same plan through an Ofcom license exemption.24

PMR446 frequencies: the full channel chart

Analogue PMR446 has 16 channels. The ECC decision fixes the band, the 12.5 kHz spacing and the lowest frequency, 446.00625 MHz. Each next channel sits 12.5 kHz higher, up to 446.19375 MHz on channel 16.2 Motorola's Talkabout manuals list the same 16 frequencies under the same numbers 1-16.89

Type a frequency or a channel to see which service it belongs to and which radios in our database use it. "PMR 8" and 446.00625 are among the examples.

Most PMR446 radios add privacy codes on top of each channel: 38 CTCSS tones and 83 DCS codes on the Midland XT50 PRO and the Motorola T62.118 A code only filters what your radio plays. Two radios talk when the channel and the code match, and the channels and privacy codes page lines up codes across brands.

PMR446 rules: 0.5 W ERP and a built-in antenna

The same rules apply to every PMR446 radio, analogue or digital, in every CEPT country.2

Every radio has the same power and the same kind of antenna, so two PMR446 radios of any brand reach about as far. Latvia's regulator puts it at a few hundred meters in a town and up to a few kilometers in open country.19 CEPT is studying a rise to 1 W. Until the decision changes and each country adopts it, the limit stays 0.5 W.22

Latvia adds two rules: the factory channels must stay as they are, and a professional radio reprogrammed to 446 MHz does not count as a PMR446 radio.19

PMR channels 1-8 and 9-16

From 1998 to 2015 analogue PMR446 had 8 channels in 446.0-446.1 MHz, and the upper half, 446.1-446.2 MHz, was for digital radios.32 ECC/DEC/(15)05 opened all 16 channels to analogue radios, with 3 January 2016 as the preferred start date.2 Channels 1-8 today are the same frequencies as the old 8 channels, so an older 8-channel radio talks to a new one on 1-8.32

The decision asks analogue radios on 446.1-446.2 MHz, channels 9-16, to use the more robust receivers of ETSI TS 103 236. Analogue radios sold from 1 January 2017 use them on all 16 channels.2

Country by country:

• UK. Ofcom exempts analogue and digital PMR446 radios from licensing on 446.0-446.2 MHz.45
• Germany and France. PMR446 runs under a general assignment from the Bundesnetzagentur and a general authorization from Arcep.2021
• Latvia. No permit and no fee, with the factory channels unchanged.19
• Russia. Motorola's manuals say channels 9-16 are not allowed there, and its T82 Extreme is limited to 8 channels.8923

Many Motorola Talkabout radios start on channels 1-8 and unlock 9-16 in the menu. On the T92 H2O you press + and - together while the channel number blinks.9 If one radio in your group has 8 channels, stay on 1-8.

Business radios may number their channels differently. On the Motorola XT420 and XT460, channels 9-16 are set by default to the frequencies of channels 1-8 with code 754, so XT420 channel 9 is PMR446 channel 1 with a DCS code.10 Compare two radios by frequency and code, not by the number on the display.

Digital PMR446 frequencies: DMR446 and dPMR446

Digital PMR446 radios may use the whole 446.0-446.2 MHz band since 1 January 2018. They come in two standards with different channel widths.2

DMR446 channels sit on the same frequencies as the 16 analogue channels in the chart above. dPMR446 channels are half as wide, so there are 32 of them:2

Before 2018 digital radios used only the upper half of the band. Their lowest frequencies were 446.103125 MHz for dPMR446 and 446.10625 MHz for DMR446.2 So channel 1 on an older dPMR446 radio is dPMR446 channel 17 in today's plan, and channel 1 on an older DMR446 radio is today's channel 9.

DMR446 and dPMR446 send different signals. They cannot talk to each other, and neither talks to an analogue radio while it is in digital mode.6 Some digital radios also have an analogue mode: Kenwood says its ProTalk Digital radios work in both.16 More on the two kinds of signal in DMR vs analog radio.

PMR446 vs FRS: which radios can talk

FRS is the US license-free service. It has 22 channels near 462 and 467 MHz, 12.5 kHz wide, at 2 W ERP on channels 1-7 and 15-22 and 0.5 W on 8-14.17 PMR446 sits at 446.0-446.2 MHz, so a PMR446 radio and an FRS radio are on different frequencies and cannot hear each other.217 In the US, 446 MHz is part of the 70 cm amateur band, 420-450 MHz.18 Ofcom says US FRS sets cannot be used license-exempt in the UK.5

The compatibility tool checks any pair of radio types:

The US side, channel by channel, is on GMRS frequencies and FRS and GMRS walkie-talkies.

PMR446 radios in our database

Twelve radios in our database are PMR446 radios. All send at 0.5 W, and all but the Hytera are analogue.

The table below adds the makers' range and battery claims, water rating and price for the six consumer radios.

How to choose between them is on best PMR446 walkie-talkies, and work radios are on business two-way radios.

Questions

Sources

1. ECC/DEC/(15)05, harmonised 446.0-446.2 MHz range for PMR446 · CEPT
2. ECC/DEC/(15)05 decision text, channel plans · CEPT
3. ERC/DEC/(98)25, withdrawn 8-channel PMR446 arrangement · CEPT
4. UK Interface Requirement 2030 · Ofcom
5. Analogue and Digital PMR446 Information Sheet · Ofcom
6. ETSI EN 303 405, analogue and digital PMR446 equipment · ETSI
7. PMR446 · Wikipedia
8. Talkabout T62 owner's manual · Motorola Solutions
9. Talkabout T92 H2O user guide · Motorola Solutions
10. XT420 user guide, frequency and code charts · Motorola Solutions