when does your callsign show up in uls

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Feb 22, 2017
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its been 10 days since the test and i still have not seen it i called the fcc and they said the ve hasnt sent the application is this normal and when should i expect it. cant wait to start transmitting lol
 

n5ims

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Depends on several factors. Your initial license will take longer since there are more steps required, but upgrades can be fairly quick. This is because initially they must assign you an FRN and get your account established in the ULS system for your first license, but that task has already been done for upgrades so those changes can be made fairly quickly.

It will also take longer for things to post during holidays and especially during governmental shutdowns, since nothing basically can happen during them. Weekends also can add a brief delay.

The biggest variable is the team that handles your testing. The ability to electronically file the results of their testing session is not wide spread so in many cases the results and documentation must be sent to the VEC (the organization that processes results for the VEs that handle the testing sessions) by physically mailing them in (yep, using snail mail). This can add lots of time to the process. If your VEC allows electronic filing and your team has been certified to file electronically, the process can be quite quick.

All of this assumes that there was no issue with your paperwork. If there is any problem with the necessary form(s) there may be a significant delay in processing since the paperwork must be returned, the error corrected, and the paperwork returned for reprocessing. This process is often pretty long since many VEs aren't used to having things returned to them for corrections and may not check for returns on a regular basis.

You can probably assume that your initial license will be posted in a week or two on average. Upgrades will be slightly shorter, but still may take time due to the time to mail the paperwork. If you're lucky and use a team that can electronically file, it could be quite quick. Just a few days for the initial license and perhaps just a single day for upgrades.

For example, the testing team I did my last upgrade with was one of the first to be certified for electronic filing. They handle multiple testing sessions each month and are local to the VEC's main office so they were able to quickly and easily work through any issues hammering down the electronic filing process. I took my upgrade test and got my results around 7 PM on a Thursday. My results were in the ULS when I first checked around 3 PM on Friday (it might have been there much earlier, but since I didn't check earlier I have no way of knowing). For me, it was 20 hours or less from the end of my test to my upgrade being in the FCC ULS system.
 

AE7BF

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Aug 5, 2016
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Chiloquin, OR
N5IMS illustrated this quite well but to help reinforce some of that I'll add my own experience.

My initial license took 12 days. The VEC that administered this test uses all paper so it had to be sent in and it can take a day or so to put everything together.

My general upgrade I took with a different VEC (because they had the next session available) and they file electronically I believe. The upgrade took 4 days to post.

My extra upgrade was just before the Christmas holiday with the same VEC that I took my inital test through and that took 20 days to post. Part of that was holiday, part I think was weather getting the VEC package back to Connecticut where they were having bad weather.

At any rate it can take a couple weeks but congrats on passing the test!
 

k6cpo

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Dec 30, 2013
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San Diego, CA
Our VEC prides themselves on fast turnaround, especially on new licensees. We can administer an exam on Saturday and the license will be in the database by the time the candidate gets out of bed Monday morning.

Sometimes, things get delayed through no fault of the VE team or VEC. once the original license is entered in the ULS, the exact name and address in the database is what the FCC goes by. If someone getting an upgrade puts their name down as John Smith when the ULS says John A. Smith, the upgrade will be rejected. If the address on the upgrade paperwork is different than the ULS record and the address change block on the paperwork is NOT checked, the upgrade will be rejected.

This is something to remember when taking an upgrade examination. Check your ULS record carefully and make sure the information on the application (Form 605) and in the ULS match.
 

Johnson1522

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Jan 11, 2016
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Location
Oxford, NC
Mine was just under two weeks. I took the test on Feb 11 and was granted a license on the 24th. One simple thing to remember is to use your last name first if you're searching the database by name. My license had been granted two days before I realized I should have been searching "Last, First".
 
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