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ARRL VE Newsletter March 2021 ==================================================================

Inside this VE E-Newsletter:

$35 Application Fee – does NOT take effect yet

FRNs at Exam Sessions

Remote Video-supervised Online Examinations

Session Documents Upload Webpage

Resources For VEs

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$35 FCC application fee in the Federal Register - does NOT take
effect yet.

The final rule change was published in the Federal Register today
March 19, 2021:

Federal Register - schedule-of-application-fees-of-the-commissions-rules

Even though the document has an effective date of April 19, the
Amateur Radio fees will not yet be required.

The fee changes outlined in this order will not take effect until
the requisite notice has been provided to Congress, the FCC's
information technology systems and internal procedures have been
updated, and the Commission publishes notice(s) in the Federal
Register announcing the effective date. This will most likely be
in the summer.

The following application types will be subjected to the fee when
the rule finally takes effect.

New, Modification (Upgrade and Sequential call sign change),
Renewal, and Vanity callsign requests will be subjected to the
$35 application fee. There will be no fee for Administrative
Updates (email or mailing address changes, name changes).

The instructions on the FCC Fee Schedule are for the applicant
to pay application fees directly to FCC via the License Manager
System or Fee Filer System. VECs and VE teams will not have to
collect the $35 fee at the session.

The ARRL VEC exam fee will remain at $15.

When the FCC application fee eventually takes effect, new and
upgrade applicants will pay the $15 exam session fee to the VE
team as usual, and then pay the $35 application fee directly
to the FCC.

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FRNs Only at Exam Sessions

The FCC has indicated VECs/VE teams should no longer be accepting
social security numbers at exam sessions.

Examinees should register in the FCC CORES registration system and
receive an FRN before exam day.

FCC CORES User Account and Registration:

https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do

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Remotely administered Online Examinations

The remote video exam session is conducted using an online video
conferencing platform and a web-based examination system with
on-screen tests.

ARRL VE teams must meet the following criteria and adhere to the
following rules/policies to participate in the Remote video
sessions program. Long-standing, well established teams with a
history of adhering to the highest degree of examination integrity,
and that consistently submit accurate exam documents consistent
with ARRL VEC standards will be selected to participate.

Time and experience with in-person exam sessions is invaluable when transitioning to video-supervised online exam sessions.

Team leader experience at in-person sessions and/or training with
an established team as a team leader for video sessions is required.

VE teams have been using the Exam.Tools online exams for the remote
video sessions. Interested ARRL VE team leaders must contact the VEC
department (VEC@arrl.org) to receive the remote video sessions
procedures and ExamTools instructions.

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Session Documents Upload Webpage

The US Postal Service has been slow and unreliable with moving mail
and packages through their system. Some exam session packages have
been unexpectedly delayed.

Uploading completed sessions as a PDF file (scanned documents) via
the web allows for quicker processing to FCC. Please contact the VEC
department (VEC@arrl.org) for the information on e-filing exam
session documents through our secure upload page. Authorized VEs
will be sent the upload page URL which is hidden from the public.

The VE team must only accept FRNs (Federal Registration Numbers)
at the session. Social security numbers are not permitted on any
exam documents or session files that are uploaded. Candidates will
have to be registered in the FCC system and have FRNs already issued.
Refer to the FRNs at Exam Sessions item above for the examinee
registration instructions.

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Resources for ARRL VEs

The ARRL VEC VE Resources page (www.arrl.org/resources-for-ves) offers information you will need to help conduct exam session business. Our
support page offers easy access to exam forms and session information,
online exams and remote video sessions, question pools, FCC Rules,
basic qualification question information, and much more!

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The ARRL VEC Staff is Ready to Serve You

As always, the dedicated VEC staff are here to answer any questions
you may have.

ARRL VEC: 1-860-594-0300
Address: ARRL VEC, 225 Main St, Newington CT 06111
Email: VEC@arrl.org
Web: www.arrl.org/volunteer-examiners
ARRL VEC Fax: 860-594-0339

Maria Somma, AB1FM, Manager
Amanda Grimaldi, N1NHL, Assistant Manager
Stephanie Borden W2MAU, Service Representative
Ann Brinius, Service Representative
Lisa Riendeau, Service Representative
Joshua Nance, Service Representative

We thank you for your efforts and interest in the ARRL VEC program.

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ARRL VEC VE Newsletter is published by the
American Radio Relay League, Inc. - the national association for
Amateur Radio (R).

Material from the ARRL VE E-Newsletter may be republished or reproduced
in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit
must be given to The American Radio Relay League VEC.

ARRL VEC
225 Main Street
Newington CT 06111 USA

Sincerely,
Maria Somma, AB1FM - VEC Manager / Editor
ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio (R)
225 Main Street
Newington, CT 06111 USA
msomma@arrl.org

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