Six life-cycle events the FCC doesn’t expose.
The public ULS dump tells you who has a license. It doesn’t tell you who just got one, who upgraded, who moved into your county, or whose ticket is about to expire. We compute all of that — every Monday — so you can reach the right ham at the right moment.
Computed weekly. Not in the raw FCC data.
Every license is scanned against its full history. When a callsign crosses one of these thresholds, we flag it so your next outreach list writes itself.
Just got their license
Congratulate the newest Technicians in your county before anyone else does. The single biggest recruitment moment.
Moved up a class
General and Extra upgrades are the hams hungry for HF gear, mentoring, and contesting clubs.
Picked a vanity callsign
A vanity call means they care. They are leaning in — the right moment to invite them to a club night.
Just moved into the area
A licensed ham relocating to your county is an instant-add to the local roster. Welcome them first.
License expires within 6 months
Nudge them through the renewal so the club doesn’t silently lose a member to an expired ticket.
Just renewed for ten more years
A renewal signals long-term commitment. Loop them into volunteer roles, VE sessions, or field-day teams.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find new ham radio licensees in my county or area?
Create a free account and verify your email, then open Recruitment and search by ZIP code, city and state, or latitude/longitude within a 5 to 50 mile radius. Results appear on a map and in a table, flagged with each license’s recent events — new hams, upgrades, vanity calls, move-ins, renewals, and upcoming expirations.
Where does the license data come from, and how often is it updated?
All license data comes from the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public weekly amateur radio license database. Every Monday our pipeline downloads the latest file, geocodes addresses with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder, and recomputes each license’s events from its full FCC history.
What do the six license events mean?
New Ham: newly licensed. Upgraded: moved up to a higher operator class, such as Technician to General. Vanity CS: switched to a vanity call sign. Addr Change: updated their FCC address, often a move into your area. Renewed: renewed their license for another ten-year term. Exp Soon: license expires within about six months. None of these flags are in the raw FCC data — we compute them from each license’s history.
Who is Ham Recruiter for?
Amateur radio clubs recruiting new members, ham radio retailers reaching newly licensed and upgraded operators, and license instructors and volunteer examiner (VE) teams following up with recent and soon-to-expire licensees.
Is Ham Recruiter free?
Creating an account is free, and search, CSV export, and the monthly scheduled email are available once your email is verified.
How do I get the lists — CSV or email?
Two ways. Export any Recruitment search as a CSV, up to 250 rows per export. Save a schedule — a ZIP code or latitude/longitude center, a 5 to 25 mile radius, and the events you care about — and we email you a CSV of matching hams on the 1st of every month.
How is licensee contact information handled?
Names and mailing addresses come from public FCC license records. They are shown only to signed-in users with a verified email address, and each CSV export is capped at 250 rows. To stop your monthly emails, delete your schedule on the Scheduling page.