Callsigns

Upon licensing, a radio amateur's national government issues a unique callsign to the radio amateur. The holder of a callsign uses it on the air to legally identify the operator or station during any and all radio communication. In certain jurisdictions, an operator may also select a "vanity" callsign. Some jurisdictions, such as the U.S., require that a fee be paid to obtain such a vanity callsign; in others, such as the UK, a fee is not required and the vanity callsign may be selected when the license is applied for.

Callsign structure as prescribed by the ITU, consists of three parts which break down as follows, using the callsign ZS1NAT as an example:

1. ZS – Shows the country from which the callsign originates and may also indicate the license class. (This callsign is licensed in South Africa, and is CEPT Class 1).
2. 1 – Tells you the subdivision of the country or territory indicated in the first part (this one refers to the Western Cape).
3. NAT – The final part is specific to the holder of the license, identifying that person specifically.

Many countries do not follow the ITU convention for the numeral. The United Kingdom never has - the calls G2xxx, G3xxx, and G6xx may be right next to each other. In the United States, the numeral indicated the geographical district until recently. Now, under FCC "deregulation", the numeral no longer can be relied upon to show where the licensee is located. Also, for smaller entities, the numeral may be part of the country identification. For example, VP2xxx is in the British West Indies (subdivided into VP2Exx Anguilla, VP2Mxx Monserrat, and VP2Vxx British Virgin Islands), VP5xxx is in the Turks and Caicos Islands, VP6xxx is on Pitcairn Island, VP8xxx is in the Falklands, and VP9xxx is in Bermuda.