This Ham Radio License cheat sheet distills the FCC Technician (Element 2) exam into a printable rundown of the facts the NCVEC pool tests most. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free ham radio toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
Ham Radio License exam at a glance
- Questions: 35 multiple-choice, drawn from the NCVEC Technician pool
- Time: Untimed in practice; most candidates finish in 15–30 minutes
- Passing score: 74% — at least 26 of 35 correct
- Cost: About $15 VE session fee plus a separate $35 FCC application fee (verify at FCC.gov)
What’s on the Ham Radio License cheat sheet
- Commission's Rules — T1 (6 Qs) — the largest block: Part 97, call signs, the 10-minute ID rule, control operator, and license terms.
- Electronics — T5, T6, T7, T8 (16 Qs) — Ohm's law, series vs. parallel, common components, transceivers, and the FM/SSB/CW emission modes.
- Operating & Propagation — T2, T3 (6 Qs) — repeaters, offsets and CTCSS, simplex, and why VHF/UHF is line-of-sight while HF skips off the ionosphere.
- Practices, Antennas & Safety — T4, T9, T0 (7 Qs) — station setup, half-wave dipoles, coax and SWR, and the RF-exposure evaluation every station must perform.
How to use it in your final week
- Front-load Commission's Rules (T1) — it's the single biggest block at 6 of 35 questions and needs no math, so it banks the most points fastest.
- Burn the two formulas into memory: Ohm's law (E = I × R, so I = E ÷ R) and wavelength in meters = 300 ÷ frequency in MHz. Most numeric items are just these rearranged.
- Re-read the band and mode rows the morning of the exam — 2 m and 70 cm privileges, 146.52 MHz simplex, and the FM/SSB/CW bandwidth order from narrowest to widest.
- Pair each review pass with a short timed practice set (35 questions) so the 74% passing line and the four-option format feel routine before you sit the VE session.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your Ham Radio License practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
Ham Radio License cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the Ham Radio License cheat sheet downloads as a PDF with no sign-up and no payment. It's part of Career Employer's free Technician toolkit alongside the practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so you can cram from one source and drill from another.
It condenses the Technician (Element 2) exam into a quick-reference page: the 10 NCVEC subelements and their question counts, band privileges for 6 m, 2 m, 70 cm and 10 m, Ohm's law and the wavelength formula, the common emission modes, antenna and feed-line basics, and the RF-safety rules the FCC tests.
It's built from the 2026–2030 NCVEC Technician question pool, which took effect July 1, 2026, and from FCC Part 97. Exams given on or before June 30, 2026 used the 2022–2026 pool, so confirm which pool your test date falls under before you rely on any question counts.
Not by itself — the sheet locks in the facts, but you still pass by drilling pool-style questions until the rules and electronics are automatic. You need 26 of 35 correct (74%) to pass, so use the sheet to review and the practice test to prove you're clearing that line with margin.
Click the download button (or the preview card) at the top of this page and the PDF opens instantly. Bookmark the page so you can pull it up again the morning of your Volunteer Examiner session.
References
- 1.U.S. Federal Communications Commission. “Amateur Radio Service.” FCC.gov, 2026. ↑
- 2.National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators. “2026–2030 Technician Question Pool & Syllabus.” NCVEC.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.U.S. Federal Communications Commission. “47 CFR Part 97 — Amateur Radio Service.” Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), 2026. ↑
- 4.U.S. Federal Communications Commission. “Personal Service and Amateur Application Fees.” FCC.gov, 2026. ↑
Career Employer
Career Employer is the ultimate resource to help you get started working the job of your dreams. We cover topics from general career information, career searching, exam preparation with free study materials, career interviewing, and becoming successful in your career of choice.
All PostsCareer Employer’s Editorial Process
Here at Career Employer, we focus a lot on providing factually accurate information that is always up to date. We strive to provide correct information using strict editorial processes, article editing, and fact-checking for all of the information found on our website. We only utilize trustworthy and relevant resources. To find out more, make sure to read our full editorial process page here.