Updated 11/13/05

This code was derived from discussions at the PopularWireless.com Personal Wireless Bulletin Board. The following elements of the code refer to GMRS operating practices, engineering or technical standards, the FCC Rules, the various Communications Acts, or ethical and cooperative behaviors expected of GMRS licensees. Some elements of the Code are not enforceable by the FCC but we as licensees recognize each element as having a valid and important purpose in the GMRS culture.

The Code

First, the FCC definition of GMRS and Basis and Purpose of GMRS technical regulations:

FCC R&R 95.1 & The Definition of the General Mobile Radio Service

"The GMRS is a land mobile radio service available to persons for short-distance two-way communications to facilitate the activities of licensees and their immediate family members. Each licensee manages a system consisting of one or more stations. "

FCC R&R 95.601, (adapted) GMRS FCC Rules rules provide the technical standards to which each transmitter used or intended to be used in a station authorized in the General Mobile Radio Service must comply.

The General Mobile Radio Service was not created as an emergency radio service as was the Amateur Radio Service; however, some groups of personal licensees and their families do make their radio systems and communication talents available to their communities in times of need. Personal Radio Association members therefor support responsible service oriented groups that recognize the primary purpose of the service as defined by the FCC in the GMRS Rules. These groups run afoul of the Code if they chase new users away from "their emergency frequency" or actively discourage others from sharing a GMRS frequency by other means. There is no GMRS emergency frequency. No single organization, grandfathered licensee, or group(s) of licensees have a greater right to use a frequency over any other licensee. The GMRS is a personal radio service and not a radio service intended for public service organizations.

By mutual agreement, licensees observe the following Code. Included in the Code are obligations, duties, and radio operating practices we observe so that we preserve and protect this unique non-subscription personal radio radio service both now and in the future.

• The purpose of GMRS is to provide personal communication associated with the personal business and activities and of our immediate families. We respect and value the General Mobile Radio Service as a unique family communication tool of limited resource. GMRS was never intended as a radio service for hobby communication or other communication that would otherwise be appropriate in the Citizens Radio Service, Amateur Radio Service or on a business radio channel. (e.g. random chats, calling CQ etc.)
• We monitor radio channels before transmitting to avoid interfering with users of the same channel.
• We wait for emergency radio messages to complete before transmitting.
• We identify radio transmissions with our FCC assigned call letters at intervals as required by FCC rules. (Grandfathered GMRS licensees share the same station identification requirement.)
• We extend courteous behavior to other licensees using the GMRS.
• We have read and follow the FCC Rules and Regulations governing the General Mobile and Family Radio Service.
• We coordinate repeater operations including input and output tones to prevent mutual interference.
• We respect the property rights of others. We ask permission before using repeaters owned by other licensees. We recognize that other licensees are not required to share their repeaters with anyone. GMRS repeaters are private property. Owning a radio capable of repeater operation does not mean we can use any repeater we hear.
• We respect the rights of repeater owners to particpate in the PRA Open Repeater Initiative.
• We observe the operating requirements defined by the repeater group or the owner/licensee of the repeater we use.
• Whenever practical, we enable CTCSS 141.3 Hz on our repeater inputs during regular hours of operation to allow any licensee access to the repeater to report an emergency or seek traveling information. If this tone is unavailable we listen in open squelch to repeater outputs whenever possible. Persons traveling and using 141.3 on GMRS repeaters should always request permission to make a call for assistance.
• We monitor our own repeater so that it does not cause harmful interference during a period of malfunction and so it can be shut down when malfunctioning or during an attack by unauthorized users. We do our best to manage our repeater systems so that the behavior of our users is consistent with the Code.
• We acknowledge that GMRS was originally created as base-to-mobile, mobile-to-base, and portable-to-portable, directed-communication radio service. Base-to-base communication was once prohibited, but as of February 1999 the FCC restriction against base-to-base communication was lifted. Nevertheless, GMRS licensees engaged in base-to-base communication shall yield to mobile or portable communication.
• We keep radio transmissions on high-level repeaters short to prevent monopolization of a frequency over a wide area for extended periods.
• We properly maintain a GMRS repeater so that it does not retransmit signals received from FRS radios operating on channels adjacent to the repeater input.
• We respect the occasional public service operation by a local public service team. Some organizations of licensees maintain GMRS radio systems with a specific purpose of assisting public safety agencies and providing a SkyWarn service. GMRS licensees and their communities benefit from the service these organizations provide. Such activities should be kept brief and to the point. Operators should yield to regular GMRS traffic when emergencies are not present. Amateur Radio style network activity on GMRS is discouraged.
• We identify, and report unlicensed users of GMRS to the local PRA GMRS Intruder Interference Committee. Persistent unlicensed use by pirates is reported to the FCC Enforcement Bureau.
• We respect and comply with the orders of commercial antenna site owners that allow our user group or individuals site access for radio equipment and antennas.
• We use standard commercial engineering practices when installing and operating GMRS radio systems, particularly systems located at commercial antenna sites. GMRS channels are located in-between commercial and public safety system channels. It is imperative that the equipment we use be maintained to commercial standard and efficiency in order to avoid improper operation and interference to other services.
• We do not use an automatic Morse Code or voice only identifier when a repeater is not in actual use. ID'ers that identify as beacons do not respect repeater or simplex radio traffic sharing the same frequency. Use of the identifier during regular communication through the repeater is the preferred method of operating identifiers.
• We NEVER operate GMRS or FRS transceivers in other countries unless permitted by that country's laws. Currently U.S. GMRS radios are not legal in any other country. U.S. Type Approved FRS radios are legal only in Canada. Only Canadian GMRS radios of limited power level are allowed in Canada.
• GMRS repeater owners have the obligation to coordinate CTCSS and DPL tones in use on their systems. The last repeater owner to put a tone on a system changes the tone whenever a conflict arises. Tones are not left installed in a system to "hold the tone for future use." Tones cannot be reserved for users not eligible to license in GMRS e.g. public safety and disaster organizations. There shall be a current user for each activated repeater tone. If one system changes users, the date the tone was placed on the system is the date the newest licensee with that tone was placed on the system. Licensees are strongly encouraged to keep station records with this information.
• We observe the prohibition of operating GMRS radios North of Line A near the Canadian border on specified GMRS channels and in the National Radio Quiet Zone on all channels.
• If you operate on a grandfathered GMRS business repeater and you do not hold your own GMRS license and are not eligible under the license of an immediate family member, you do not operate outside the license limitations of the grandfathered system.
• We do not interfere with or annoy grandfathered business users licensed for GMRS channels.
• We acknowledge that the FCC expects all licensees to cooperatively resolve operational complaints between GMRS systems.
• We never operate modified Amateur Radio transceivers in the GMRS, FRS, or MURS.
• We never camp on a frequency pair with the specific intent to busy out the channel in order to discourage others from using the frequencies or setting up another repeater. GMRS frequencies are a shared resource and licensees do not engage in hostile behaviors to warn others away.
• We recognize there are incompatible uses of the GMRS. Any single grandfathered licensee or group of GMRS licensees that engages in network-style activity should consider licensing on a business radio frequency so GMRS channels are not monopolized by a single licensee, or organized group of licensees.
• In the event my repeater is the victim of intentional interference neither I or my users will acknowledge or antagonize the responsible parties