Iowa Amateur Radio Data
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Iowa Amateur Radio Data
This page shows information about amateur radio licensees in Iowa as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2019.
The data are presented in three tables:
1. Number of licensees by class,
2. Number of licensees by county,
3. Number of licenses expiring by years into the future, and
4. Iowa Amateur Radio License Plates.
Some of the tables may look better if viewed in a laptop or desktop browser.
Licenses by Grade Level
The following table shows the number of licensed Iowa amateur radio operators as of December 31 on 2021 and 2022.
Licenses by County
The change in the number of licenses by county are presented below. The county was assigned based on zip codes. The total number of licenses excludes some that have an invalid zip code in the FCC data file. The map includes licenses that are no longer active, but have not yet arrived at the expiration date.
License Expirations
The following image shows the number of license expirations by future year for the table shown below.
The following table shows the number of license expirations by future year.
Iowa Amateur Radio License Plates
More than one in every five Iowa amateur radio operators display their call letters on their automobile with the Amateur Radio Operator Special Plates. The Department of Transportation reported that 1,482 amateur radio operators purchased the radio plates, and that is 22.5% of the active amateur radio operators listed in the FCC license file.
Between July 1 and December 31, 2019, the State sold over 92,000 of the new white text on black background “Blackout” plates for a total of $4 million in sales that assist the Iowa Road Use Fund.
In 2022, the Iowa DOT authorized vanity plates, not amateur radio plates, to include a zero with a line through it as an amateur radio call sign. The zero with a line is available on the vanity plate, but not the amateur radio plate.
Blackout plates are authorized under Iowa Code sections 321.34(3) and 321.166(9).
Following are summary tables related to amateur radio license plates and other special plates.
