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GMRS is the radio service for a household that wants to talk when phones don’t: across a neighbourhood after a storm, between cars on a road trip, from the house to the back forty. The licence has no exam, and one covers the whole family. Here are the rules, each with its citation in the Code of Federal Regulations, because the sellers’ pages mostly skip them.
The licence
- $35, no exam. The fee is in the FCC’s fee schedule (47 CFR 1.1102); Part 95 subpart E, the GMRS rules, contains no examination.
- Ten years from the grant (47 CFR 95.1705(e)).
- One licence, the whole family. The licensee must be 18, and may let immediate family operate under it: spouse, children, grandchildren, stepchildren, parents, grandparents, stepparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and in-laws (47 CFR 95.1705(c)).
You apply online through the FCC’s licensing system with an FRN, and the callsign arrives in a few days.
GMRS vs FRS
The walkie-talkies in the sporting-goods aisle are FRS, and they share the same 22 channels with GMRS. The differences:
| FRS | GMRS | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | None | $35, no exam |
| Power | 2 W on channels 1–7 and 15–22; 0.5 W on 8–14 (47 CFR 95.567) | 50 W for mobiles and bases on the main channels; 5 W on the 462 interstitial channels; 0.5 W on the 467 interstitials (47 CFR 95.1767) |
| Antenna | Fixed | Removable, so a car or roof antenna works |
| Repeaters | No | Yes, on the 8 repeater channels |
Since December 27, 2017 the FCC no longer certifies one radio under both FRS and GMRS (47 CFR 95.1761), so a radio sold today is one or the other. FRS radios can talk to GMRS radios on the shared channels; they just can’t reach as far.
The radios that are legal
A GMRS transmitter must be certified under Part 95 (47 CFR 95.1761), and the same rule says a radio can’t be certified for GMRS if it also operates on services that need no certification, such as amateur radio. Using an uncertified transmitter voids your authority to operate it (47 CFR 95.335).
So: a ham handheld that tunes the GMRS channels is not a GMRS radio, and the “unlock” menus on cheap dual-band handhelds don’t change that. Buy a radio sold as GMRS. BTECH prints its Part 95E statement on the product page; Midland and Rocky Talkie sell GMRS radios without printing the number.
5 W GMRS handheld, repeater capable
Midland GXT67 Pro
Midland GXT67 Pro
Midland's current GMRS handheld: 5 watts, the 22 standard channels plus 8 repeater channels, an IP67 case, NOAA weather alerts and USB-C charging, built to be handed to someone who has never used a radio.
- Power
- 5 W
- Channels
- 22 GMRS/FRS + 8 repeater
- Rating
- IP67
- Charging
- USB-C compatible, about 4 h
- Weather
- NOAA alert
- Weight
- 9.6 oz (listing)
Suits: The family radio: a parent, a teenager, a hunting partner, a hurricane kit.
Weigh: Midland doesn't publish the battery capacity or the certification number on the product page. No Bluetooth or app; programming the repeater tones takes a separate cable or the keypad.
Repeaters
GMRS has 30 channels: 16 main and 14 interstitial (47 CFR 95.1763). Eight of the main channels, at 467 MHz, are used only to reach a repeater, which re-transmits on the matching 462 channel from a tower. A “repeater capable” handheld can use them, and in a city with an open GMRS repeater that turns a 5-watt handheld into a radio that covers the county. RepeaterBook lists US GMRS repeaters; many require a request to the owner first.
A household setup
- Two handhelds with USB-C charging and an IP rating, for the people who walk: the Midland GXT67 Pro or the BTECH GMRS-PRO if you want position sharing.
- A 50-watt mobile in the truck or on the kitchen counter with a power supply and a roof antenna: the Midland MXT575.
- A weather radio for the alerts themselves, from the personal radio page.
- Everyone’s radio on the same channel and privacy code, written on a card in the kit.
50 W GMRS mobile, controls on the mic
Midland MXT575 MicroMobile
Midland MXT575
A 50-watt GMRS mobile with every control on the microphone, so the radio body hides under a seat: 15 high-power channels, 8 repeater channels with split tones, NOAA, and a magnet-mount antenna in the box.
- Power
- 50 W
- Channels
- 15 high-power + 8 repeater (split tone)
- Control
- All on the mic, USB-C mic connector
- Size
- 5.5 × 1.5 × 7.3 in
- Weather
- NOAA scan and alert
- In the box
- Unity-gain magnet-mount antenna
Suits: A truck or an overland convoy, and the base station end of a family GMRS setup with a better antenna.
Weigh: The included antenna is a unity-gain starter; a proper mount and antenna is the first upgrade. Midland doesn't publish the current draw or the FCC ID on the page. Variants with bigger antennas are separate listings.
If what you want is the hobby rather than the household, the Technician licence is the other road, and it does require an exam.