CEPT: Operating Abroad, Even in San Marino

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Radio waves know no borders. Radio law does. Pack a transceiver and one simple question follows you: am I allowed to transmit over there? In Europe the answer is usually yes, with no application, no fee and no waiting period. That is what the CEPT framework delivers. There are exceptions, though, and one of them sits just a few hours south of the Alps: San Marino.

This article explains what the CEPT recommendations actually cover, which callsign you must use, where the traps are, and how to prepare a radio holiday.

The short version

T/R 61-01 is the CEPT Radio Amateur Licence for short visits. In Austria only Class 1 qualifies.
ECC/REC/(05)06 is the CEPT Novice Licence, the route for Class 4. It covers far fewer countries, often with its own prefixes.
T/R 61-02 is not the novice scheme. It is the HAREC examination certificate. That mix-up is everywhere.
In the host country its band plans and power limits apply, not the Austrian ones.
The USA participates in CEPT. No FCC application is required.
San Marino never signed T/R 61-01. On HF nothing works there without the club station.

CEPT T/R 61-01: your full licence abroad

The core of international amateur radio in Europe is CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-01, agreed in Nice in 1985 and current in the edition of 23 October 2020. It lets holders of a full amateur licence operate temporarily in participating countries. No application, no local licence, no fee. The recommendation is explicit about the money: the visited country must not levy administrative charges or spectrum fees.

Four principles worth knowing:

Mutual recognition: your home full licence counts in the host country. Which national class qualifies is listed in Annex 2 of the recommendation. For Austria that is Class 1 only.
Non-residents only: the CEPT licence covers temporary stays. Move permanently and you need a local licence. And if your own licence is itself a temporary one issued abroad, you cannot rely on CEPT at all.
The host country's privileges apply: band plans, power limits and operating rules follow the country you are visiting, not Austria. This is the single most overlooked point in the whole scheme.
No protection from interference: as a guest you cannot claim it.

More than 40 CEPT administrations appear in Annex 2, including every EU member state plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Monaco and the Russian Federation. Outlying territories are covered too: Greenland (OX), the Faroe Islands (OY), Åland (OH0), Svalbard (JW), the Azores (CT8), Madeira (CT9), Corsica (TK) and the French overseas territories from Guadeloupe (FG) to New Caledonia (FK).

Video tip: DL2YMR explains CEPT operation compactly (in German).

Callsigns: prefix first, slash in between

The recommendation prescribes the format: host country prefix, then a slash, then your own callsign. In telegraphy you send the slash character (DAH-DI-DI-DAH-DIT); on voice you say "stroke". The prefixes are listed in Annex 2, so you do not get to invent them.

DL/OE8XXX from Germany
I/OE8XXX from Italy
S5/OE8XXX from Slovenia
HB9/OE8XXX from Switzerland, HB0/OE8XXX from Liechtenstein
9A/OE8XXX from Croatia
OK/OE8XXX from Czechia, OM/OE8XXX from Slovakia
HA/OE8XXX from Hungary
W6/OE8XXX from California

Two quirks: Estonia additionally requires the regional digit, so ES5/OE8XXX. And in Peru the prefix OA with its zone digit goes on the end as a suffix, not in front.

FT8 and other digital modes handle compound callsigns, but not every logging program does so cleanly. Test that before you leave, not at the holiday destination.

CEPT Novice: the route for Class 4

Time to clear up a widespread misunderstanding. The novice scheme is not T/R 61-02 but ECC/REC/(05)06 ("CEPT Novice Radio Amateur Licence"), current edition 16 February 2024. T/R 61-02 governs something entirely different: the HAREC examination certificate, which matters when you sit an exam abroad or relocate and want your qualification recognised.

If you hold the Austrian Class 4, you operate abroad under ECC/REC/(05)06. Two things differ from the full licence.

First, the country list. Only around 26 administrations appear in Annex 2 of the novice recommendation: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Finland, Åland, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal with the Azores and Madeira, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. Italy, France and Spain are missing. France declined implementation outright, citing insufficient demand. For a Class 4 holiday on the Adriatic or in Provence that means listening yes, transmitting no.

Second, the prefixes. Novice visitors get a dedicated prefix in several countries, not the usual national one. Confuse them and you are transmitting under a callsign that does not exist:

Germany: DO/ instead of DL/
Switzerland: HB3/ instead of HB9/
Netherlands: PD/ instead of PA/
Slovakia: OM9/ instead of OM/
Liechtenstein: HB0Y/ instead of HB0/
Luxembourg: LX6/ instead of LX/
Portugal: CS7/, in the Azores CS8/, on Madeira CS9/

Slovenia, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Denmark and Poland use the familiar national prefix. Finland is a curiosity: it has no novice class of its own, yet it lets CEPT Novice visitors transmit as long as they stay within Finnish novice limits.

So there is plenty left nearby. 20 m and 40 m from Slovenia, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary or Germany are entirely straightforward.

Which Austrian licence class gets you where?

Austria has three licence classes, and they differ sharply when it comes to operating abroad:

Class 1 (HAREC): listed in Annex 2 of T/R 61-01 and therefore valid in all CEPT countries plus the participating non-CEPT states. The class to aim for if you travel regularly.
Class 4 (CEPT Novice): authorised under ECC/REC/(05)06, with the shorter country list and the dedicated prefixes.
Class 3: valid in Austria only. It appears in neither recommendation. Transmitting abroad would require an individual permit from the host country, which in practice is almost never available.

If you still have the licence exam ahead of you and travel is on your mind, go straight for Class 1. The extra study pays off on your first trip. The legal background is covered in our overview of Austrian amateur radio legislation.

What applies in the host country: band plan and power

Portable amateur radio operation outdoors with transceiver and antenna — Travel radio usually means portable operation: small station, wire antenna, a quiet spot. The rules, however, come from the host country.

Your CEPT licence does not export Austrian privileges. It imports the host country's. The power limits show how wide the spread is:

Austria: power levels A to D, meaning 100, 200, 400 and 1000 W PEP. The top level is tied to specific bands and to interference-free operation from the site.
Germany: 750 W PEP for Class A.
Italy: 500 W PEP, set by ministerial decree.
Switzerland: up to 1000 W PEP for HB9, depending on band.

Band differences follow. The 60-metre band is far from universally available and often comes with a narrow window and low power. The 70 cm allocation and the microwave bands also vary nationally. Two countries additionally cap guest operation in time: in Estonia and Latvia the CEPT privilege runs for a maximum of three months.

The IARU Region 1 band plans are a good starting point but not the legal basis. The host country's administration always has the final word.

San Marino: the exception on your doorstep

Guaita fortress on Monte Titano in San Marino — Monte Titano with the Guaita fortress: DXCC entity T7, but not a CEPT country. (Photo: Terragio67, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)

San Marino looks like the perfect short trip: a separate DXCC entity, surrounded by Italy, easy to reach. This is exactly where it gets complicated, and the republic is the best argument for checking before you travel.

San Marino's Direzione delle Telecomunicazioni never signed T/R 61-01. The national society A.R.R.S.M. puts it in capital letters on its website: a CEPT licence issued by another nation is not valid in San Marino. "T7/OE8XXX" is therefore not a legal callsign but unlicensed operation.

What applies instead:

Written permission required. Amateurs holding a CEPT or an Italian licence can request written permission from the responsible Direzione Informatica, Tecnologia, Dati e Statistica, Settore Telecomunicazioni.
144 MHz and up only. The permission is valid for three months and covers 144 MHz and above. The 6-metre band is explicitly excluded.
Costs almost nothing. 3 euros plus postage.
HF: no permission at all. For foreign amateurs and non-residents there is no individual authorisation on HF or 6 m.
The only HF route: guest operator at radio club T70A. To work HF from T7 you submit a written request to the club at least two months in advance. The board decides. You may use the club antennas but must bring your own radios. An electronic log is mandatory, the ADIF file is handed over at the end, and QSL traffic is managed by the association.

The ITU callsign series reserves the block T77AA to T77ZZ for visitors and guest operators; the club station itself is T70A. So if a T77 call shows up in your log, that was a guest in San Marino, not a local.

Two months of lead time for an HF activation is a lot. Plan it in and you get a club station with proper antennas and internet access, plus a pile-up to remember. Conditions can change, so always ask A.R.R.S.M. directly.

The other European gaps

San Marino is not alone. Read through Annex 2 of T/R 61-01 and some territories are simply absent:

Andorra (C3) and the Vatican (HV) are not listed.
Kosovo (Z6) is missing as well.
Gibraltar (ZB2) is not covered. Under the United Kingdom only England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey appear.

One myth works the other way round: Malta (9H), Belarus (EW) and Moldova (ER) are CEPT participants and do appear in Annex 2. Several older country lists online claim otherwise. When in doubt, trust the CEPT document itself rather than a copied table.

Outside Europe

Since 1992 T/R 61-01 has been open to non-CEPT states. Those that join are listed in Annex 4. Currently:

USA: yes, the USA participates, and no, you do not need an FCC application. The FCC explicitly no longer issues reciprocal operating permits. Your prefix is the identifier of the callsign district you are physically in, so W1 through W0, KH6 in Hawaii, KL7 in Alaska, KP4 in Puerto Rico. Example: W6/OE8XXX from California. Carry your licence and proof of Austrian citizenship. One detail that often gets lost: the CEPT Novice licence is valid in the USA too, there with the privileges of the US "General" class.
Canada: also in Annex 4. Prefixes VA and VE, VO in Newfoundland and Labrador, VY in Yukon and on Prince Edward Island.
New Zealand: ZL, up to 90 days under a "General User Radio Licence", with no need to register with the regulator.
Australia (VK), Israel (4X, 4Z), South Africa (ZS) and the Dutch overseas territories from Aruba (P4) to Sint Maarten (PJ7).
Peru: stay away. Peru is formally in Annex 4 but never transposed the recommendation into national law. Operating under CEPT there is illegal. For South America use the IARP instead.

Two further routes for the rest of the world:

IARP (International Amateur Radio Permit): the CITEL agreement for North and South America, applied for through your national society. IARP Class 1 matches the full licence, Class 2 is limited to above 30 MHz.
Japan: not a CEPT participant, but Japan recognises HAREC. Austrian Class 1 therefore opens the door, just not automatically. You need your own Japanese station licence, applied for through JARL, and the application must be filed at least 60 days before you want to operate. Fees start at 2,750 yen for portable operation up to 50 W.
Everywhere else: an individual temporary licence, with lead times from a few days to several months. Start researching early.

Video tip: Ria, N2RJ, walks through the different routes for guest operation abroad.

Equipment for the radio holiday

Portable amateur radio transceiver Icom IC-705 — The Icom IC-705 covers HF, 2 m and 70 cm, runs on a battery and fits in a backpack. (Photo: Batchman99, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)

The station decides whether holiday radio is fun or fiddling. Proven choices:

Icom IC-705: HF, VHF and UHF in one box, with battery, touchscreen and Bluetooth. With a decent antenna, 10 watts reach around the world, as QRP operation keeps proving.
Yaesu FT-818ND: the rugged QRP classic with 6 watts on all bands.
Xiegu G90: 20 watts on HF with a built-in tuner, compact and affordable.
Elecraft KX2: 370 grams, premium receiver, built for backpack travel.

For FT8 and other digital modes a Digirig is the smallest way to connect transceiver and laptop. For power, read our battery planning guide before you pack.

Video tip: a complete travel station on Mallorca, from packing to the first QSO.

Travel antennas

The antenna matters more than the radio. Proven portable antennas for travelling:

EFHW: one wire, one small transformer, done. Hangs between trees, off a balcony railing or from a telescopic mast. Multiband versions cover 40 down to 10 m.
Telescopic mast with wire: 6 to 10 m of fibreglass fits in a suitcase and turns any location into a station.
Linked dipole: a dipole with detachable extensions for several bands.
Magnetic loop: needs little space and no guying, works on a balcony and at a pinch indoors.
Vertical with radials: ideal on the beach, where salt water makes an excellent ground.

Batteries and radios on aircraft

When flying, the radios are not the problem. The batteries are. The IATA rules are the same worldwide:

Spare batteries in cabin baggage only. Loose LiPo and LiFePO4 cells must not go into checked luggage. No exceptions, no airline.
Watt-hours decide. Up to 100 Wh without asking, 100 to 160 Wh needs airline approval, above 160 Wh carriage in passenger baggage is prohibited. Most QRP batteries sit well under 100 Wh. The maths: amp-hours times nominal voltage. A 12 V pack with 7 Ah is 84 Wh.
Tape the terminals. Protect contacts against short circuits, with tape or individual pouches.
Transceiver in the cabin. Checked luggage is allowed, but this is sensitive electronics. At security, one sentence helps: "This is an amateur radio transceiver."
Antenna parts. Telescopic masts, wire reels and tuners are unproblematic. Long metal rods may prompt a question; a short explanation usually settles it.

Documents for the trip

What belongs in your wallet, plus a scan on your phone:

Your amateur licence as an original or certified copy. The recommendation explicitly requires you to present it to the host country's authorities on request.
A printout of the CEPT recommendation with the country list. T/R 61-01 for Class 1, ECC/REC/(05)06 for Class 4.
ID card or passport. In the USA proof of citizenship is actually a condition for using CEPT.
Special permits if you are heading to a non-CEPT country. For San Marino that means the written permission, or the club's confirmation.

Video tip: LB0FI sums up which papers you need and how to prepare.

Logging and QSL

Always UTC. Same as at home, regardless of local time zone.
Log the host-country callsign. In ADIF it belongs in STATION_CALLSIGN, not just in the notes.
Record the location correctly. Grid locator and DXCC of the host country, otherwise award credit will not match. A web logbook such as Wavelog keeps this tidy.
Prepare LoTW in advance. The compound callsign needs its own certificate. Request it before the trip, not after.
QSL cards go via the host country's bureau or your home QSL bureau, electronically via LoTW, eQSL or Club Log.

Radio activities abroad

Alpine summit, a typical SOTA destination — The Alpine countries are a few hours from Austria and full of SOTA references.

A radio holiday gets better with a goal:

SOTA: Switzerland alone has over 2,500 registered summits, plus Italy, France, Slovenia, the Pyrenees, the Scottish Highlands and the Scandinavian fells. Your callsign with the host prefix counts normally.
POTA: active worldwide, thousands of references in the USA, growing fast in Europe.
WWFF: a flora and fauna area at your destination? An activation counts.
IOTA: Mediterranean islands, the Greek islands and the Canaries are popular and often easy to reach.
DXpeditions: the premier class, a trip to a rare DXCC entity.
Contest travel: some operators deliberately pick countries with a multiplier advantage.

Internet and connectivity

EU roaming costs nothing extra. Ideal for DX clusters, POTA spots, SOTAwatch and APRS-IS through a phone hotspot.
Time source for digital modes. WSJT-X and JTDX need accurate time. A smartphone as a GPS reference is reliable and free.
Self-spotting is essential for activators. Without it nobody finds you.
Outside the EU local SIMs or eSIMs are usually far cheaper than roaming.

Austria's neighbours: a quick guide

Germany (DL)

Class 1 signs DL/OE8XXX, Class 4 signs DO/OE8XXX. 750 W PEP for Class A, band plans close to Austria's, a dense repeater network. Linguistically and legally the easiest first step abroad.

Italy (I)

I/OE8XXX, IT9/ in Sicily, IS0/ in Sardinia. Power limit 500 W PEP. Important: Italy has not implemented the CEPT Novice recommendation, so Class 4 must not transmit there. The Dolomites and South Tyrol do offer spectacular SOTA summits.

Slovenia (S5)

S5/OE8XXX for Class 1 and Class 4 alike, since Slovenia appears in both annexes. The Julian Alps, the Karawanks and Triglav National Park make it a SOTA paradise, and for Carinthians and Styrians it is the shortest drive to foreign soil.

Switzerland (HB9) and Liechtenstein (HB0)

HB9/OE8XXX for Class 1, HB3/OE8XXX for Class 4. Up to 1000 W PEP depending on band. Liechtenstein is a separate DXCC entity with its own prefix: HB0/OE8XXX, and HB0Y/OE8XXX for novices. From Vorarlberg it is a short drive to a new entity in the log.

Czechia (OK) and Slovakia (OM)

OK/OE8XXX and OM/OE8XXX. For Class 4, Czechia also uses OK/, while Slovakia switches to OM9/. An active contest scene, plenty of repeaters, and the Bohemian Forest offers quiet sites away from the crowds. The High Tatras deliver alpine SOTA summits.

Hungary (HA)

HA/OE8XXX, for Class 1 and Class 4. Lake Balaton and the Puszta are flat but propagation-wise interesting, ideal for DX work with vertical antennas.

Practical tips

Build it at home first. Set the travel station up completely and make a QSO with it. A faulty cable is better found in the basement than on a beach.
Carry spares. BNC adapter, fuse, a second USB cable, a few metres of wire. 200 grams in total, and they save the trip.
Choose accommodation deliberately. An apartment with balcony or garden beats a ground-floor hotel room. Many hosts allow a telescopic mast if you ask politely.
Involve the family. A SOTA summit on a shared hike or half an hour of POTA in a park keeps the radio holiday a family holiday.
Enjoy the pile-up. As a host-country station you are in demand. Let them call you.

Conclusion: the world is your shack

With a Class 1 licence you can go on the air in more than 40 CEPT countries and a handful of others immediately, with no application and no fee. Class 4 works in some 26 countries, just with different prefixes and not everywhere. A compact transceiver, a wire antenna and one evening of preparation cover the rest.

The exceptions are what take work. San Marino is close but reachable on HF only with two months of lead time and through radio club T70A. In Italy, Class 4 must not transmit. In Peru, CEPT operation is illegal despite the Annex 4 entry. Ten minutes of research before departure saves an awkward conversation at your destination.

Whether it is a relaxed POTA afternoon in a national park, a SOTA summit next door or DX from a Mediterranean island: pack the transceiver, do not forget the antenna, and 73 from abroad.

73 – your oeradio.at editorial team

Sources and further reading

Image credits

Guaita fortress, San Marino: Terragio67, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Icom IC-705: Batchman99, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Portable operation and summit photo: editorial team's own material

Videos: DL2YMR, Ria's Ham Shack, ML&S Martin Lynch and Sons, LB0FI Norwegian Hamventures. Embedded via YouTube; rights remain with the respective channels.

Transparency Notice

This article was researched and written with the assistance of AI (Claude, Anthropic). The title image was created with AI (ChatGPT/DALL·E, OpenAI). The editorial team has reviewed and edited all content. Despite careful review, occasional inaccuracies may occur, particularly where national regulations change. The host country's administration is always authoritative. We welcome corrections via email to [email protected].

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Amateur Radio and Travel – CEPT Licensing and Operating Abroad