Major coast receive radio licence

A major coast receive licence is for 1 or more land stations that receive messages from:

• maritime ship stations
• a station on an aircraft that is not an aircraft station
• land mobile stations
• remote land stations

The receiver cannot transmit messages of any kind.

You don’t need to license a receiver at a maritime coast station unless you want protection from interference.

If you want to transmit messages, you may need a maritime coast licence.

The Radiocommunications (Interpretation) Determination 2015 defines major coast receive licences.

When you have a major coast receive licence, you must follow the conditions of your licence.

These include:

• conditions of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 (the Act)
• Licence Condition (Apparatus Licence) Determination 2015
• Licence Conditions (Major Coast Receive Licence) Determination 2015
• other conditions that apply to you under ‘special conditions’

These conditions help you communicate safely and without interference.

We will include information you should be aware of under the heading 'advisory notes'.

Call signs are a unique series of letters and numbers. They make it easy to identify a station.

We will give you a call sign or explain how to create one when we give you a licence.

You should use your call sign:

• every time you start to transmit
• before you transmit in a series
• when you test

Call sign template for major coast receive

We charge fees for apparatus licences.

In some circumstances, you can apply for a licence fee exemption or concession.

As well as needing a licence to operate devices and equipment, you will also need to comply with our technical standards. 

These include:

• some general standards – see Schedule 5 to the General Equipment Rules
• the Radiocommunications (Electromagnetic Compatibility) Standard 2017
• the Electromagnetic Energy (EME) Standard – see Schedule 4 to the General Equipment Rules.

Read more about our technical standards including our general radiocommunications standards, the EMC standard and the EME standard.

If your device or equipment does not meet the rules in our technical standards, you will need a permit to supply, use or have it. This is separate from a licence. Find out about permits and fees under the General Equipment Rules.

To apply for a major coast receive licence you should contact an accredited person.

They can:

• assign you a frequency
• give you a frequency assignment certificate
• apply for your licence for you

Transfer a major coast receive licence

You can apply to:

• transfer your major coast receive licence to someone else
• let someone else use a device under your licence

See technical details for major coast receive licences.