Volunteer Examiners (VEs)

The FCC has delegated testing to fourteen groups of volunteer VE groups called Volunteer Exam Coordinators (VECs).

If you are a General or Amateur Extra license holder you can help us administer exams.

Generals can only grade Technician exams. Extras can grade Technician, General and Extra exams.

It is with great appreciation for the efforts and detail required using previous exam methods that we now use exam.tools to provide a more accurate and better experience for applicants and VEs.

More than 50% of all ARRL VEC applicants in 2024 were processed using exam.tools.

All ARRL VE teams are going digital in 2025. 

VEs using exam.tools may use their phone or tablet/laptop (preferred) to sign in and grade exams.

VEs are encouraged to use a password manager to type in their password several times while grading exams.

To Verify Your Callsign on exam.tools:

1. Login to the FCC license manager using your FRN and password.

https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsEntry/licManager/login.jsp

  Download your "Official copy" watermarked license PDF. 

Additional instructions: https://www.mdarc.org/regulations/license-copy-acquisition

2. At exam.tools aka examtools.org under "Assist with or Manage Exams" click the Sign In button. If you have a ham.study aka HamStudy.org  account you may skip registration and use the same login information for the two sites.

3. Upload your license PDF in your profile https://exam.tools/ve/me (FAQ). Please be patient, this may take hours or a day to verify.

4. While you have your PDF ready, you may want to upload the PDF to the separate but related https://examtools.dev sandbox.

5. After verification your profile will reflect your VE status with the ARRL and other VECs.

• Sign In to verify your profile at https://exam.tools: under "Assist with or Manage Exams" click the button Sign In.

• In the upper left click Profile or click the three line menu icon then Profile.

• At the bottom under Call Sign it will say (Verified Call Sign).

• Just under that you can click the icon across from Volunteer Examiner Credentials.

• ARRL-VEC will say Team Lead or Volunteer Examiner.

6. Use the exam.tools Discord chat server for questions, problems or feature requests especially during setup.

• Live exam results are reported in the  #CRM channel. Callsign assignments are in #QTC channel.

• While you are there you may want to also  join the arrleb.org Discord chat server.

Working with other teams grading real exams is the best way to learn. There are many edge cases.

mdarc.org (monthly) in Lafayette

kf6hte.org (monthly) in Martinez

beniciaarc.com (W5YI VEC) in Benicia

w6sf.org in Stockton

livermoreark.org (monthly) in Livermore

VEC Manuals, training videos, exam.tools in-person process and the examtools.dev sandbox are all helpful.

The examtools.dev server requires a second upload of your FCC license to verify your callsign.

The sandbox enables placeholder VEs and placeholder applicants. docs.exam.tools/docs/cve/cvesandboxdummies/

The add fake applicant instructions only works in examtools.dev and not hamstudy.dev.

Feedback so far supports that in-person electronic exams are a great experience

for applicants and VEs after initial setup.

Printing paper exams in advance and grading them using GradeCam is our next team challenge.

Administering fully remote exams is more difficult and not something we plan to do.

Other VE teams already offer online exams frequently and do a great job, especially since 2020.

arrl.org/volunteer-examiners have administered more exams than other VECs but other VECs have strengths as well.

ARRL Liaison/Contact VEs (CVEs) are what exam.tools calls Team Leaders.

They can schedule testing sessions on the arrl.org website and exam.tools.

CVEs also collect and send the fees to the ARRL. Verifying your CVE status is presently

a few extra steps using email however automation is currently being tested

to verify CVE status automatically in the future.

To Verify Liaison/CVE on exam.tools:

1. After a few sessions as a VE you may request to be a CVE by emailing vec@arrl.org.

• You can check your VE Session counts using your callsign.

http://www.arrl.org/ve-session-counts?call_sign=W6CX&state=&order_by=callsign

2. When approved the email you get is then forwarded (as it instructs) to verification@examtools.org.  Be patient, this can take a day or so.

3. After verification your profile will reflect the Team Lead status

To keep our VE teams strong volunteers should ideally help all experienced VEs that are willing to take turns as Liaison aka CVE.

To check applicant results & callsign assignments search https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp by FRN.