Ethics and Operating Procedures Edition 4 release announcement

We are pleased to announce the official release of the Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur, Fourth Edition. This revision incorporates the latest developments and best practices in the field of amateur radio. We believe these updates are essential to upholding the high standards of amateur radio and ensuring our community remains at the forefront of technological innovation and ethical operating practices.

We also wish to acknowledge the valuable comments and the extensive feedback received from the IARU Member Societies on an earlier draft of this new edition. All input has been carefully reviewed, and the document has been updated as necessary.

We extend our sincere appreciation to the editorial team for their valuable contributions in updating this guide. Their dedication, attention to detail, and commitment to upholding the highest standards of amateur radio have been instrumental in enhancing this important document.

Thank you to everyone who contributed their time and expertise to ensure this document remains the benchmark for amateur radio operations globally.

General

Over the past decades, concerns have grown about a relatively small number of radio amateurs on the bands, whose on-air behaviour was in danger of spoiling enjoyment of amateur radio for the majority. Amateur radio relies on a strong level of self-discipline in on-air operating and the new ways of acquiring amateur licences could sometimes bypass the traditional ways of passing on operating skills from generation to generation.

To help address this, the “DX Code of Conduct” exists as a practical check list for on-air behaviour. 

More comprehensive guidance became available when in 2008 John ON4UN and Mark ON4WW wrote a comprehensive document entitled “Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur“, a document aiming to become a universal guide for newcomers and old-timers alike on the subject of operating ethics and operating procedures. In 2008 the principles of this document were accepted by the IARU Administrative Council, as representing the point of view of the IARU on the subject. During further regional IARU meetings it was emphasized that the document be made available via all means, and at no cost, in as many languages as possible to the ham radio community. Such was the acceptance of the document that within two years, it had been translated into more than 25 languages. 

On 5^th May 2016 the two authors signed an agreement with IARU to transfer ownership and copyrights to IARU with the intention to maintain and manage the document.

On this webpage you find 

• Links to the available versions of Edition 4 document
• Links to the available versions of the Edition 3 document (available during a transition period)
• Information and guidance on translation of the document
• Copyright information

Versions

The document Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur, Fourth Edition, replaces IARU Region 1 Edition 3 (June 2010). However, during a transition period for translations to become available, the Edition 3 can still be downloaded as before.

You can access all the versions of Edition 4 here.

During a transition period you can still download Edition 3 here.

Translations

Information and guidance regarding translation and creating language versions will follow during the coming days. Since the same language may be relevant for more than one country, we like to avoid double work and conflicting language versions.

Copyright

The copyright of the Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur document belongs to the IARU Region 1. IARU grants a non-commercial use of the document and its translations.

The document is registered as ISBN 978−3−9526620−0−7 (PDF eBook)