Individuals  - The FCC updates their procedures fairly regularly. Contact the FCC directly for up-to-date instructions on how to cancel your license. For assistance, call the FCC Licensing Support Center at 877-480-3201 (Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET), or submit a help request on the FCC’s Wireless Licensing Help Center website. 

Clubs  - A 605-C form must be completed and submitted to a Club Station Call Sign Administrator (CSCSA) in order to cancel a club station license.

Report a silent key to the FCC  -  Follow the instructions below on how to report a deceased licensee to the FCC and to have their license canceled in the FCC database.

List a Silent Key in QST magazine's Silent Key column. Learn More  

               ===============================================

FCC Notification of a Silent Key (deceased licensee)
The FCC requires that they receive a signed request indicating that the current license holder is now deceased.  The individual requesting the cancellation must include the deceased licensee's name and call sign in the notification and must write or type an explanation as to why they're requesting the cancellation (“he was my friend, he passed away on 1/1/2021”).  The request must be physically sign by the individual submitting the notification.  Again, It can be typed, but it needs to be printed, physically signed, then scanned and attached to the e-request.  A handwritten request will have to be scanned and attached to the e-request.

Also, the FCC requires that some type of evidence of death accompany the request.  Any of the following supporting information is acceptable as proof:
      - Copy of a dated obituary (must include date of death)
      - Copy of the death certificate

Requests for cancellation of a deceased Amateur's license along with the supporting information can be submitted through the FCC’s Wireless Licensing Help Center website at https://www.fcc.gov/wtbhelp.  Select option  "Submit a help request", fill in the required fields and attach the proof and the document with the signature before hitting submit.  The FCC does not accept mailed documentation.

Allow the FCC one to two weeks to cancel the license. Verify the license has been canceled in the FCC license database (search by call sign or name). 
The canceled license will show the license STATUS as "CANCELED".

               ===============================================

Silent Key Call Signs and Vanity Call Signs
The FCC will not reassign a call sign that is presently licensed to an individual or club, unless they receive a signed written request to have the license canceled--or until two years have elapsed since the license may have expired. Only one person or club can hold a single call sign at one time.  See FCC notification section above for instructions on cancelling a license in the FCC database.

Individuals:  After the license is canceled in the system, an eligible family member will have a limited amount of time to apply for the call sign depending on the date of death.
The time allowed may be as little as 30 days or up to 2 years to apply for the call sign as a vanity call sign before it goes back into the pool of available call signs.
View vanity call sign procedures, eligibility, call sign availability, and information here: http://www.arrl.org/vanity-call-signs  

Clubs:  After the license is canceled in the system, the club will have a limited amount of time to apply for the club member’s call sign in memoriam depending on the date of death.
The time allowed may be as little as 30 days or up to 2 years to apply for the call sign as a vanity call sign before it goes back into the pool of available call signs.
View amateur radio club vanity call sign procedures, eligibility, call sign availability, and information here: http://www.arrl.org/club-call-signs   

               ===============================================

If you have any further questions, please contact ARRL VEC.

List a Silent Key in QST magazine's Silent Key column. Learn More