International Amateur Radio Permit (IARP) --- For operation in certain countries in Central and South Americas -- allows US amateurs to operate without seeking a special license or permit to enter and operate from that country other than the IARP. For a US citizen to operate an amateur station in a CITEL country, an IARP is necessary. The IARP is a physical document which the visiting operator must have in their possession in order to avail themselves of those privileges.
According to the CITEL agreement, the IARP may be issued by a member-society of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)--for the US, the IARU member society is the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). The permit describes its authority in four different languages. The ARRL offers this service to US citizens for their use when they travel to CITEL countries. The ARRL provides this service on a non-discriminatory basis, at no expense to the United States Government.
Specific questions concerning obtaining an IARP should be directed to the ARRL VEC at VEC@arrl.org
The permit is valid for 365 days or the date your license expires if the license expiration date will occur in less than 365 days.
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Print or download the IARP application
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If you wish to operate using an IARP, you are reminded to review the ARRL Reciprocal Operating Country Notes page for the specific country you will be visiting. While the IARP grants you permission to operate, in at least one IARP country (Panama) you are still required to notify the national licensing authority of your dates and places of planned operations in advance.
Classes of license/operation. For US Amateurs, there are two classes of IARPs. Class 1 requires knowledge of the international Morse code and carries all operating privileges (Technician Plus, General, Advanced or Extra class US licensees qualify for Class 1). For foreign amateurs, Class 1 is equivalent to our current Amateur Extra Class. Class 2 does not require knowledge of telegraphy and carries all operating privileges above 30 MHz. It is, therefore, equivalent to our current (codeless) Technician Class operator license. There is no equivalent Class description for the US Novice license, therefore the US Novice license is not eligible.
For a comprehensive overview of the countries with which the US has reciprocal arrangements, view the Information for US Amateurs Traveling Abroad document.
An automatic reciprocal agreement exists between the US and Canada, so there is no need to apply for a permit. Simply sign your US call followed by a slant bar and the Canadian prefix and /number identifier for the province or territory in which you are operating.
