Quick Take
GMRS on Ham Radios is Illegal, but tons of people do it. Know before you go!
What's the STory?
This is a critical piece of topic I need to cover both legally, and because some of the more cantankerous hams get in a tizzy about this topic.
The majority of folks out there guilt free use Ham Radios on GMRS frequencies and never cause any issue nor face any legal reprecussions. However you should be aware of the following...
Dual-band ham radios like most of the Baofeng offerings and the majority of Mars modifiable radios do not have "Part 95" type acceptance for GMRS. AKA these radios aren't legal to operate on GMRS frequencies. They are designed and certified as amateur radios, even though many of them can technically transmit on GMRS frequencies. Because of this, you cannot legally transmit on GMRS with such devices, regardless of whether you hold a GMRS license. How Baofeng continues to sell radios that ship unlocked for these frequencies while most other manufacturers lock them down is… unclear, but that’s the current reality.
What is always legal is receive-only use. You can program GMRS channels with Duplex set to OFF and use the radio strictly to listen. That's works perfectly fine. Your wife can with 100% legality transmit from a GMRS radio to you on your amatuer radio to tell you it’s time to come back to the car and stop shredding, ask me how I know.
In the real world, many people do transmit on GMRS frequencies with radios not meant for GMRS. Most of the users act far more respectfully than the standard GMRS users, with GMRS use being largley unlicensed, said users never identify, and most treat GMRS like glorified walkie-talkies. The GMRS license, by the way, is only $35 for 10 years with no test and it covers your entire family. You'd be crazy not to get it, and you'd be that much more in the right than anyone else operating on GMRS.
Now... If someone chooses to operate their non Part 95 acceptance radio on GMRS frequencies anyways, the bare minimum courtesy is to make sure the radio is programmed correctly: proper power levels, narrowband where required, correct offsets and tones, and not splattering over other users. If you read and understand the rules and make sure you're operating legitimatelly, at that point you’re arguably doing more to respect the intent of GMRS than a huge percentage of “legal” users who never bothered to learn how their radios work, don't know their callsigns or never got a license to even have a callsign, and/or are just being dickheads on the airwaves anyways.
Our personal take: the spirit of the GMRS rules seems to be about simplicity and interference prevention, not punishing people who understand RF and operate responsibly. The restriction on front-panel programmability appears aimed at preventing accidental misconfiguration, not stopping technically competent users from behaving well on the band. Whenever possible we will advocate to the FCC that GMRS frequencies be made available to ham radio operators.
Key Details
- GMRS on Ham Radios is illegal
- Unless it's an emergency with risk to life or property.
- Speeding is illegal too and everybody does it.
- We're not your mom.
- We think the licensed ham radio operators should be able to operate on GMRS frequencies, with a license, and within the restrictions of GMRS.
Bottom Line
We'd love it if the FTC adjusted the rules surrounding GMRS usage from amateur radios, but until then it's illegal to do so, and thus we have to let you know. As some folks value being able to utilize GMRS on their Ham radios, we'll generally mention that as a positive in our reviews, but it is not a reflection of our preferences or activites.