How it works
This unofficial practice test holds 575 of the 600 questions in the Element 3 pool that the Federal Communications Commission publishes for the General Radiotelephone Operator License. The license takes two written exams, Element 1 and Element 3, and this page covers Element 3 only. Choose a subelement under Start from, or press Exam mode for 100 questions with 75 needed to pass.
Read the full guide
How the General Radiotelephone Operator License exam is built
Under 47 CFR 13.201 the license needs two written elements. Element 1 is basic radio law and operating practice: 24 questions, 18 to pass. Element 3 is electronics: 100 questions, 75 to pass. Both figures are from the FCC's examinations page, dated March 6, 2024. The Element 3 pool has 600 questions in 17 subelements and 100 key topics, and each key topic of six questions supplies one to your exam. A Commercial Operator License Examination Manager, or COLEM, gives the exam, not the FCC.
What this bank holds and what it leaves out
The questions, choices and keyed answers are the June 25, 2009 pool, word for word. That includes its flattened formulas, such as "XL = 1 / R2+X2", because that is how the FCC's file prints them. Twenty-five questions are held back. Twenty-one need a schematic or other figure, which this tool cannot show yet. Two repeat another question exactly, one names other choices by letter, and one is printed with codes where its choices should be. In seven questions "None of the above" now reads "None of these", because choices are shuffled here.
A study order that follows the pool
Three subelements supply 30 of the 100 exam questions: Electrical Math, Components and Receivers, with ten each. Principles, Digital Logic and Installation, Maintenance and Repair add eight each. Begin there with the Start from menu, then work down to the small ones, such as Safety with two. When a subelement feels steady, take Exam mode, then clear the Missed pile. Where a keyed answer is a 2009 figure that has aged, such as a satellite position, the explanation says "the pool's answer". Learn it for the exam, not as current practice.
- In calculation key topics, such as effective radiated power or battery hours, all six questions use one method with different numbers. Do the six in a row until the method is automatic.
- Read the units before the numbers. Several aviation questions offer the same digits in kHz and in MHz.
- Open the FCC's pool file for the 21 figure questions held back here. They sit in key topics 10, 12, 20, 30, 32, 35, 43, 47, 50 and 58.
- Practice without notes. The FCC's examinations page says reference materials are not permitted: no books, papers, notes or study guides.
Questions and answers
Is the GROL license test one exam or two?
Two. 47 CFR 13.201(b)(2) lists the General Radiotelephone Operator License as Written Elements 1 and 3. Element 1 is radio law and operating practice, with 24 questions. Element 3 is the electronics exam, with 100. You need a pass in both, and this page holds Element 3 only.
Are these the questions on the real exam?
They are the FCC's published pool, and 47 CFR 13.207 requires every question set to use questions from the applicable pool. So your 100 questions come from these 600, though the choices may sit in a different order. This site is unofficial. The pool here is from an archived copy of the FCC's file dated April 17, 2025, so ask your COLEM whether a newer pool is in use.
Who gives the exam, and what happens after I pass?
A COLEM runs the session. Under 47 CFR 13.213 it is an examination manager that works under a written agreement with the FCC. Section 13.211 says it must give you your results within three business days and a Proof of Passing Certificate for each element you pass. The certificate is valid for 365 days, so apply inside that window. Under section 13.15 the license is normally valid for your lifetime.
Is there a time limit, and may I bring a calculator?
The FCC's examinations page publishes no time limit for Element 3, which is why Exam mode here runs without a clock. The same page bans books, papers, notes, study guides and other unauthorized aids or devices. It does not mention calculators, so ask the COLEM that runs your session.
Does the license also need the radar exam, Element 8?
No. Element 8 is only for the Ship Radar Endorsement, which covers installing, servicing and maintaining ship radar. The FCC's page gives it 50 questions with 38 to pass, and it is not on this page. Subelement O of Element 3 is different: five radar questions on every Element 3 exam.