The UK licence and sending images

Receiving needs nothing

Worth stating first, because people assume a barrier that is not there. Listening to amateur transmissions in the UK requires no licence.

You can decode SSTV from HF, from the ISS, or through an SDR today with no paperwork. Everything below applies only once you transmit.

Power, by licence class

Maximum Peak Envelope Power for the bands SSTV actually uses. These come from Schedule 1 of the licence, as reproduced in the RSGB examination reference data current in January 2026.

Other bands differ — 10 MHz is 400 W at Full, 70 MHz is 160 W, and 430–432 MHz is specified in ERP rather than PEP. Check Schedule 1 for anything not listed here.

The limit that will actually bite you is your radio’s. SSTV transmits at full output continuously for one to five minutes, and most transceivers are rated for far less than their peak power in continuous service. See audio levels and ALC.

Identification — condition 6(21)

The licence requires that:

• the station is clearly identifiable at all times;
• the callsign is transmitted as frequently as is practicable; and
• the callsign is given “in voice or other appropriate format consistent with the mode of operation”.

That third clause is the one that matters for pictures, and it settles a question people worry about: a legible callsign rendered into the image is an appropriate format for an image mode. The banner convention is not merely courtesy — it is how you identify in this mode.

Make it legible, then. A callsign that arrives as noise is not identification. Sizing and contrast are covered in preparing pictures.

Beacons and data stations

SSTV invites automation, and the licence addresses it directly. The power limits here are ERP, and they are far lower than your band limits:

* The higher limit requires the station to be identified using a callsign allocated and published by the RSGB.

In every case you must also:

• be able to close the station down within two hours of Ofcom requiring it;
• be able to show you took reasonable steps to minimise interference risk, with evidence if asked;
• remain responsible for it, whoever is operating it.

Note the definitions are narrower than casual use suggests. A Radio Beacon is automatic transmitting-only equipment for determining propagation, position, direction finding or telemetry. Unattended Operation means use of the equipment by a person in a different location from the equipment — and requires the licence number to be displayed on or next to any equipment away from your main station address.

Remote control links using amateur frequencies must be above 30 MHz.

No broadcasting — condition 6(19–20)

Transmissions must be addressed to one or more amateur stations, and must not be encrypted to obscure their meaning. You may not transmit for general reception, other than:

• initial calls;
• transmissions to a group or net of three or more amateurs, where you first established contact separately with at least one of them; or
• messages sent by a beacon or via a data station.

For pictures the practical reading is straightforward: calling CQ with an image is an initial call, working a picture net is fine, and running an unsolicited picture broadcast to whoever happens to be listening is not.

Purpose — condition 6(4)

The equipment may only be used for self-training in radio communications including technical investigations, or as a leisure activity and not for commercial purposes of any kind. Advertising in a picture is not a grey area.

EMF — condition 9

The EMF obligations apply to equipment authorised to transmit above 10 W EIRP or 6.1 W ERP, which on HF is essentially everyone. You must keep records demonstrating compliance and make them available to Ofcom on request. This applies regardless of the power your licence otherwise authorises.

Sources

Figures and condition numbers on this page were taken from the Amateur Radio Wireless Telegraphy Licence conditions booklet OFW611 and Schedule 1, as reproduced in the RSGB examination reference data current in January and February 2026. The licence was revised in February 2024 with further phases in October 2025, so anything older than that is suspect.

• Ofcom — amateur radio guidance for licensees
• Ofcom — licensing updates
• RSGB — UK licensing

This is a guide, not legal advice. Where it disagrees with your licence, your licence is right.