Amateur Extra Exam Guide
The Amateur Extra exam (Element 4) is 50 multiple-choice questions drawn from a published pool of 599. You need 37 correct to pass, which is 74%. Every question and answer is public before you sit the exam, so the fastest way to pass is to study the pool itself.
What's on the Amateur Extra exam
The pool is split into ten subelements, and each subelement into groups. Every exam takes exactly one question from each group, so the number of questions from each topic is fixed; only which question you get from each group changes.
| Subelement | Topic | On the exam | In the pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Commission Rules | 6 | 68 |
| E2 | Operating Procedures | 5 | 61 |
| E3 | Radio Wave Propagation | 3 | 39 |
| E4 | Amateur Practices | 5 | 64 |
| E5 | Electrical Principles | 4 | 49 |
| E6 | Circuit Components | 6 | 68 |
| E7 | Practical Circuits | 8 | 99 |
| E8 | Signals and Emissions | 4 | 48 |
| E9 | Antennas and Transmission Lines | 8 | 94 |
| E0 | Safety | 1 | 12 |
What the Amateur Extra license lets you do
Every amateur privilege on every band, including the Extra-only segments at the bottom of the HF bands, and eligibility to serve as a Volunteer Examiner for all classes.
You need a General license, a pass at the same exam session, or an exam credit certificate from the last 365 days before you can be granted Amateur Extra. You can sit both exams on the same day.
How to study for it
Weight your time by the table: Practical Circuits (E7), Antennas and Transmission Lines (E9) and Commission Rules (E1) alone make up 22 of the 50 questions.
Practise little and often. Short daily sessions beat one long cram, and repeating the questions you miss is what moves your score.
Take full 50-question practice exams once you have seen most of the pool, and book your session when you pass them comfortably, not just barely.
Expect more mathematics and circuit theory than General, especially in E5 and E7. A basic calculator is usually allowed in the exam room.
Try the Amateur Extra questions
See real questions from the pool with their answers, then create a free account for 20 questions a day with flashcards, quizzes and full timed exams.
Ready to book? How to get your ham radio license covers finding an exam session, the FCC registration number you need first, and the fees.