How do I find out if my call sign is still valid?

[WAQBN]

Years ago I used to b a ham. I'm thinking of starting again. I think my call sign was wa2qbn. How do I verify it?

[K0RGR]

I think it's been a long time since WA2 calls were issued. Back then, the tickets were only good for 5 years, - it's 10 years now. There is a two-year grace period to renew after it expires. So, if it's been more than 12 years since you renewed the license, it's too late, and you'll have to start again at the Tech level.

The good news is that you shouldn't need to do a lot of studying to pass the Tech, other than understanding the rules changes. You must take the Tech exam before you can try the General and Extra exams. I doubt you'll find the General that challenging, and of course ,no code tests now. If you get your Tech and remember the code, you can really go to town on the HF CW bands (at least 80.40.15 and 10) with up to 200 watts. Techs have what we used to call the 'General' privileges there now. 80, 40, and 15 still have 25 KHz segments for Extra only at the bottom, though.

[KA9JLM]

Years ago I used to b a ham. I'm thinking of starting again. I think my call sign was wa2qbn. How do I verify it?

If you are not sure what your call was then it has expired.

?. That would Verify it.

[K5JY]

Rather than post any of your personal information here, I'd advise going to the FCC ULS website and putting in the name and address you used when your license was active (the one you've listed isn't currently assigned to anyone.) That might bring up your previous callsign (but perhaps not, since a lot of older data isn't online with FCC.) There are folks here that have old callbooks, and might be able to find your callsign if you can narrow down the year(s) a bit. Good luck!