MURS, the Multi-Use Radio Service, is five VHF channels that anyone can use with no license, no exam and no fee. It’s limited to 2 watts and you can’t use repeaters, but it sits on a different band from FRS and GMRS. That makes it quieter, a little better in woods and rolling hills, and a useful second (or third) layer in a family or group comms plan.
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What are you preparing for, who you need to reach and how far. FRS, GMRS, MURS, ham, CB and PoC radios: licenses, fees, real-world range, handheld vs mobile vs base, and terrain – on one printable page.
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MURS at a glance
- License
- None. MURS is “licensed by rule”: buy a certified MURS radio and follow the rules (§95.305).
- Who can use it
- Anyone, any age. The only people excluded are foreign-government representatives and anyone under an FCC cease-and-desist order.
- Cost
- No FCC fee. Just the radio.
- Band
- VHF, 151–154 MHz. FRS and GMRS are UHF (462–467 MHz).
- Channels
- Five, shared with everyone (and with some older business users on two of them).
- Power
- 2 watts transmitter output, on every channel.
- Antenna
- Removable and external antennas are allowed, including gain antennas. The top of the antenna may be no more than 60 ft above the ground or 20 ft above the structure it’s on.
- Repeaters
- Not allowed. Every MURS contact is radio-to-radio.
- Call sign
- None. MURS has no station identification rule.
- What you can send
- Voice (FM or AM), data, images, telemetry and remote control. Privacy tones (CTCSS/DCS) are allowed.
- Where
- The U.S. and its territories, and U.S. vessels. Not aboard aircraft in flight.
The five MURS channels
The FCC lists MURS by frequency, not channel number. The numbers 1–5 below are the common convention most radios use; channels 4 and 5 are also widely known by their old business-radio names.
| Channel | Frequency (MHz) | Max bandwidth | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MURS 1 | 151.820 | 11.25 kHz (narrow) | |
| MURS 2 | 151.880 | 11.25 kHz (narrow) | |
| MURS 3 | 151.940 | 11.25 kHz (narrow) | Used by the AmRRON Channel 3 Project as a MURS calling channel |
| MURS 4 | 154.570 | 20 kHz (wide allowed) | “Blue Dot” – you may hear businesses here |
| MURS 5 | 154.600 | 20 kHz (wide allowed) | “Green Dot” – you may hear businesses here |
Program every radio in your group the same way: the same channels, the same privacy tone and the same narrow/wide setting. A wide radio talking to a narrow one sounds loud and distorted one way and quiet the other.
The rules that apply to MURS
MURS rules are in 47 CFR Part 95, Subpart J. The general rules for all Personal Radio Services in Subpart A apply too. Here is every rule that matters to someone using MURS, in plain English.
Operating rules (what you must and mustn’t do)
| Rule | What it means for you | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Use a certified radio | The radio must be FCC-certified for MURS. Using one that isn’t voids your authority to operate. | 95.335 |
| Listen before you talk | Check the channel is clear before transmitting and take reasonable steps not to interfere with others. | 95.2725 |
| No repeaters or boosters | No repeater stations, signal boosters or store-and-forward packet (digipeating). | 95.2733 |
| No phone patch | MURS can’t be connected to the public telephone network. | 95.2749 |
| No continuous carrier | You can’t leave a transmitter keyed up continuously. | 95.2757 |
| Antenna height | Top of the antenna no more than 60 ft above ground or 20 ft above the structure it’s mounted on. Extra limits apply near airports. | 95.2741, 95.317 |
| Replacing parts | You may replace a damaged antenna with the same or a compatible type, and batteries with the type the manufacturer specifies. Other repairs must be done by someone qualified. | 95.2719, 95.319 |
| Faulty equipment | If your radio isn’t working properly, stop transmitting on it (except for emergencies) until it’s fixed. Brief test transmissions are fine. | 95.319 |
| Not in aircraft | No MURS use aboard aircraft in flight. | 95.2707 |
| Prohibited uses | Nothing illegal, no advertising or broadcast material, no messages for hire, no deliberate interference, nothing obscene, profane or indecent, nothing false or deceptive. | 95.333 |
| FCC letters | If the FCC writes to you about your station, you must reply in writing within the time it gives. | 95.311 |
What MURS is allowed to carry
| Rule | What it means for you | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Permitted uses | Voice, data or image signals, plus telemetry and telecommand (remote sensing and remote control). | 95.2731 |
| Emission types | FM and AM voice, and several data modes. Voice may include tone squelch or selective calling (CTCSS/DCS). | 95.2771 |
| Bandwidth | 11.25 kHz on 151.820, 151.880 and 151.940; 20 kHz on 154.570 and 154.600; AM voice no wider than 8 kHz. | 95.2773 |
| Power | 2 watts transmitter output, all channels. | 95.2767 |
| Grandfathered users | Businesses licensed on these frequencies before November 13, 2000 can keep operating under their old terms. Expect to share. | 95.2705 |
Equipment rules (mostly for manufacturers and sellers)
| Rule | What it means for you | Section |
|---|---|---|
| One service only | A radio can’t be certified for MURS if it can also transmit in another service (Part 15 low-power devices excepted). That rules out ham radios such as Baofengs. | 95.2761(c) |
| No scrambling | Radios with voice scrambling or other obscuring features can’t be certified for MURS (applications from Dec. 27, 2017). | 95.381 |
| No sale of uncertified radios | It’s illegal to make, import, sell or offer for sale non-certified equipment for the Personal Radio Services. | 95.391 |
| Technical limits | Frequency accuracy, audio filter and unwanted-emission limits the radio must be designed to meet. | 95.2765, 95.2775, 95.2779 |
Rule change, December 2025. The FCC removed paragraphs (a) and (b) of §95.2761 (90 FR 57712, Dec. 12, 2025). They repeated the general requirement that every MURS radio be certified, which still applies under §95.335. Paragraph (c), the one-service-only rule, is unchanged.
Codes and encryption. Unlike GMRS, MURS has no rule against code words or brevity codes. But no radio with scrambling or encryption can be certified for MURS, so everything you say goes out in the clear. Assume anyone with a scanner can hear you. If you need to protect message content, that’s a COMSEC problem, not a MURS one.
Which radios you can use
Use a radio sold as MURS-certified. You can check any radio by looking up its FCC ID in the FCC equipment authorization database: the grant should list Part 95 Subpart J (MURS).
- Ham radios (Baofeng, BTECH UV series, AnyTone and similar): they can tune to MURS frequencies, but they aren’t certified for MURS. Most also put out more than 2 watts. Using them on MURS is a violation, even on low power. They’re fine for listening to MURS, and fine on the ham bands if you’re licensed.
- Commercial (Part 90) business radios: unless the radio is also certified under Subpart J, it isn’t a MURS radio. Business-band licensing is a separate Part 90 path for eligible organizations.
- MURS alarms and sensors: wireless driveway and gate alarms that use MURS are legal telemetry, and many families already own one. Your MURS radio can hear them.
“Any frequency in an emergency” is a myth. Part 95 has no rule letting you use an uncertified radio, or someone else’s frequencies, because it’s an emergency. The amateur-radio emergency rules (§97.403 and §97.405) cover licensed ham stations, not MURS. Plan with radios that are legal for the service you’ll use.
Even the FCC’s informal answers on this have been inconsistent. One staff response on record reportedly supported using a modified amateur radio on non-amateur frequencies in a genuine emergency; another said flatly that Part 97 only covers amateur frequencies. Conflicting informal statements from individual staff are not a legal foundation to plan around.
Range, antennas and height
Like FRS and GMRS, MURS is line of sight. Two watts doesn’t go far from a handheld held at chest height, but MURS lets you do something FRS doesn’t: use a better antenna and put it up high.
| Setup | Typical range* |
|---|---|
| Handheld to handheld | 1–3 miles |
| Handheld to a base antenna up high | 3–6 miles |
| Base to base, outdoor antennas at legal height | 5–8 miles, more from high ground |
*Rules of thumb, not promises. Terrain, trees, buildings and antenna height matter more than the radio.
- The 2 W limit is transmitter output, not radiated power. A gain antenna on a mast is legal and can make a big difference, as long as the top stays within the height limit.
- Height beats power. Getting the antenna 20 ft above your roofline does more than any amount of extra wattage.
- VHF in the woods. MURS (VHF) gets through trees and over rolling ground a little better than FRS/GMRS (UHF). In towns, among buildings, UHF often does better.
- Use good coax. On a base antenna, cheap thin coax can lose a good part of your 2 watts before it reaches the antenna.
MURS in your comms plan
MURS won’t out-reach a GMRS repeater, and it doesn’t need to. Its value is that it’s different: a different band, with no license barrier and fewer people listening.
- Homestead and rural groups: a good primary for property and neighbor comms where VHF handles the terrain better.
- Neighbors and visitors without a license: anyone can use MURS, so you can hand radios to people who don’t have a GMRS license.
- An alternate layer: use it as the Alternate or Contingency in a PACE plan alongside FRS/GMRS and ham.
- Write it down: list your MURS channels and tones in your family or group comms plan the same way you would GMRS.
Obscurity isn’t security. Fewer people monitor MURS, so you’re less likely to be overheard by chance. That is not protection. Anyone who checks MURS hears you in the clear. To keep your signal footprint down, see Emissions Control (EMCON) and the COM-04 EMCON course.
Downloads and sources
Sources: 47 CFR Part 95 Subpart J (MURS) and Subpart A (general rules), eCFR current as of October 29, 2026.
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