Walkie Talkie Radios Legality

PMR446, FRS and GMRS

There are a wide range of walkie-talkie on sale in different countries. Not all are allowed to be used legally because of the frequency and bands they use. There are laws governing their use for each country you live or intend to visit.

Regulations for radios

In different countries, authorities regulating the use walkie-talkie radios, or even mobile radios, dictate what can be purchased and used by the public.

Regulations ensure that vital communications for emergency services and vital communications do not suffer from interference by radios used by members of the public.

PMR446 UK / European Compliant Radios

PMR446 is a UK & European Union approved frequencies for use in the UK and the European Union. They have 8 to 16 and 32 channels on or around 446MHz.

PMR446 radios must not emit more than ½ watt of transmission power, so that a wide variety of brands and models of PMR446 walkie-talkies will have a similar range.

PMR446 radios are NOT approved for use in the U.S.A or Canada.

FRS / GMRS U.S. Radios

FRS and GMRS are the U.S. standards for consumer radios widely sold in the U.S.

They can have 14 to 22 channels, with frequencies of 462 and 467MHz. They are of course not compatible with the European PMR446 radios and they are they are illegal to use in the UK or Europe.

In the USA and Canada the electrical mains voltage is 120 volts, rather than the 240 volts used in Europe and the United Kingdom, so there could be problems with UK voltage blowing up the US 120v chargers.

There is currently is no radios thats is multi use European / American walkie-talkie that is type approved and legal to use in both countries. The capability of transmitting on non-legal frequencies are therefore not be legal in either country.

The Rest of the World

Individual countries may have their own rules and restrictions about what kind of radios can be legally used. We cannot provide a complete list of these rules.

It is up to the prospective buyer to check what the situation is in their intended country of use.

Countries in the Middle East are very strict about the radios you can bring in to their countries and are likely to have radios confiscated by the customs on entry.

The majority of countries in Europe do not seem too concerned about what radios are brought imported, with the exception of Switzerland, which does not allow in equipment that doesn’t meet their rules.

Illegal Radios Offered For Sale in UK

Be aware of sellers on line and in shops offering long range walkie-talkies for sale in the UK at low prices.

These are often Chinese or U.S. spec radios which are ILLEGAL to use within the UK and Europe.

American electrical products such as chargers for the radios for example, require 120 volt mains power, an American-type plug. In Europe the mains voltage is 230 volts.

You could easily blow up and cause damage or fires if the 120 volt American chargers are plugged into the higher-voltage 230 volt UK wall socket.

Non type approved radios

This can be a different issue to blatantly using radios on frequency, bands and power ratings that are not legal in the country they are used in. Baofeng, the cheap Chinese radios imported into the U.S. and Europe claim to be type approved on 446, Amateur radio bands and many other bands, however, it turns out their claims in the documentations do not reflect the spurious output the radios emit.

Type Approved or not?

In addition, if the radio is type approved on say the UK amateur bands and the radio is capable of transmitting on the licence free CB and 446 bands which they are not type approved for, this is not strictly legal. In fact, it can be fraudulent in the case of the manufacturer and or importer.

There are specifications that 446, and other radios, must conform to. This can be a limit on power output, non removable antennas, frequencies and type of modulation.

Everyday Carry Preparedness