What is a requirement of all marine transmitting apparatus used aboard United States vessels?
Based on: FCC pool 1-1A1
FCC commercial radio licence · GROL · 2026
FCC GROL Radio License Exam 2026
Get ready for the FCC General Radiotelephone Operator License with the complete Element 1 and Element 3 question pools. Every question is the real, word-for-word FCC pool question with the official answer, plus an explanation we write ourselves, so what you study is exactly what the exam tests.
1,400+ Study items
124 Mock exam
75% To pass
100% Offline
The exam
What the FCC GROL exam involves
The General Radiotelephone Operator License (GROL) is the FCC commercial radio operator licence required to adjust, maintain, or internally repair the radiotelephone transmitters used in the maritime and aviation services, and many radar and two-way radio jobs ask for it. It is not the amateur (ham) radio licence. To earn the GROL you pass two written exam elements, and the questions are drawn from the FCC's published commercial operator question pools.
How many questions are on the GROL exam and what do I have to pass?
You must pass two separate elements. Element 1 (Basic Radio Law and Operating Practice) has 24 questions and you need 18 correct. Element 3 (General Radiotelephone) has 100 questions and you need 75 correct. Both work out to 75 percent, and you must pass both to be issued the licence.
- Element 1: 24 questions, 18 correct to pass (75%)
- Element 3: 100 questions, 75 correct to pass (75%)
- Combined: 124 questions across both elements
Where do the exam questions come from?
Every GROL question is drawn from the FCC's public commercial operator question pools: 144 questions in the Element 1 pool and 600 in the Element 3 pool, 744 in total. These pools are works of the United States federal government and are in the public domain, so this app reproduces the real questions word for word with the official correct answer, and adds an explanation of its own.
- Element 1 pool: 144 questions across 4 subelements
- Element 3 pool: 600 questions across 17 subelements
- This app: all 744 pool questions, plus 744 flashcards
What topics does Element 3 cover?
Element 3 is the technical element. Its 600 questions span the full range of radiotelephone electronics, from basic theory to complete systems.
- Electrical principles and math: Ohm's law, power, reactance, impedance and the core calculations
- Components and circuits: resistors, capacitors, inductors, semiconductors, power supplies, amplifiers and oscillators
- Digital logic and receivers: logic gates, superheterodyne receivers, selectivity and demodulation
- Transmitters, modulation and antennas: AM, FM and SSB, emission types, feed lines and standing wave ratio
- Marine, aircraft, radar and satellite: the service-specific equipment, plus power sources, installation, maintenance and RF safety
Features
A complete study system, on one device
01 / PRACTICE
Practice mode
Work through all 744 real pool questions by topic, with a clear explanation and the FCC pool reference on every answer so you learn why it is right, not just which letter to pick.
02 / MOCK
Mock exam
Sit a timed 124-question mock that mirrors the combined Element 1 and Element 3 format and the 75 percent pass mark, drawn at the official topic weighting.
03 / FLASHCARDS
Flashcards
Drill the formulas, definitions and rules, from Ohm's law and emission designators to the distress procedures, with a deck of 744 cards.
What's inside
What to look for in an exam-prep app
| Based on the official public source | Yes, FCC commercial radio operator license question pools — Element 1 (Basic Radio Law and Operating Practice) and Element 3 (General Radiotelephone) |
|---|---|
| Timed mock exam | 124 questions, 180 min |
| Pass rule applied | 75% to pass |
| Answer explanations mapped to the source | Yes |
| Weak-area review | Yes |
| Flashcards (spaced repetition) | Yes |
| Works fully offline, no account | Yes |
| Ads | None |
| Payment | One-time purchase |
| Last content review | 2026-06-28 |
In the app
Calm, focused study, nothing else
Sample questions
Try 10 real practice questions
Tap an answer to see why it is right, mapped to the official source, exactly as in the app.
What traffic management service is operated by the U.S. Coast Guard in certain designated water areas to prevent ship collisions, groundings and environmental harm?
Based on: FCC pool 1-7B1
The product of the readings of an AC voltmeter and AC ammeter is called:
Based on: FCC pool 3-1A1
What happens to the conductivity of photoconductive material when light shines on it?
Based on: FCC pool 3-19C1
What is the limiting condition for sensitivity in a communications receiver?
Based on: FCC pool 3-41F1
Which of the following could cause a high standing wave ratio on a transmission line?
Based on: FCC pool 3-63J1
What is the channel spacing used for VHF marine radio?
Based on: FCC pool 3-85N1
What is the normal range of pulse repetition rates?
Based on: FCC pool 3-90O1
Compliance with MPE, or Maximum Permissible Exposure to RF levels (as defined in FCC Part 1, OET Bulletin 65) for “controlled” environments, are averaged over _______ minutes, while “uncontrolled” RF environments are averaged over ______ minutes.
Based on: FCC pool 3-99Q1
What is the voltage range considered to be valid logic low input in a TTL device operating at 5 volts?
Based on: FCC pool 3-33E1
Source & accuracy
Where the questions come from, and when we last checked
Built from FCC commercial radio operator license question pools — Element 1 (Basic Radio Law and Operating Practice) and Element 3 (General Radiotelephone) (FCC Element 1 and Element 3 commercial operator question pools), the official public source, used under Public domain (works of the United States federal government; 17 U.S.C. 105). Pools established under 47 CFR Part 13 (§§ 13.215 / 13.217).. View the official source .
Last checked against the source: 2026-06-28.
- Study items
- 1,400+
- Questions
- 744
- Flashcards
- 744
- Mock exam
- 124
- Pass mark
- 75%
All questions are original and written from the public source. No official exam questions are copied.
Content audit trail
- 2026-06-28 Cross-model QA: all 744 explanations confirmed consistent with the official FCC keyed answer across multiple verification rounds; figure-dependent questions checked against the pool drawings.
- 2026-06-28 Initial release reproducing the complete public-domain FCC Element 1 (144) and Element 3 (600) question pools with the official answer key.
FAQ
Common questions
Is this the official FCC GROL exam app?
No. This is an independent study aid. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Communications Commission. The questions are reproduced from the FCC's public-domain commercial operator question pools, with answers and explanations we provide ourselves.
Is the GROL the same as a ham (amateur) radio licence?
No. The GROL is a commercial radio operator licence for maintaining and repairing transmitters in the maritime and aviation services. The amateur (ham) licence is a separate thing with its own exams and question pools, and this app does not cover it.
Are these the real exam questions?
Yes. The FCC publishes the actual question pools for the commercial operator exams, and because they are United States federal government works they are in the public domain. This app reproduces all 744 pool questions word for word with the official answer key, and adds its own plain-English explanation to each.
How many practice questions and flashcards are included?
The app includes all 744 questions from the FCC Element 1 and Element 3 pools, plus 744 flashcards, for more than 1,400 study items.
Does the app work offline?
Yes. Everything is stored on your device, so you can study without an internet connection and there is no login or account to create.
How do I restore my purchase on a new device?
Use the restore purchase option in the app. The one-time purchase is tied to your app store account, so you can restore it on any device that uses the same account.
What do I need to score to pass?
You must pass both elements. Element 1 needs 18 of 24 correct and Element 3 needs 75 of 100 correct, which is 75 percent on each. The combined practice mock in the app uses the same 75 percent target.
Who writes these explanations, and how do you check the answers are right?
The questions and the correct answers come straight from the FCC's published pools. We write the explanations, and before they ship a second, independent AI model from a different family confirms that each explanation correctly supports the official keyed answer, with a human reviewing anything the two models disagree on. You can read the full process at rivermaplearning.com/how-we-build-questions, and the free sample questions above let you judge the quality before you buy.
If I pass the practice mock, will I pass the real exam?
No study tool can promise that. Our mock mirrors the official format and the 75 percent pass mark, but the combined 124-question length is our own rehearsal format rather than how the elements are scheduled in a real session. Use the app alongside the official FCC materials, not instead of them.
Get the app
Walk into your test prepared.
One purchase. Every question. Yours offline, forever.