The 2026 US Technician Question Pool is Here!

The first release of the 2026 Element 2 (Technician class) question pool is out, and you can find it here: https://ncvec.org/index.php/2026-2030-technician-question-pool

As hopefully everyone knows, the question pool is not maintained by the FCC—it’s maintained by the Question Pool Committee (QPC), which is part of the NCVEC. It’s not uncommon for the QPC to catch a few typos or even change a few questions after the initial release, so things may shift a little more before July 1, 2026, which is when this new pool takes effect.

If you’re studying now and plan to test before July 1, 2026, you’ll still be tested on the current 2022-2026 pool. The new pool only applies to exams administered on or after that date.

What Changed?

You can find a graphical “diff” of the changes here: https://hamstudy.org/diff/E2_2022/E2_2026

Here is a more text-oriented output from the same system: https://gist.github.com/taxilian/c6fca675a58fd4b165e97b3334fc8f66

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• 26 new questions added
• 29 questions removed
• 69 questions with changed wording
• 8 questions moved to different IDs (same content, new number)

The New Stuff

The new questions cover some topics that weren’t previously in the Technician pool:

• Licensing details: How you receive your license (email from the FCC), when you can renew (90 days before expiration)
• Digital modes: More emphasis on DMR (code plugs, color codes), Winlink for emergency email, and FT8 privileges for Technicians
• Station control: Clearer definitions of control operators, remote control, and auxiliary stations
• Propagation beacons: Where to find HF beacons on 10 meters (28.200-28.300 MHz)
• Practical knowledge: How ohmmeters work, VFO function, foam vs solid dielectric coax, weatherproofing connectors

Wording Updates

Many of the “changed” questions are minor cleanup—adding hyphens to “2-meter” instead of “2 meter,” spelling out abbreviations like DTMF and CTCSS, or rewording questions slightly for clarity. A few notable wording changes worth mentioning:

• The ionosphere question now says “reflect” instead of “refract or bend” (same concept, different terminology—and yes, hams will argue about which is more correct)
• Auroral backscatter is now described as having a “raspy sound” rather than “varying signal strength”
• FT8 setup now references generic “FT8 software” instead of specifically naming WSJT-X
• The dummy load answer now explicitly includes “50-ohm” in the description

What Got Removed?

Some questions that were removed include the 219-220 MHz segment restrictions, the definition of a beacon (replaced with a question about where to find them), and a few that were consolidated or replaced with updated versions.

Study Resources

We’ve already got you covered:

• Study the 2026 pool on HamStudy — All questions are available with full explanations, even the new ones. We haven’t linked it from the front page yet since there’s still six months before it takes effect, but it’s ready when you are.
• 2026 Technician HamBook — The new edition is already in draft form, fully updated for the 2026 pool. It may see some refinements before the official release, but the content is there.
• 2022 HamBook Supplement — If you’ve been studying the current HamBook and want to know what’s new, we’ve added a supplemental chapter covering all the new material in the 2026 pool.

The Bottom Line

If you’re planning to get your Technician license, don’t stress about which pool you’ll be tested on—the fundamentals are the same. The 2026 pool modernizes some questions around digital modes and clarifies a few regulatory details, but it’s not a dramatic overhaul. Study the material, understand the concepts, and you’ll do fine on either version.

Questions? Drop us a line or join the conversation in the comments!

73, The HamStudy Team