On July 1, 2026, a new Element 2 Technician class question pool will take effect for license examinations. VECs and VEs must have new test designs available for use at exam sessions effective that date. 

The newly revised pool, released in December 2025 (updated and re-released on February 19, 2026) by the Question Pool Committee (QPC) of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC), must be in use starting July 1. There are 409 questions in this pool, down slightly from 412 in the previous pool. The pool also includes three diagrams used for some of the questions. View all current question pools on the NCVEC website at www.ncvec.org. 

ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, advises that the ExamTools examination system will automatically switch to the new pool and exams on July 1. For ARRL-VEC VE teams using online exams at in-person sessions or for remote video-supervised sessions, no action is required. 

“VE teams using paper exams must discard all older Technician tests and print new versions from ExamTools,” said Somma. “ARRL-supplied 2022 series Technician exam booklets and exams generated from the old pool are valid only through June 30; after that date, they are no longer valid.” 

New editions of ARRL licensing publications for the 2026-2030 Technician pool, the 6th edition of The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, the 9th edition of ARRL Tech Q & A and 11th edition of Gordon West’s Technician Class study guide will be available starting this month, for exams taken on or after July 1, 2026.