Rules and licensing
Which Wireless Frequencies Are Legal for a Church?
Quick answer
In the United States a church may operate wireless microphones in 470 to 608 MHz, 614 to 616 MHz at 20 mW, VHF 169 to 216 MHz, and the licence-free 902 to 928 MHz, 1.9 GHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands. Everything from 608 to 614 MHz and above 616 MHz is closed.
This is the page to check before you buy anything, accept any donation or bid on any auction listing. The rules changed substantially when the 600 MHz spectrum was auctioned, and a great deal of equipment that was perfectly legal a few years ago is now illegal to operate and cannot be brought back into compliance. Everything below follows the FCC position after the repack. Once you know which bands are open to you, count the channels you need in the wireless microphone channel calculator and work through how to coordinate frequencies.
On this page
The complete list, legal and prohibited
Read this table as a whole rather than looking up one number, because the boundaries are close together and the consequences either side of them are very different. Three of the ten entries are closed, and the two closed ranges above 616 MHz account for most of the spectrum churches used to rely on.
Only 470 to 608 MHz is a full power working band for church wireless microphones, and 617 to 652 MHz and 663 to 698 MHz are illegal to operate.
| Band | Status | Rule and licence | What it means for a church |
|---|---|---|---|
| VHF 169 to 216 MHz | Legal | Unlicensed, Part 15 | Crowded and antenna-hungry. Cheap systems live here and ranges suffer indoors. |
| UHF 470 to 608 MHz (TV 14 to 36) | Legal | Part 74 licence or unlicensed under Part 15 | The main working band. Operate only in TV channels that are locally unused. |
| 608 to 614 MHz (TV channel 37) | Prohibited | No operation permitted | Reserved for radio astronomy and wireless medical telemetry. Never legal for microphones. |
| 614 to 616 MHz guard band | Legal | Part 15, 20 mW limit | A narrow 2 MHz sliver. Perhaps two or three channels, at low power. |
| 617 to 652 and 663 to 698 MHz | Illegal to operate | Prohibited since the repack | Sold to mobile carriers. Secondhand gear tuned here is worthless. |
| 698 to 806 MHz | Prohibited | Prohibited since 2010 | Public safety and mobile broadband. Gear from before 2010 often sits here. |
| 902 to 928 MHz ISM | Legal | Unlicensed, Part 15 | Shares space with cordless phones and telemetry. Fine for a handful of channels. |
| 1920 to 1930 MHz DECT | Legal | Unlicensed | Self-coordinating digital systems. Easy to deploy, limited range and channel count. |
| 2.4 GHz ISM | Legal | Unlicensed, Part 15 | Shares the band with every Wi-Fi access point in the building. |
| 5.8 GHz ISM | Legal | Unlicensed, Part 15 | Cleaner than 2.4 GHz in most buildings, shorter range, needs line of sight. |
Status is the FCC allocation after the incentive auction and repack. Open channels inside 470 to 608 MHz vary by location because they depend on the television stations receivable at your building, so scan on site before you commit to a plan.
The short version a volunteer can remember
Three sentences cover almost every practical decision. Everything from 470 to 608 MHz is available if no television station is using that channel where your building stands. Everything at or above 617 MHz is closed, permanently, and equipment tuned only there is worthless. Between those, 608 to 614 MHz is prohibited outright and 614 to 616 MHz is legal but limited to 20 mW, which is short throw spectrum.
Outside the television bands entirely, 902 to 928 MHz, 1920 to 1930 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz are all unlicensed and legal, and no future television auction can take them away. What they cost you is range and channel count. VHF at 169 to 216 MHz is also legal and is where the cheapest systems live, but it is crowded and holds very few channels. If someone hands you a system and you have thirty seconds, read the megahertz range on the back of the receiver and compare it against the table above.
Power limits, which are part of the rules too
Legality is not only about where you transmit but how hard. Unlicensed operation caps transmitter power, and the cap differs between the main band and the duplex gap. These numbers matter when you are deciding which position goes on which channel.
Unlicensed church operation is capped at 50 mW in the UHF TV band and 20 mW in the 614 to 616 MHz guard band.
| Where | Route | Power ceiling | Practical consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 470 to 608 MHz | Unlicensed, Part 15 | 50 mW | The normal church figure. About 200 to 300 feet indoors. |
| 470 to 608 MHz | Licensed, Part 74 | 250 mW | Available to eligible entities only. Most churches do not qualify. |
| 614 to 616 MHz | Unlicensed, Part 15 | 20 mW | Roughly two thirds the range. Short throw positions only. |
| 902 MHz, 1.9, 2.4 and 5.8 GHz | Unlicensed, Part 15 | Set by the ISM rules | Range is limited by wavelength more than by power. |
Unlicensed operation of any kind carries the same standing condition: you accept interference from licensed services and you must stop causing any interference you produce, whoever arrived first.
How to check a system in under a minute
- Read the tuning range on the receiver, in megahertz. The rear panel carries the range the hardware physically covers. Band letters are unreliable because the same letter has meant different ranges across manufacturers and product generations. The megahertz figure is the fact.
- Compare it against the table above. Anything sitting entirely at or above 617 MHz is illegal to operate and cannot be fixed. Anything crossing 608 to 614 MHz can be used legally provided every assigned frequency stays below 608 MHz.
- Power it up and read the display. The frequency the previous owner left it on tells you where the system has been living, which is a useful second opinion on the label.
- Check the transmitters as well. Handhelds and body packs carry their own tuning ranges and they must match the receiver. A legal receiver with a prohibited transmitter is not half a bargain, it is no bargain.
- Check what is open where you are. A legal system whose 24 MHz range sits on top of the only two occupied television channels in your market is legal and useless. Look up the local stations before buying, not after.
Systems that are legal everywhere in the United States
If the whole subject is exhausting, the shortest route out of it is to buy outside the television bands, where no auction can reach and no coordination is required. The trade is range and channel count, which for a small church is usually an acceptable price.
Audio-Technica ATW-1102 Wireless Handheld Microphone System
$349.95 Specs and sizingA 2.4 GHz digital system with automatic frequency selection. It is legal in every market, it needs no coordination, and no future television auction can strand it. Range is about 100 feet.
Best for: A small church that wants this conversation to be over
Check price on Amazon
Shure GLXD24+/SM58 Digital Wireless Vocal System - Z3 Band
$659.00 Specs and sizingOperates across 2.4 and 5.8 GHz with automatic frequency management, so a busy lower band is handled without anyone intervening, on a platform with the full Shure capsule range behind it.
Best for: Small to mid-size rooms with nobody on the rota to coordinate UHF
Check price on Amazon
Shure BLX24/SM58 Wireless Microphone System - 14-Hour Battery Life, 300 ft Range, UHF
$389.00 Specs and sizingUHF inside 470 to 608 MHz, with up to twelve compatible channels per band. If your market has open television channels, this is far more capacity than any licence-free band offers.
Best for: Four or more channels in a 100 to 500 seat room
Check price on AmazonWhat this means for how you plan a system
The practical effect of the rules is that spectrum, not budget, sets your channel ceiling. Four compatible analog channels fit in each empty 6 MHz television channel, eight digital, or fifteen in a high-density digital mode, and the number of empty television channels at your address is a fact about your address rather than a purchasing decision. That is why the channel calculator asks how many TV channels are open rather than how much you want to spend.
It also means in-ear monitor transmitters belong in the same plan as the microphones, because they use the same spectrum. A church with eight microphone channels and six in-ear packs is coordinating fourteen frequencies, not eight, which is the single most common way a wireless plan runs out of room without anyone noticing. See in-ear monitor systems and the wireless channel count chart.
How we chose
We did not test these products in person and we never claim to. Picks are researched from manufacturer specification sheets and operator manuals, FCC rules where spectrum is involved, published standards, warranty terms, and the recurring themes in verified owner reviews. Every pick is matched to a real room size, seat count or input list rather than to a price bracket, and it is placed in the tier where its capability actually belongs. Where a product is wrong for most churches we say so on the page.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What frequencies can a church legally use for wireless microphones?
In the United States: 470 to 608 MHz subject to local television occupancy, 614 to 616 MHz at 20 mW, VHF 169 to 216 MHz, and the licence-free 902 to 928 MHz, 1920 to 1930 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands. Prohibited are 608 to 614 MHz, 617 to 652 MHz, 663 to 698 MHz and 698 to 806 MHz.
Do churches need an FCC licence for wireless microphones?
Almost none do. Nearly every church operates unlicensed under the Part 15 rules for low power auxiliary devices, which caps transmitter power and means you must accept interference. Part 74 licensing exists but its eligibility categories do not reach a typical congregation. Operating unlicensed is entirely lawful, not a loophole.
How do I know if my existing system is still legal?
Read the tuning range printed on the receiver rear panel in megahertz and compare it against the band table. Anything sitting entirely at or above 617 MHz is illegal to operate. Anything above 698 MHz has been prohibited since 2010. Check the transmitters too, because they carry their own ranges and must match the receiver.
Can I use a wireless microphone on any open TV channel?
Inside 470 to 608 MHz, yes, provided no television station is using that channel at your location, which is what coordination means. Occupancy is a fact about your address rather than your market, so scan on site from where the receiver will live, with the stage lighting and video screens switched on since both raise the noise floor.
Is the 614 to 616 MHz guard band worth using?
For one or two short throw channels, yes. It is legal at 20 mW, which costs roughly a third of your range, and two megahertz holds perhaps two or three channels. Use it for fixed positions such as a lectern body pack, and keep the roaming preaching channel in the main band where the power margin actually matters.
What happens if we operate in a prohibited band?
In the 600 MHz service band you are transmitting inside a licensed mobile carrier network, and the carrier has both the motivation and the equipment to locate interference. Enforcement is a matter for the FCC. Practically, it also will not work, because a live network in your market will sit on top of your microphone every Sunday.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published manufacturer specifications, operator manuals, FCC rules, published standards and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Sound system design, rigging loudspeakers overhead, and any electrical work are jobs for a qualified professional: have flown loudspeakers and their attachment points signed off by a structural engineer or a certified rigger, and have all wiring done by a licensed electrician to your local code. Wireless microphone rules change, so confirm the current FCC position before buying. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.