ITU prefix

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types. They also form the basis for, but may not exactly match, aircraft registration identifiers. These prefixes are agreed upon internationally, and are a form of country code. A call sign can be any number of letters and numerals but each country must only use call signs that begin with the characters allocated for use in that country.

With regard to the second and/or third letters in the prefixes in the list below, if the country in question is allocated all callsigns with A to Z in that position, then that country can also use call signs with the digits 0 to 9 in that position. For example, the United States is assigned KA–KZ, and therefore can also use prefixes like K1 or K9.

While ITU prefix rules are adhered to in the context of international broadcasting, including amateur radio, it is rarer for countries to assign broadcast call signs to conventional AM, FM, and television stations with purely domestic reach; the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Argentina are among those that do. Canada presents one notable exception to the ITU prefix rules: Since 1936, it has used CB for its own Canadian Broadcasting Corporation stations, whereas Chile is officially assigned the CB prefix. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's broadcasting rules indicate this is through a "special arrangement", without elaborating. In any case, the two countries are geographically separate enough to prevent confusion; Canada's shortwave broadcasters and amateur radio stations have always used one of its assigned ITU prefixes.

Unallocated and unavailable call sign prefixes

Unallocated: The following call sign prefixes are available for future allocation by the ITU. (x represents any letter; n represents any digit from 2–9.)

E8, E9, H5, J9, On, S4, T9*, Un, V9, Xn, YZ*, Z4–Z7, Z9, 4N*.

(* Indicates a prefix that has recently been returned to the ITU.)T9 is the former prefix of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it moved to E7 on 7 August 2007. YZ and 4N belonged to Yugoslavia, along with 4O (which went to successor state Montenegro) and YT and YU (which went to successor state Serbia).

Unavailable: Under present ITU guidelines the following call sign prefixes shall not be allocated. They are sometimes used unofficially – such as amateur radio operators operating in a disputed territory or in a nation state that has no official prefix (e.g. S0 in Western Sahara or station 1A0 at Knights of Malta headquarters in Rome). (x represents any letter; n represents any digit from 2–9.)

nn, x0, x1, 0x, 1x, Qx. no prefixes beginning with Q are used—they may be confused with Q codes. Note that this applies to prefixes only - suffixes are the responsibility of the allocating country. no prefixes with the digits 1 or 0 are used—they may be confused with the letters I or O. two digit prefixes (nn) are not as yet considered by the ITU.

Allocation table

Call Sign Series Allocated to AA–AL United States AM–AO Spain AP–AS Pakistan AT–AW India AX Australia AY–AZ Argentina A2 Botswana A3 Tonga A4 Oman A5 Bhutan A6 United Arab Emirates A7 Qatar A8 Liberia A9 Bahrain B China B (BM-BQ, BU-BX) Taiwan CA–CE Chile CF–CK Canada CL–CM Cuba CN Morocco CO Cuba CP Bolivia CQ–CU Portugal CV–CX Uruguay CY–CZ Canada C2 Nauru C3 Andorra C4 Cyprus C5 The Gambia C6 The Bahamas C7 World Meteorological OrganizationSeries allocated to an international organization. C8–C9 Mozambique DA–DR Germany DS–DT South Korea DU–DZ Philippines D2–D3 Angola D4 Cape Verde D5 Liberia D6 Comoros D7–D9 South Korea EA–EH Spain EI–EJ Ireland EK Armenia EL Liberia EM–EO Ukraine EP–EQ Iran ER Moldova ES Estonia ET Ethiopia EU–EW Belarus EX Kyrgyzstan EY Tajikistan EZ Turkmenistan E2 Thailand E3 Eritrea E4 Palestinian Authority E5 Cook Islands E6 NiueProvisional allocation in accordance with No. S19.33: (Between radiocommunication conferences, the Secretary-General is authorized to deal with questions relating to changes in the allocation of series of call signs, on a provisional basis, and subject to confirmation by the following conference.) E7 Bosnia and Herzegovina F France (and its Overseas departments/territories) G United Kingdom (and its overseas territories/Crown dependencies) HA Hungary HB Switzerland HB (HB0, HB3Y, HBL) Liechtenstein (uses prefixes allocated to Switzerland) HC–HD Ecuador HE Switzerland HF Poland HG Hungary HH Haiti HI Dominican Republic HJ–HK Colombia HL South Korea HM North Korea HN Iraq HO–HP Panama HQ–HR Honduras HS Thailand HT Nicaragua HU El Salvador HV Vatican City HW–HY France (and its Overseas departments/territories) HZ Saudi Arabia H2 Cyprus H3 Panama H4 Solomon Islands H6–H7 Nicaragua H8–H9 Panama I Italy JA–JS Japan JT–JV Mongolia JW–JX Norway JY Jordan JZ Indonesia J2 Djibouti J3 Grenada J4 Greece J5 Guinea-Bissau J6 Saint Lucia J7 Dominica J8 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines K United States LA–LN Norway LO–LW Argentina LX Luxembourg LY Lithuania LZ Bulgaria L2–L9 Argentina M United Kingdom (and its overseas territories/Crown dependencies) N United States OA–OC Peru OD Lebanon OE Austria OF–OJ Finland OK–OL Czech Republic OM Slovakia ON–OT Belgium OU–OZ Denmark PA–PI Netherlands PJ Netherlands – Former Netherlands Antilles PK–PO Indonesia PP–PY Brazil PZ Suriname P2 Papua New Guinea P3 Cyprus P4 Aruba P5–P9 North Korea R Russia SA–SM Sweden SN–SR Poland SSA–SSM EgyptHalf-series allocation. SSN–SSZ Sudan SU Egypt SV–SZ Greece S2–S3 Bangladesh S5 Slovenia S6 Singapore S7 Seychelles S8 South Africa S9 São Tomé and Príncipe TA–TB–TC Turkey TD Guatemala TE Costa Rica TF Iceland TG Guatemala TH France (and its Overseas departments/territories) TI Costa Rica TJ Cameroon TK France (and its Overseas departments/territories) TL Central African Republic TM France (and its Overseas departments/territories) TN Republic of the Congo TO–TQ France (and its Overseas departments/territories) TR Gabon TS Tunisia TT Chad TU Ivory Coast TV–TX France (and its Overseas departments/territories) TY Benin TZ Mali T2 Tuvalu T3 Kiribati T4 Cuba T5 Somalia T6 Afghanistan T7 San Marino T8 Palau UA–UI Russia UJ–UM Uzbekistan UN–UQ Kazakhstan UR–UZ Ukraine VA–VG Canada VH–VN Australia VO Canada (formerly Dominion of Newfoundland) VP–VQ United Kingdom (and its overseas territories/Crown dependencies) VR Hong Kong (Special administrative regions of China) VS United Kingdom VT–VW India VX–VY Canada VZ Australia V2 Antigua and Barbuda V3 Belize V4 Saint Kitts and Nevis V5 Namibia V6 Federated States of Micronesia V7 Marshall Islands V8 Brunei W United States XA–XI Mexico XJ–XO Canada XP Denmark XQ–XR Chile XS China XT Burkina Faso XU Cambodia XV Vietnam XW Laos XX Macao (Special administrative regions of China) XY–XZ Burma YA Afghanistan YB–YH Indonesia YI Iraq YJ Vanuatu YK Syria YL Latvia YM Turkey YN Nicaragua YO–YR Romania YS El Salvador YT–YU Serbia YV–YY Venezuela Y2–Y9 Germany ZA Albania ZB–ZJ United Kingdom (and its overseas territories/Crown dependencies) ZK–ZM New Zealand ZN–ZO United Kingdom (and its overseas territories/Crown dependencies) ZP Paraguay ZQ United Kingdom (and its overseas territories/Crown dependencies) ZR–ZU South Africa ZV–ZZ Brazil Z2 Zimbabwe Z3 North Macedonia Z8 South Sudan 2 United Kingdom (and its overseas territories/Crown dependencies) 3A Monaco 3B Mauritius 3C Equatorial Guinea 3DA–3DM Eswatini 3DN–3DZ Fiji 3E–3F Panama 3G Chile 3H–3U China 3V Tunisia 3W Vietnam 3X Guinea 3Y Norway 3Z Poland 4A–4C Mexico 4D–4I Philippines 4J–4K Azerbaijan 4L Georgia 4M Venezuela 4O Montenegro 4P–4S Sri Lanka 4T Peru 4U United Nations 4V Haiti 4W Timor-Leste 4X Israel 4Y International Civil Aviation Organization 4Z Israel 5A Libya 5B Cyprus 5C–5G Morocco 5H–5I Tanzania 5J–5K Colombia 5L–5M Liberia 5N–5O Nigeria 5P–5Q Denmark 5R–5S Madagascar 5T Mauritania 5U Niger 5V Togo 5W Western Samoa 5X Uganda 5Y–5Z Kenya 6A–6B Egypt 6C Syria 6D–6J Mexico 6K–6N South Korea 6O Somalia 6P–6S Pakistan 6T–6U Sudan 6V–6W Senegal 6X Madagascar 6Y Jamaica 6Z Liberia 7A–7I Indonesia 7J–7N Japan 7O Yemen 7P Lesotho 7Q Malawi 7R Algeria 7S Sweden 7T–7Y Algeria 7Z Saudi Arabia 8A–8I Indonesia 8J–8N Japan 8O Botswana 8P Barbados 8Q Maldives 8R Guyana 8S Sweden 8T–8Y India 8Z Saudi Arabia 9A Croatia 9B–9D Iran 9E–9F Ethiopia 9G Ghana 9H Malta 9I–9J Zambia 9K Kuwait 9L Sierra Leone 9M Malaysia 9N Nepal 9O–9T Democratic Republic of the Congo 9U Burundi 9V Singapore 9W Malaysia 9X Rwanda 9Y–9Z Trinidad and Tobago

ITU prefix

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