---
kind: "section"
citation: "47 C.F.R. § 80.15"
title: "47"
number: "80.15"
heading: "Eligibility for station license."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/47/80.15"
---

# §80.15. Eligibility for station license.

- (a) **General.** A station license cannot be granted to or held by a foreign government or its representative.
- (b) **Public coast stations and Alaska-public fixed stations.** A station license for a public coast station or an Alaska-public fixed station cannot be granted to or held by:
  - (1) Any alien or the representative of any alien;
  - (2) [Reserved]
  - (3) Any corporation organized under the laws of any foreign government;
  - (4) Any corporation of which more than one-fifth of the capital stock is owned of record or voted by aliens or their representatives or by a foreign government or its representative, or by a corporation organized under the laws of a foreign country; or
  - (5) Any corporation directly or indirectly controlled by any other corporation of which more than one-fourth of the capital stock is owned of record or voted by aliens, their representatives, or by a foreign government or its representatives, or by any corporation organized under the laws of a foreign country, if the Commission finds that the public interest will be served by the refusal or revocation of such license.
- (c) **Private coast and marine utility stations.** The supplemental eligibility requirements for private coast and marine utility stations are contained in [§ 80.501(a)](/cfr/47/80.501.md?p=a).
- (d) **Ship stations.** A ship station license may only be granted to:
  - (1) The owner or operator of the vessel;
  - (2) A subsidiary communications corporation of the owner or operator of the vessel;
  - (3) A State or local government subdivision; or
- (e) A 406.0-406.1 MHz EPIRB may be used by any ship required by U.S. Coast Guard regulations to carry an EPIRB or by any ship that is equipped with a VHF ship radio station.

## Notes

### Amendments

[51 FR 31213, Sept. 2, 1986, as amended at 53 FR 37308, Sept. 26, 1988; 58 FR 33344, June 17, 1993; 61 FR 55581, Oct. 28, 1996; 68 FR 46960, Aug. 7, 2003; 69 FR 64671, Nov. 8, 2004; 73 FR 4480, Jan. 25, 2008; 76 FR 67610, Nov. 2, 2011; 90 FR 57707, Dec. 12, 2025]

### Authority

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151-155, 301-609; 3 U.S.T. 3450, 3 U.S.T. 4726, 12 U.S.T. 2377.

### Source

Source: 51 FR 31213, Sept. 2, 1986, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[51 FR 31213, Sept. 2, 1986, as amended at 53 FR 37308, Sept. 26, 1988; 58 FR 33344, June 17, 1993; 61 FR 55581, Oct. 28, 1996; 68 FR 46960, Aug. 7, 2003; 69 FR 64671, Nov. 8, 2004; 73 FR 4480, Jan. 25, 2008; 76 FR 67610, Nov. 2, 2011; 90 FR 57707, Dec. 12, 2025]