WS7I DXCC Card Checking

Q: Will you check anyone's cards?
A: Yes, as long as you are a member of the ARRL and follow DXCC Program guidelines. I will check cards in the order I receive them, but I will give priority to Eastern Washington members.

Q: What materials do I need to send to you?
A: You need to send me these items:

Your cards to be checked, in the order specified below.

A DXCC Application form (text file available from ARRL web site)
or (PDF file available from ARRL web site)

A record sheet of QSOs you are claiming (text file available from ARRL web site) or (PDF file available from ARRL web site).

A check made to the ARRL for the appropriate fees. The full version of the fee schedule is listed here then scroll to Section 15 Fees. An abbreviated version of the fee schedule is listed here. Please remember that return postage is now required. In general, add $1 to cover paperwork only, or $4 which covers paperwork plus up to 3 certificates. I would recommend 100% using a Bank Card instead of any other method of Payment.

If your application is 3 pages or less, please include a business sized envelope addressed to the ARRL DXCC Desk with one unit of postage.

If your application is greater than 3 pages, please include a 6x9" manila envelope envelope addressed to the ARRL DXCC Desk with 2 units of postage. This is nearly always the case

Sufficient return postage to mail your cards back to you. I will return your cards by Priority Mail. Priority mail is usually $4.20.

Q: Can you check all cards?
A: No. I cannot check cards for 160 Meters or deleted countries. (The previous rule about not checking cards older than 10 years old has been dropped.)

Q: Is there a preferred way to ship cards to you?
A: Yes, Priority Mail or First Class. I do not go to the Post Office. Absolutely do not send mail to me via Registered or Express Mail.

Q: Can I just send my materials to you?
A: No, I must hear from you in advance, especially if I'm out of town you won't have to wonder what happened to your cards. My address/phone number/email address are shown below.

Q: Can I check the status of my DXCC application at the ARRL?
A: Yes, the League has setup a web page where you can check that your application has been received, and where you are in the processing queue. Click here to visit the Applications Received page.

Q: What order do the cards need to be in?
A: The DXCC Desk requires that your cards be sorted by band, then by mode, then multi-QSO cards at the end of the stack. This is spelled out on the record sheet of QSOs you got from the League's web site. So, first put 80 Meter CW cards, then 80 Meter RTTY cards, then 80 Meter SSB cards, then 40 M CW cards, and so on, until 10 Meter SSB cards. After that, list any cards that have multiple QSOs on them.

Q: Are official DXCC Rules available online?
A: Yes, click here to read the rules. The rules contain a detailed description of how field checking works, and what cards are acceptable for field checking.

Q: Can I use any DXCC forms I have in the shack?
A: No, please make certain the forms are the latest ones. They must be dated within 1-2 years (as noted on the bottom right), please use the above links to download and print the latest forms.

Q: What common mistakes are observed on DXCC forms and paperwork?
A: Prefix and Country Names do not match. Please double check your entries, especially if hand prepared and not computer generated. Also, many applications are missing the award, certificate or endorsement desired. Please check the appropriate box(es) in the upper left corner of the form. Also, it may be difficult to calculate the fees required for your application. Please contact the DXCC Desk with any specific questions.

Q: Should I submit exactly 100 cards for my initial DXCC certificate?
A: No, you should submit 2 or 3 extra cards in case I need to reject a card or two (see the next question).

Q: Why do you reject a card?
A: I have found 3 reasons that cards are typically kicked out. First, the callsign is wrong or missing. In several cases, letters in the callsign have been transposed, such as W1AW was submitted as W1WA. Also I have seen cards with no callsign. It's just missing. In both of these cases the cards are rejected and as far as I know there is no recourse, you must resend to the manager to get it fixed.

Second, the entity name for some common prefixes is missing. This is the case for prefixes such as FO, VP8, VK9 and probably others. If you submit a FO card for credit as the Australs it must clearly say Austral Islands somewhere on the card. This is also true for Falkland Islands and so on. As far as I know, it is not required to have the entity name displayed on the card for all entities, just the ones with multiple definitions. So if you submit a card for DL1ABC it is obviously a German card even if Germany is not displayed on the card.

Third, if the QSO data has been rewritten, struck through or modified I may reject the card. This is much less common in these days of computer printed labels. I have seen cards with "white out" covering part of the QSO data and new data rewritten over the "white out". A card like this will get rejected.

Q: Does the ARRL maintain a DXCC FAQ list?
A: Yes! Check here for an extensive list of DXCC questions and answers maintained by the DXCC Desk.

Most of the above material was put together by K7AR
Check out his cluster and DXCC Page if you are on the wet side

Q: How do I get your mailing address?
A: Either Email me or give me a call. It isn't listed on-line