No API key or authentication is required; the FCC License View API is publicly accessible
Search licenses by call sign: GET http://data.fcc.gov/api/license-view/basicSearch/getLicenses?searchValue={callSign}&format=json
Search by entity/licensee name: use the same getLicenses endpoint with searchValue set to the entity name and add service=All or a specific service abbreviation (e.g., PW for public safety)
Retrieve the full license detail record: GET http://data.fcc.gov/api/license-view/licenses/{callSign}?format=json to get grant date, expiration, status, frequency assignments, and geographic coverage
For bulk frequency analysis, download the ULS complete database dump from https://www.fcc.gov/uls/transactions/daily-weekly to get all active records in pipe-delimited flat files
Parse the license status field: 'A' (Active), 'E' (Expired), 'T' (Terminated) — filter to Active for current coverage analysis
Known gotchas
The License View API uses HTTP (not HTTPS) by default — enforce HTTPS in production by using https://data.fcc.gov to avoid plaintext traffic
The API does not support partial-match or wildcard searches; the searchValue must match exactly against call sign or entity name, making entity searches brittle for names with punctuation or abbreviations
Cable and satellite licenses are in separate FCC systems (COALS for cable, IBFS for satellite) and are not returned by the ULS License View API — only wireless licenses in ULS are accessible here
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp