UK regulation · sourced from Ofcom
Do you need a licence for walkie-talkies in the UK?
Two answers, and both are no.
PMR446 handsets: no licence is required, provided the equipment meets Ofcom's technical requirements. A push-to-talk app: no licence either, because it is data over a mobile network the operator is already licensed to run — it is not radio equipment. You need an Ofcom Business Radio licence only when your radio use goes beyond the PMR446 parameters below.
What are the PMR446 conditions?
PMR446 handsets may be used without a licence only while they stay inside Ofcom's stated parameters, so the exemption belongs to the equipment and how it is used rather than to walkie-talkies in general.
| Condition | What Ofcom permits |
|---|---|
| Frequency band | 446.0 – 446.2 MHz (analogue and digital PMR446) |
| Maximum power | 500 mW ERP |
| Equipment type | Handheld and mobile only — no base stations |
| Airborne use | Not permitted |
| Status | Non-interference, non-protected basis |
One precise point that most guides get wrong: Ofcom is explicit that these are not "licence-exempt bands", but bands in which equipment meeting the technical requirements may be operated on a licence-exempt basis. The distinction matters the moment somebody fits a bigger antenna.
What does "non-protected" actually mean for a crew?
It means you must not cause interference to licensed users, and you have no right to be protected from interference caused by anyone else — so on a busy site or at a large event, another team on the same channel is your problem to work around, not Ofcom's to solve.
When do you need a Business Radio licence?
You need a Business Radio licence when your use exceeds the exempt parameters — typically higher transmit power, a fixed base station or repeater, an external antenna, wider area coverage, or an assigned frequency that is protected from interference. Ofcom's Business Radio guidance sets out the licence products and how to apply.
Many venues, sites and events hold one of these precisely because the protected frequency is worth paying for. If yours does, that scheme is not something an app replaces.
Why does a push-to-talk app need no licence at all?
A push-to-talk app transmits nothing on the radio spectrum itself: it sends your voice as data across the mobile network, and the mobile operator already holds the spectrum licence for that. The app is ordinary internet traffic in the same regulatory sense as a video call, so there is no walkie-talkie licence to buy, renew or breach.
That also means the app inherits the network's limits rather than radio's. It reaches anywhere each phone has data — but where there is no coverage, it does nothing at all, and a PMR446 handset is the correct purchase. Our no-signal guide says so at more length.
Does CRAGGEN need any licence or registration?
No — CRAGGEN carries voice as data over ordinary mobile networks and is not radio equipment, so neither the app nor the people using it require an Ofcom licence. It also does not connect to the telephone network and cannot call the emergency services; in an emergency dial 999.
Sources — checked 9 August 2026
Ofcom, Licence-exempt devices · Ofcom, Analogue and Digital PMR446 information sheet · Ofcom, Business Radio guidance for licensees. Regulation changes; check the Ofcom pages before relying on this for a purchase or an application.
No licence, no handsets, no accounts
One four-word code and the crew is on a private channel.
No account · no tracking in the app · no server audio recording · joining is always free