Part of our Emergency Communications and Preparedness guide.
Between the EmComm concepts, SHTF critiques, and specific tools covered elsewhere on this blog, one piece has never gotten its own explanation: the actual organizational structure behind volunteer emergency communications in the US. ARES and RACES are the two names that come up constantly, and despite sounding like they might be interchangeable, they are legally and organizationally distinct programs that happen to draw on the same pool of licensed hams.
ARES: the volunteer organization
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service, ARES, is an ARRL-sponsored volunteer program open to any licensed ham willing to register and train to support served agencies, organizations like the Red Cross, local emergency management, or the National Weather Service, during actual emergencies and planned events. ARES operates independently of any specific government authority, meaning participation and activation happen through the ARRL’s own organizational structure and local Emergency Coordinators, not through a direct government chain of command.
RACES: the government-activated program
The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, RACES, is different in a specific and important way: it is a program established under FCC rules specifically for use by civil defense and emergency management agencies during a declared emergency, and RACES operators function as an extension of local, state, or federal government during that specific activation. RACES membership generally requires enrollment as an actual emergency management volunteer with the sponsoring government agency, and RACES operation is legally tied to periods when it has actually been activated by that agency, unlike ARES which functions on an ongoing volunteer basis.
Why both programs often use the same people
In practice, many hams are dual-enrolled in both ARES and RACES specifically because certain frequencies and operating privileges are restricted to RACES-activated operators during a declared emergency, while ARES covers the much broader range of everyday training, drills, and non-declared-emergency served-agency support. A single volunteer might respond to a public service event through ARES on a Saturday and, if a genuine declared emergency occurs, shift into RACES status under their local government’s direction using the same license and often the same radio.
How to actually get involved
- Find your local ARES Emergency Coordinator through the ARRL’s website, which maintains contact information for local ARES leadership by county and region.
- Complete the relevant FEMA training courses, commonly ICS-100 and ICS-700, which most served agencies expect volunteers to have finished before participating in real events.
- Ask about RACES enrollment through your local emergency management office, if you want that additional layer of formal government affiliation as well.
- Attend a local net and a few public service events first, since these low-stakes activities are where new volunteers actually learn the practical side of traffic handling and net discipline before a real emergency ever tests it.
Neither program requires anything beyond a standard amateur license and a willingness to train and show up, and understanding the actual distinction between them, rather than treating the two names as interchangeable, makes it a lot easier to navigate what your local group or served agency actually expects of you.