Part of our Getting On The Air: Modes, Operations, and Making Contacts guide.
Making a contact is one thing. Getting it confirmed, in a form that counts toward an award, is a separate skill that a lot of newer hams do not think about until they are chasing their first hundred countries. There are three main ways a contact gets confirmed, and they are not interchangeable for every purpose.
Paper QSL cards
The original confirmation method, and still the only one that produces something you can physically hold. A QSL card lists the date, time, band, mode, and signal report of a contact, and gets mailed to the other operator, either directly or through a QSL bureau, a low cost, slower system that batches cards by country to save on postage. Paper cards remain the gold standard for some collectors and are required for certain older or specialty awards, but the cost and time involved, especially internationally, has pushed most day to day confirming toward electronic systems.
LoTW (Logbook of The World)
LoTW is the ARRL’s free electronic confirmation system, and it is the backbone of modern DXCC. Both operators upload their logs, digitally signed with a certificate tied to their license, and when a contact matches on both ends, it becomes a confirmed QSO instantly, no mailing required. Because the system is signed and matched automatically, it is generally considered the most trustworthy confirmation method, and it is the primary way most active DXers and contesters confirm contacts today.
eQSL
eQSL is a separate electronic system, older than LoTW, that generates a graphic QSL card image when both operators upload matching log entries. It is popular and easy to use, and many operators enjoy the visual card format, but only verified members carry an authentication guaranteed status, so not all eQSL confirmations carry equal weight for award purposes. Some awards accept eQSL confirmations, but DXCC specifically does not, which is a common point of confusion for newer operators who assume all electronic confirmations work the same way.
How DXCC actually uses all of this
DXCC, the ARRL’s DX Century Club award, is earned by confirming contact with 100 or more distinct DXCC entities, a list of just over 340 countries and territories defined by the ARRL. DXCC accepts confirmations via LoTW or paper cards submitted for card checking, but not eQSL. Because LoTW confirmations are instant and free once both sides have uploaded, most active DXers structure their whole confirmation workflow around it, only falling back to chasing a paper card when the other station has no LoTW account.
A simple workflow
Log every contact carefully, upload to LoTW as your primary method, use eQSL if you enjoy the collectible card aspect, and reserve paper QSLs for stations that do not use LoTW or for awards that specifically require them. Getting this workflow set up early saves a lot of confusion later, especially once you start tracking progress toward DXCC or similar awards and need your confirmations to actually count.