Sec. 97.509  Administering VE requirements.

    (a) Each examination element for an amateur operator license must be 
administered by a team of at least 3 VEs at an examination session 
coordinated by a VEC. Before the session, the administering VEs or the 
VE session manager must ensure that public announcement is made stating 
the location and time of the session. The number of examinees at the 
session may be limited.
    (b) Each administering VE must:
    (1) Be accredited by the coordinating VEC;
    (2) Be at least 18 years of age;
    (3) Be a person who has been granted an FCC amateur operator license 
document of the class specified below:
    (i) Amateur Extra, Advanced, or General Class in order to administer 
a Novice, Technician, or Technician Plus Class operator license 
examination;
    (ii) Amateur Extra Class in order to administer a General, Advanced, 
or Amateur Extra Class operator license examination.
    (4) Not be a person whose grant of an amateur station license or 
amateur operator license has ever been revoked or suspended.

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    (c) Each administering VE must be present and observing the examinee 
throughout the entire examination. The administering VEs are responsible 
for the proper conduct and necessary supervision of each examination. 
The administering VEs must immediately terminate the examination upon 
failure of the examinee to comply with their instructions.
    (d) No VE may administer an examination to his or her spouse, 
children, grandchildren, stepchildren, parents, grandparents, 
stepparents, brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, stepsisters, aunts, 
uncles, nieces, nephews, and in-laws.
    (e) No VE may administer or certify any examination by fraudulent 
means or for monetary or other consideration including reimbursement in 
any amount in excess of that permitted. Violation of this provision may 
result in the revocation of the grant of the VE's amateur station 
license and the suspension of the grant of the VE's amateur operator 
license.
    (f) No examination that has been compromised shall be administered 
to any examinee. Neither the same telegraphy message nor the same 
question set may be re-administered to the same examinee.
    (g) Passing a telegraphy receiving examination is adequate proof of 
an examinee's ability to both send and receive telegraphy. The 
administering VEs, however, may also include a sending segment in a 
telegraphy examination.
    (h) Upon completion of each examination element, the administering 
VEs must immediately grade the examinee's answers. The administering VEs 
are responsible for determining the correctness of the examinee's 
answers.
    (i) When the examinee is credited for all examination elements 
required for the operator license sought, 3 VEs must certify on the 
examinee's application document that the applicant is qualified for the 
license and that they have complied with these administering VE 
requirements. The certifying VEs are jointly and individually 
accountable for the proper administration of each examination element 
reported on the examinee's application FCC Form 610. The certifying VEs 
may delegate to other qualified VEs their authority, but not their 
accountability, to administer individual elements of an examination.
    (j) When the examinee does not score a passing grade on an 
examination element, the administering VEs must return the application 
document to the examinee and inform the examinee of the grade.
    (k) The administering VEs must accommodate an examinee whose 
physical disabilities require a special examination procedure. The 
administering VEs may require a physician's certification indicating the 
nature of the disability before determining which, if any, special 
procedures must be used.
    (l) The administering VEs must issue a CSCE to an examinee who 
scores a passsing grade on an examination element.
    (m) Within 10 days of the administration of a successful examination 
for an amateur operator license, the administering VEs must submit the 
application document to the coordinating VEC.
[ 59 FR 54834 , Nov. 2, 1994, as amended at  61 FR 9953 , Mar. 12, 1996;  62 FR 17567 , Apr. 10, 1997]