Field Instructors are volunteers who are part of local Amateur Radio clubs who commit their time and expertise to offer classroom instruction of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course. (Formerly Field Instructors were called Certification Instructors, or CIs).   Volunteer instructors may now conduct classroom instruction covering the material in the new Introduction to Emergency Communication course. 

We recommend that Field Instructors be ARRL, ARES, RACES, Red Cross, REACT, CERT, etc. appointees.  It is important to have the aforementioned organizations approve of the instruction and training program.  Frequently ARRL Section Managers, Assistant Section Managers, Emergency Coordinators and Assistant Emergency Coordinators conduct field instruction or are closely involved in the field instruction that is conducted in communities within their section.

Classroom instructors should explain how the content of the course fits with the kinds of emergency responses you might be called upon to engage in your local community. Instructors should familiarize the students with the emergency responders in your community, include practice activities to illustrate the course content and adapt the activities to your local situation to make them as practical and relevant as possible. The purpose of the instruction is to assure that students comprehend the lesson material which has been developed to provide a common foundation of knowledge for effective participation in an emergency response. The objective is for students to gain practical knowledge as well as hands-on experience, essential—and crucial—to being prepared for local activation.

A field exam is given under the auspices of authorized ARRL Field Examiners at the conclusion of the instruction to award students who successfully pass the exam with a course completion certificate.  This certificate provides local Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) clubs who are involved in local community emergency response with an indication of a student’s interest and understanding of the emergency communications environment and assures a common foundation of training.

Field Instructors must be registered with the ARRL Continuing Education Program and must meet certain qualifications and requirements. Please review these qualifications and requirements (effective November 1, 2012).

Instructors who have documented completion of the qualifications and are registered as ARRL Field Instructors are listed in our online FI database.

Field Instructors are required to register any classes to be offered as part of the ARRL AREC training program in the ARRL online database.  Listings are reviewed and released to the website so interested radio amateurs in the local community may find out about these opportunities.