The Playground Amateur Radio Club reformats FCC database dumps to comma-separated values (CSV) for public consumption:

# FILE FORMAT FOR FCC DATA:
#  "FRN","CallSign","LicenseStatus","RadioSvcCode","OperatorClass","GroupCode","RegionCode",
#  "FirstIssued","GrantDate","ExpiredDate","CanceledDate",
#  "EntityName","FirstName","MiddleInitial","LastName","NameSuffix",
#  "Phone","Email",
#  "StreetAddress","City","State","ZipCode","PoBox","Attention"
#  "PrevCallSign","PrevOpClass","PendingApplication","RecordTier"

# TAXONOMY FOR CALL SIGN LIFESPAN:
# More details at https://daily.hamweekly.com/2026/09/active-callsign-probably-isnt-what-you-think
#  Terminology,FCC Status,ULS LicenseStatus,Expiration Date,Additional Condition,Output / Action
#  Live,Active,"""A""",Future,None,Standard black text
#  Dagger,Active,"""A""",Past (Any length),Pending application,Superscript dagger (†) e.g. WQXN317 since 2021-04-20
#  Grace,Inactive,"""A""",Past (< 2 years),No pending app,Dark red text e.g. WA4RHD
#  Zombie,Inactive,"""A""",Past (>= 2 years),No pending app,Triggers logging warning e.g. KI4FHE from 2026-04-26 to 2026-09-09
#  Dead,Inactive,"Non-""A""",N/A,None,Excluded from output

FRN: the licensee's FCC registration number

CallSign: the licensee's call sign (all sorted in ascending order)

LicenseStatus: "A"ctive, "E"xpired, "C"anceled, or "T"erminated

RadioSvcCode: a two-letter code designating the specific radio service; "HA" for Amateur radio, "HV" for Amateur radio vanity call sign, and "ZA" for General Mobile Radio Service

OperatorClass: applies only to amateur radio for the license class held by the operator; "N"ovice, "T"echnician, "G"eneral, "A"dvanced, "E"xtra, or blank for club/entity

GroupCode: applies only to amateur radio, giving a one-letter group "A" to "D" corresponding to the call sign's format, e.g. Group C for a "1x3" call sign

RegionCode: applies only to amateur radio and is no longer stringently enforced, assigning a numeric geographic region to the call sign

FirstIssued: the date the FCC first (re-)issued the call sign to that FRN (CAVEAT: The FCC declared its ULS authoritative on 1999-08-16 and it lacks a historical perspective before that date)

GrantDate: the date the FCC last granted the license; renewals qualify as a new grant

ExpiredDate: the date the license will (or did) expire

CanceledDate: the date the FCC canceled the license, or blank if not applicable

EntityName: the name of a club, agency, or corporate entity holding the license; blank if it's a person

FirstName: the licensee's first name

MiddleInitial: the licensee's middle initial (one letter or blank)

LastName: the licensee's last name

NameSuffix: the licensee's name suffix, e.g. Sr., Jr., III, IV

Phone: the licensee's telephone number (the FCC suppresses this in data dumps)

Email: the licensee's email address (the FCC suppresses this in data dumps)

StreetAddress: the licensee's physical street address (see also the "PoBox" field)

City: the licensee's city of residence (you must expect typos and variations in spelling)

State: the licensee's state of residence (you must expect the occasional error)

ZipCode: the licensee's postal ZIP code (you must expect typos and flipped digits)

PoBox: the licensee's post office box, if they use one instead of a street address

Attention: a designated point of contact or attention line for mailing purposes

PrevCallSign: mostly for amateur radio, revealing the last call sign previously held by the licensee, or blank if not applicable

PrevOpClass: applies only to amateur radio, revealing the previous operator class held by the licensee before an upgrade, or blank if not applicable

RecordTier: a non-ULS field, it determines if the call sign is "Live", "Dagger", "Grace", "Zombie", "Dead", see terminology at the top of this file
