General Mobile Radio Service

The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) is a land-mobile FM UHF radio service designed for short-distance two-way communication. It requires a license in United States but some GMRS compatible equipment can be used license-free in Canada. The United States permits use by an adult individual who possesses a valid GMRS license, as well as his or her immediate family members. Immediate relatives of the GMRS system licensee are entitled to communicate among themselves for personal or business purposes, but employees of the licensee, who are not family members, are not covered by the same licence.

GMRS radios are typically handheld portable devices much like Family Radio Service (FRS) radios, and share the FRS frequency band near 462 and 467 MHz. Mobile and base station-style radios are available as well, but these are normally commercial UHF radios as often used in the public service and commercial land mobile bands. These are legal for use in this service as long as they are GMRS type-approved. They are more expensive than the walkie-talkies typically found in discount electronics stores, and are generally considered higher quality.