Does a two-way radio need an Anatel license?
“Does a two-way radio need an Anatel license?” The honest answer is: it depends on the radio — and, before that, on which obligation you’re talking about. Two things are often confused.
Type approval and an operating license are not the same thing
Type approval (homologação — device certification): a condition for selling or using any telecommunications equipment in Brazil. It applies to almost anything that transmits — including license-free equipment. The legal basis is in the General Telecommunications Law itself (Lei 9.472/97): art. 162, §2 prohibits using radiofrequency-emitting equipment without certification issued or accepted by Anatel, and art. 19, XIII gives the Agency the authority to issue or recognize that certification. It’s on these provisions — not the service-grant regime — that the rule rests: “the use or sale of telecommunications products in Brazilian territory is not allowed without type approval, an act exclusive to Anatel.”
Operating license (grant + radiofrequency use + station license): a condition for operating a radiocommunication service on a frequency that requires licensing. This one is grounded in art. 131 of the LGT, which conditions the exploitation of a telecom service under the private regime on prior authorization from the Agency.
In other words: a radio may be exempt from an operating license and still need the type-approval seal to be sold and used.
What is license-free (no operating license required)
Restricted-radiation equipment (low power / short range): Anatel Resolution No. 680/2017 approved the Regulation on Restricted-Radiation Radiocommunication Equipment and amended the Telecommunications Services Regulation to exempt from licensing the stations that use exclusively such equipment and/or confined means.
Citizens’ Band radio (Rádio do Cidadão / PX): since 10 Aug 2020, under Resolution No. 720/2020, PX equipment was reclassified as restricted-radiation — exempt from authorization, requiring only a simple, free registration. That framework has since been updated by more recent rules (the service’s channeling is now in Resolution No. 772/2025, and parts of Resolution 720/2020 itself were revoked by Resolution No. 777/2025), but the practical outcome is unchanged: operating a Citizens’ Band radio still depends only on registration in the Sistema Mosaico, with no grant and no fee. (PX is for personal/shared use, not a dedicated corporate network.)
In all of these cases, the obligation that remains is type approval of the device.
What requires a license and fees
A private corporate radio network on a dedicated frequency falls under the Private Limited Service (Serviço Limitado Privado, SLP), which requires three steps: service authorization (the grant, grounded in art. 131 of the LGT), a radiofrequency-use authorization, and a station operating license. The radiofrequency-use authorization is paid, and there are inspection fees (TFI and TFF).
Higher-power HTs / walkie-talkies or those on a dedicated frequency tend to fall under the SLP. (Note: it’s not correct to say that “every corporate HT needs a license” — it depends on frequency and power; type-approved restricted-radiation units are license-free.) Those annual fees are, in fact, part of the total cost of a two-way radio for business.
Operating without a license when one is required is a serious violation (subject to shutdown, sealing and seizure of the equipment), and clandestine telecom activity can amount to a crime: art. 183 of the General Telecommunications Law — “Carrying out telecommunications activities clandestinely: Penalty — detention of two to four years, increased by half if there is harm to a third party, and a fine of R$ 10,000.00 (ten thousand reais).”
Two important caveats about this crime:
- The TRF4 has ruled unconstitutional the setting of the fine at a fixed amount (R$ 10,000.00), for violating the principle of individualized sentencing; in practice, the value should be calculated in day-fines, under the Criminal Code’s criteria.
- Case law (STJ and STF) holds that this is a formal crime, consummated by the mere clandestine carrying out of the activity — hence the rejection of the “insignificance principle” even in low-power cases — but it requires habitual conduct to be established, and it does not punish, for example, the occasional one-off sharing of an internet signal, which may qualify as a Value-Added Service rather than clandestine telecommunications.
What requires × what doesn’t require an Anatel license
| Requires an operating license/authorization | Does not require an operating license (but needs type approval) |
|---|---|
| Private radio network on a dedicated frequency (SLP): grant + RF authorization + station license + fees | Restricted-radiation equipment (low power/short range) |
| Higher-power HT/walkie-talkie or dedicated frequency (SLP) | Citizens’ Band radio (PX): free registration only |
| Operating on a licensed frequency without authorization (serious violation; clandestine activity may be a crime, subject to the case-law caveats above) | PTT app over the cellular network (the user doesn’t operate their own station) — see below |
And the two-way radio app (PTT over the phone)?
A Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PTToC) app — like BiPTT — works as voice and data over the mobile carrier’s network. The carrier, not the user, holds the grant and the spectrum-use authorization. In practice, someone using a PTT app doesn’t operate their own radio station or transmit on a frequency licensed to them — they consume a telecom service that is already licensed.
That’s why many companies that want the radio’s instant communication, without the red tape and fees of a dedicated radiofrequency network, adopt PTT over cellular: the device (a smartphone) is already type-approved, and the network is the carrier’s.
Conclusion
“Does it need a license?” depends on the radio: a lot is license-free (restricted radiation, PX), dedicated networks require a license and fees (SLP), and in every case the device must be type-approved. For operations that just want to talk at the push of a button, with location and management, the two-way radio app over the cellular network is the path where the user takes on no radio-station operation.
See how BiPTT replaces the radio with the Push-to-Talk guide for business, find out when switching pays off in the two-way radio vs. app comparison, or try BiPTT for free.
This content is informational and is not a substitute for legal advice. For use as a legal or institutional document, we recommend validating the regulatory references with a qualified professional.
Sources
- Anatel Res. 680/2017 (restricted radiation)
- Anatel Res. 720/2020 (Citizens’ Band radio as restricted radiation)
- Citizens’ Band radio — Res. 772/2025 and 777/2025 (updates)
- Private Limited Service (SLP)
- Type approval of telecommunications products
- General Telecommunications Law (Lei 9.472/97) — art. 19, XIII and art. 162, §2 (type approval); art. 131 (grant); art. 183 (clandestinity crime)
Frequently asked questions
Does a two-way radio need an Anatel license?
It depends on the radio. Restricted-radiation equipment and Citizens' Band radio (Rádio do Cidadão / PX) are license-free — no operating license required. A private network on a dedicated frequency, however, falls under the Private Limited Service (SLP), which requires a grant, a radiofrequency-use authorization and fees. In every case, the device itself must be type-approved (homologação) by Anatel.
What's the difference between type approval and an operating license?
Type approval (homologação) certifies the device (art. 162, §2 combined with art. 19, XIII of the LGT) — mandatory to sell or use any equipment that transmits, including license-free gear. An operating license authorizes running a service on a frequency that requires licensing (art. 131 of the LGT). A radio can be exempt from a license and still need type approval.
Does a two-way radio app (PTT over the phone) need an Anatel license?
Not for the user. In Push-to-Talk over Cellular (like BiPTT), the mobile carrier holds the grant and the spectrum-use authorization; the user consumes an already-licensed service, and the smartphone is already type-approved — they don't operate a radio station of their own.
Is operating a radio without a license a crime?
Operating on a licensed frequency without authorization is a serious violation (subject to shutdown, sealing and seizure), and clandestine telecom activity can amount to a crime (art. 183 of the LGT). Case law (STJ/STF) treats it as a formal crime that requires habitual conduct, and the TRF4 struck down the fixed R$ 10,000 fine for violating the principle of individualized sentencing.