Morse code become commonly available until around 1920. Until 2003, the International Telecommunication Union mandated Morse code proficiency as part of the amateur radio licensing procedure worldwide. However, the World Radiocommunication Conference of 2003 made the Morse code requirement for amateur radio licensing optional. Many countries subsequently removed the Morse requirement from their licence requirements. Until 1991, a demonstration of the ability to send and receive Morse code at a minimum of five words per minute (wpm) was required to receive an amateur radio license for use in the United States from the Federal Communications Commission. Demonstration of this ability was still
Prosigns for Morse code efficient telegrapher/telegraphist. The procedure signs below are compiled from the official specification for Morse Code, ITU-R M.1677, International Morse Code, while others are defined the International Radio Regulations, including ITU-R M.1170, ITU-R M.1172, ITU-R M.1677-1, and the International Code of Signals, with a few details of their usage appearing in ACP-131, which otherwise defines operating signals, not procedure signals. For the special purpose of exchanging ARRL Radiograms during National Traffic System nets, the following prosigns and signals can be used, but many of them do not have equivalents in any other definition of Morse code signals, including the ITU-R and