Here I am going to build a state by state summary with links to official pages where possible. This is mainly geared towards handheld radio use while driving – I will attempt to include not jusy ham radio but CB and GMRS as well
| State | Allowed when Driving | Links to documentation |
| Alabama | Gray area, see below – not a “telecom device” | Alabama code on Findlaw |
| Alaska | ||
| Arizona | Amateur and CB radio exempt | https://www.azdps.gov/handsfree |
| Arkansas | ||
| California | ||
| Colorado | ||
| Connecticut | ||
| Delaware | ||
| Florida | ||
| Georgia | ||
| Hawaii | ||
| Idaho | ||
| Illinois | ||
| Indiana | ||
| Iowa | ||
| Kansas | ||
| Kentucky | ||
| Louisiana | ||
| Maine | ||
| Maryland | ||
| Massachusetts | ||
| Mississippi | ||
| Missouri | ||
| Montana | ||
| Nebraska | ||
| Nevada | ||
| New Hampshire | ||
| New Jersey | ||
| New Mexico | ||
| New York | Gray area – has been defended in court | NY VTL on ELaws |
| North Carolina | ||
| North Dakota | ||
| Ohio | ||
| Oklahoma | ||
| Oregon | ||
| Pennsylvania | ||
| Rhode Island | ||
| South Carolina | ||
| South Dakota | ||
| Tennessee | ||
| Texas | ||
| Utah | ||
| Vermont | ||
| Virginia | ||
| Washington | ||
| Washington DC | ||
| West Virginia | ||
| Wisconsin | ||
| Wyoming | ||
Regarding the states that have regulations for “telecommunication devices” This is going to be a bit of a generalization and please look at the state code and make the call for yourself. SOme stated regulate devices by function – for example if your handheld device that can write, send, or read text from a handheld device – so in theory a radio that can get APRS messages, for example, would by the letter of the law be restricted. Use your judgement.. My assumption would be that this would be a non issue, unless you were clearly distracted by your radio – in which case they aren’t going to need a handsfree law to charge you with something.
Have details on your state? Submit to statelaw -at- mas321.com