We are currently looking for a volunteer to become the F Segment Sorter. Please contact the Bureau Managers if interested.
Welcome to the ARRL Sixth District Incoming QSL Bureau.
You do not have to be a member of the ARRL to use the Incoming QSL Bureau.
The Sixth District Incoming QSL Bureau is staffed by over two dozen dedicated California radio amateurs who volunteer their time to distribute DX QSL cards to you. Many have donated their time for more than a decade! See the Contact Us page about that.
We handle DX to USA 6th District QSLs only. We do not accept outgoing cards from stateside hams. If you have any questions about what cards we handle, please email us.
Outgoing cards to DX from USA hams should go via ARRL's Outgoing QSL Bureau in Newington, CT. Click the button in the top menu for more information.
A few things specific to the Sixth District Bureau are:
PLEASE NOTE! EFFECTIVE 1/1/2025. The ARRL has changed the way QSL Bureaus are funded and reimbursed for their expenses above the cost of sending QSL cards from your individual sorter to you. Your QSL Bureau is responding to those changes in an effort to keep QSL Cards coming to you as cost effectively as possible.
The QSL Bureau will no longer accept SASEs sent to us. Most of the Incoming QSL Bureaus have already discontinued accepting SASEs. We will create SASEs for you.
Each envelope, including one first class stamp, is $1.25 each. The Bureau suggests you order a minimum of four (4) envelopes and no more than ten (10) at one time.
If you're an "average DXer" please send a minimum of $10 for 4 envelopes, $3 in additional postage funds, and $2 to help cover the distribution costs of Incoming QSL cards to your individual sorter. You're welcome to donate additional funds to support the operation of the QSL Bureau.
If you're an "above average DXer" please send a minimum of $20 for 4 envelopes, $11 in additional postage funds, and $4 to help cover the distribution costs of Incoming QSL cards to your individual sorter. You're welcome to donate additional funds to support the operation of the QSL Bureau.
Additional funds may be sent to the Bureau to support the cost of maintaining the QSL Bureau PO Box (2025 cost = $375), supplies for individual sorters, costs associated with transferring a segment to a new sorter when the previous sorter retires or becomes a SK. They also support QSL Bureau presence at conventions such as IDXC, Pacificon, SW Division Convention and larger HamFests in California.
You may send a check or money order payable to "6th District QSL Bureau" or fund your account through PayPal for a small additional fee. An individual account will be kept for you and when more envelopes or postage are required, you will be advised.
Your account is maintained by, and cards shipped from, an individual letter sorter as determined by the first letter following the "6" in your callsign. The individual sorters are literally spread throughout California. When you send envelopes, monies or an inquiry, it may be several weeks before your individual letter sorter receives them. We distribute sorted cards and envelopes to the individual sorters every 3-4 months as volume warrants. If your mail arrives at the Post Office just after a pickup, it is very likely that it will be 12-16 weeks before your sorter receives it. If he or she sends you a shipment of cards in the meantime, your account status would not show your latest submission. It should appear on the next shipment however.
General information which applies to all of the ARRL-supported U.S. Incoming QSL Bureaus is available from the ARRL Web pages here. Although the Incoming Bureau system operates under the guidance of ARRL, you are not required to be an ARRL member to use it.
NOTE:
We encourage you to keep your current email address up to date at www.QRZ.com. Many of our Sorters use that website to email you if needed.
If you have any questions about our operation or your account, please contact us.
