Precedences

ARRL MESSAGE PRECEDENCES

EMERGENCY--Any message having life and death urgency to any person or group of persons, which
is transmitted by Amateur Radio in the absence of regular commercial facilities. This includes official messages of welfare agencies during emergencies requesting supplies, materials or instructions vital
to relief to stricken populace in emergency areas. On CW, RTTY, AMTOR and packet this designation
will always be spelled out. When in doubt, do not use this designation.

PRIORITY--Use abbreviation P on CW, RTTY, AMTOR and packet. This classification is for important
messages having a specific time limit, official messages not covered in the emergency category, press dispatches and emergency-related traffic not of the utmost urgency.

WELFARE--This classification, abbreviated as W on CW, RTTY, AMTOR and packet, refers to either
an inquiry as to the health and welfare of an individual in the disaster area or an advisory from the
disaster area that indicates all is well. Welfare traffic is handled only after all emergency and priority
traffic is cleared. The Red Cross equivalent to an incoming Welfare message is DWI (Disaster Welfare Inquiry).

ROUTINE--Most traffic in normal times will bear this designation. In disaster situations, traffic labeled
Routine (R on CW, RTTY, AMTOR and packet) should be handled last, or not at all when circuits are busy with higher-precedence traffic.