ARRL DX Century Club (DXCC) Rules — 1960 Edition

(Effective January 1, 1960; superseding 1958 rules)

A copy of the 1960 ARRL DXCC Rules is needed to added here.

Purpose

To encourage and recognize confirmed two-way amateur radio communication with at least one hundred (100) different countries (DXCC entities) of the world, as defined and maintained by the ARRL Awards Committee.

By 1960, the program had matured into a precise and semi-legal framework blending political recognition, geographic isolation, and administrative independence.

I. Definition of a DXCC “Country” (Entity)

A DXCC country shall meet one or more of the following definitions:

Rule 1A – Political Entity

Any area of land or territory which has a separate government, recognized as administering its own affairs independently of any other, shall be considered a distinct country.

Examples (1960 List):
United States, France, United Kingdom, USSR, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Japan, etc.
Also: newly independent nations of the 1950s such as Ghana, Sudan, Malaya, Tunisia, and Morocco.

This rule corresponds to modern DXCC Rule 1(a).

Rule 1B – Distinct Administrative Area

A possession, protectorate, dependency, colony, or mandated territory which has its own distinct administration, postal system, or communications regulation, separate from that of its parent government, shall be considered a separate country.

Examples:
Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Canal Zone, Hong Kong, British Honduras, French Polynesia, Reunion, and the Azores.

This rule evolved directly from the earlier “colonial/administrative” clause of 1954–1958.

Rule 1C – Offshore Island Group Rule (NEW in 1960)

An island or island group which is separated from its parent country by at least 350 kilometers (≈ 220 miles) shall be considered a separate country, provided that it is not part of another recognized DXCC entity.

This is the first formal printed appearance of the Offshore Island Group Rule in ARRL DXCC policy.

Further clarifications included:

Islands within 50 kilometers (≈ 30 miles) of one another count as a single island group.
Islands separated by less than 350 km from their parent country do not qualify unless political or administrative independence applies (Rules 1A or 1B).
If an island lies between two countries, and is closer than 350 km to both, it belongs to whichever it is politically attached to.

Examples recognized under Rule 1C in 1960:

Hawaii (KH6) — separate from continental USA.
Azores (CU) and Madeira (CT3) — separate from Portugal.
Reunion (FR), Mauritius (3B8), and Rodriguez (3B9).
Chatham Islands (ZL7), Kermadec Islands (ZL8), New Zealand Subantarctic Islands (ZL9).
Lord Howe (VK9L), Norfolk (VK9N), Willis (VK9W), and Cocos–Keeling (VK9C) from Australia.
Crozet (FT/W), Kerguelen (FT/X), and Amsterdam–St. Paul (FT/Z) from France.

This is the historical root of the modern DXCC Rule 1C.

II. Eligibility Requirements

Open to all duly licensed amateur operators worldwide.
All contacts must be two-way amateur QSOs conducted under proper authorization.
Contacts made after November 15, 1945, remain valid for DXCC credit.
Any authorized amateur band or mode may be used.
All contacts for a given award application must originate from a single DXCC country.

III. Confirmations

Each claimed country must be supported by a QSL card showing:
- Callsigns of both stations,
- Date and time (GMT),
- Band and mode used,
- Location or country name.
Cards must be verified by ARRL Headquarters or an authorized Field Representative.
Duplicates with the same country do not increase totals.

IV. Qualification for Award

Confirmation of 100 countries qualifies for the DX Century Club Certificate.
Endorsements available for higher totals (125, 150, 200, 250, 300, etc.).
“Single-Band” and “All-Band” DXCC accomplishments are recognized.
Announcements of award recipients published in QST and the ARRL DXCC List.

V. Maintenance of the DXCC List

“The Awards Committee shall revise the DXCC List as political or geographic changes occur, or when new information becomes available. Additions or deletions become effective as of the date published in QST.”

Examples of 1960 updates:

Addition of French Somaliland (FR5) and Somalia (6O) as separate entities.
Recognition of new African and Pacific territories after UN trusteeships dissolved.

VI. Determination of Borderline Cases

“All questions as to the qualification of an area as a DXCC country shall be determined by the ARRL Awards Committee, whose decisions shall be final.”

This clause reinforced the ARRL’s exclusive interpretive authority over geographic and political classifications.

VII. Publication and Recognition

Names of award recipients and total counts published in QST and the ARRL DXCC List.
Certificates issued without charge to ARRL members; non-members may apply upon payment of a nominal fee.

VIII. General Provisions

The ARRL may revoke credits found to be improperly obtained.
Contacts must represent legitimate, two-way amateur communications.
Maritime mobile and aeronautical mobile operation counts only if the station was located within the territorial limits of a defined country or dependency.
The decisions of the ARRL Awards Committee are final in all matters.

IX. Summary of 1960 Revisions

Criterion	Change Introduced in 1960
Numbered Rules 1A–1C	Introduced to formalize distinctions
Distance Threshold	350 km minimum for separate islands (first explicit figure)
Island Group Definition	Islands ≤ 50 km apart = one entity
Political Recognition	Rule 1A retained unchanged
Administrative Rule	Rule 1B clarified for postal and communications authority
List Maintenance	Now automatic with QST publication
Enforcement	ARRL Awards Committee final authority reaffirmed

Historical Significance

The 1960 DXCC Rules were the first to systematize how the ARRL evaluated geographic separation and administrative independence.
They effectively created the modern structure of DXCC Entity Qualification, which persists (nearly verbatim) in the current 2025 ARRL DXCC Rules.

It also marked the beginning of an era of standardized distance computation (using great-circle calculations) and formal recognition of island groups — an enduring backbone of DXCC policy.

The 1958 DXCC Rules continued the evolving practice of combining political/administrative criteria with geographic separation tests to define distinct DXCC entities, with an emphasis on clear language and workable separation distances.

The 1960 revision made the framework more formal and structured. While the core concepts remained — differentiating entities based on political status and physical separation — the 1960 rules clarified the criteria further, introduced more detailed guidance on key thresholds (especially for islands and groups of islands), and refined definitions to reduce interpretive uncertainty. This version also began to standardize language in ways that would influence later rule sets, making it easier to apply the criteria consistently.

In summary: the shift from the 1958 to the 1960 rules was largely about structure and clarity: preserving the same basic tests but tightening the definitions and guidance so the rules could be applied more consistently and with fewer borderline judgments.