ARRL DX Century Club (DXCC) Rules — 1966 Edition

(Effective January 1 1966; superseding 1963 Rules)

A copy of the 1966 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) distinct countries (DXCC entities) of the world, as defined and maintained by the ARRL Awards Committee.

The 1966 revision formally numbered all DXCC entity-qualification rules (1A–1C) and split Rule 1C into three sub-sections covering separation by distance, intervening territory, and island grouping.

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 under a separate government, recognized internationally as administering its own affairs independently of any other, shall be considered a separate country.

Examples (1966 List):
United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and the newly independent states of the Caribbean and Africa (Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Zambia, etc.).

Rule 1B – Distinct Administrative Area

A possession, protectorate, dependency, colony, or trust territory having its own administration, postal authority, or communications regulation separate from that of its parent government shall be considered a separate country, provided such distinction is recognized by the responsible international telecommunications body (e.g., ITU).

Examples:
Puerto Rico, Guam, Hong Kong, Reunion, French Polynesia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and the Azores.

Rule 1C – Offshore Island Group Rule

(Sub-divided into 1C(a), 1C(b), 1C(c))

1C(a) – Separation by Distance

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

1C(b) – Intervening DXCC Territory

If any line drawn along a great-circle path from any point of the island to its parent crosses territory belonging to another DXCC entity, the island shall be considered separate even if the distance is less than 350 km.

1C(c) – Island Grouping Rule

Islands lying within 50 kilometers (≈ 30 miles) of one another shall normally be treated as a single DXCC group.
Islands separated by more than 50 km may qualify as distinct groups if individually satisfying 1C(a) or 1C(b).
The presence of intervening land belonging to the parent country nullifies separation under 1C(a).

Examples (1966 DXCC List):

Hawaii (KH6)
Azores (CU) & Madeira (CT3)
Reunion (FR) & Mauritius (3B8)
Rodriguez (3B9)
Lord Howe (VK9L), Norfolk (VK9N), Cocos-Keeling (VK9C), Willis (VK9W)
Chatham (ZL7), Kermadec (ZL8), NZ Sub-Antarctic (ZL9)
Crozet (FT/W), Kerguelen (FT/X), Amsterdam & St Paul (FT/Z)

II. Eligibility Requirements

Open to all duly licensed amateur operators worldwide.
All contacts must be lawful, two-way amateur QSOs.
Contacts made after November 15 1945 remain valid.
Any authorized amateur band or mode may be used.
All QSOs for a given application must originate from one DXCC entity.

III. Confirmations

Each claimed country must be confirmed by a QSL card showing callsigns, date, time (GMT), band, mode, and location.
Cards must be verified by ARRL Headquarters or an authorized DXCC Field Representative.
Duplicate QSOs with the same entity do not increase totals.

IV. Qualification for Award

Confirmation of 100 countries qualifies for the DX Century Club Certificate.
Endorsements are issued for higher totals (125, 150, 200, 250, 300, etc.).
Single-Band and All-Band DXCCs are recognized.
Recipients are listed in QST and the annual ARRL DXCC List.

V. Maintenance of the DXCC List

“The Awards Committee shall revise the DXCC List whenever political or geographic changes occur or when new information becomes available.
Additions or deletions become effective upon publication in QST.”

1966 updates included numerous African and Caribbean independence additions (e.g., Barbados, Botswana, Guyana) and clarified group assignments for Indian Ocean and South Pacific island chains.

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.”

VII. Publication and Recognition

Award recipients published in QST and the ARRL DXCC List.
Certificates issued free to ARRL members; non-members may apply with a nominal fee.

VIII. General Provisions

All submissions subject to verification.
ARRL may revoke credits obtained improperly.
Maritime mobile and aeronautical mobile QSOs count only if the station was within the territorial limits of a DXCC entity.
The decisions of the ARRL Awards Committee are final.

IX. Appendix A – Summary of 1966 Revisions

Topic	1966 Clarification
Rule 1C Structure	Sub-rules (a)–(c) formally defined.
Distance Standard	350 km retained and metricized.
Intervening Entity Clause	Reaffirmed and placed in 1C(b).
Island Grouping Distance	50 km explicitly restated as normal group radius.
Parent-Land Intervention	“No intervening land of parent entity” clause made explicit.
Political Additions	Added newly independent nations (Africa & Caribbean).
Publication Policy	DXCC List integrated into annual QST supplement.

Historical Significance

The 1966 DXCC Rules represent the fully developed mid-century standard still recognizable today.
They codified the “Offshore Island Group Rule” in its final form, introduced 1C subsections, and established uniform thresholds used for all later ARRL revisions (1971, 1976, 1981, etc.).

The 1961 DXCC Rules established a structured approach using a mix of political/administrative recognition and geographic separation tests with specific distance thresholds to define distinct DXCC entities. The focus was on providing workable guidance for islands, dependencies, and territories separated by water or other countries.

By 1966, the rules had been refined and expanded to address practical complexities that emerged from applying the 1961 criteria. The 1966 version retained the same basic frameworks but clarified ambiguous language, adjusted key distance thresholds, and provided more explicit guidance for handling complicated geographic situations, such as multi-island groups and close-in offshore features. It also placed greater emphasis on ensuring consistent application of the criteria and reducing subjective interpretation in borderline cases.

In summary: the evolution from the 1961 to the 1966 rules was largely about clarification, refinement, and improved consistency rather than wholesale changes. The 1966 rules made the entity determination tests more precise and easier to apply predictably across a wider range of geographic configurations.