CQ Magazine DX Marathon - Rules for 2025
Revised on January 10, 2025
Dates: January 1 — December 31, 2024
Log Deadline: January 5, 2026 (23:59Z)
The CQ DX Marathon is designed to promote DXing activity throughout the year. Credit is given for contacts on all ham bands (160-6 meters) including those not normally used for contesting (60, 30, 17 & 12 meters). Any QSOs are legitimate to claim including contesting QSOs as long as a single station location is maintained.
Summary of Changes 2024 vs 2025
There are a number of changes in the 2025 rules vs. those of 2024. These are summarized below:
• Two class changes that have been added. The Formula Class has been split into two sections. Those that have entered in the past with a 100W maximum power output, and a new class for those who wish to operate under the same Formula rules but can operate at the maximum permissible output allowed by their license class.
• The QRP class has been modified from 2024. This class similarly has been split into two sections. The first will be called QRP Limited. Participants selecting this class may use any wire antenna with no restrictions on height or length. Vertical antennas are also allowed. No array antennas of any type yagis, hexbeams, quads, four squares are allowed. The second class will be called QRP Unlimited. Participants selecting this class may use any antenna configuration they wish with no restrictions on type.
• In the awards part of the rules, a country plaque providing sponsors are identified has been added. Heretofore, the highest country score would receive a certificate. As sponsors step forward during 2025 with a $100 sponsorship fee, countries will be added. As of the writing of the rules today, we have secured sponsors for 4 countries, Venezuela, Turkey, Slovak Republic, and Chile. We will continue to add countries as sponsors step forward throughout the 2025 period.
• In the youth program, we have included another plaque award. There will be now a plaque award for the top youth 15 years and younger along with a separate award for the top scoring youth 16-25.
• In 2024, the Challenge Class was introduced. The purpose of adding this Class was that there were many veterans of the DX Marathon, particularly those with large stations, who after only 3 months of the new year, had worked a substantial number of DX entities and all zones. The Challenge Class was introduced targeting those operators to allow for their further participation in the Marathon throughout the year on all 8 bands. This Class will remain in place for 2025. Registration through an email to wc3w@dxmarathon.com will still be required. The DX Marathon staff will monitor entrees in this class throughout the year and if it exceeds a predetermined level, your Marathon staff will cut off entries. Therefore, it behooves all who intend to compete to register early in the year. There is another change in the Challenge Class. For those who wish to have their entered scores associated with a Club, the Challenge Club participant will simply submit a second entry in either the Unlimited, Limited, Formula, or QRP class. THIS SCORE WILL BE APPLIED TO THEIR DESIGNATED CLUB. THE CHALLENGE SCORE WILL NOT BE APPLIED TO THEIR CLUB SCORE. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BELOW THESE RULE CHANGES.
• In the Club Competition, there has been a redefinition of Club types splitting Clubs between International and North American Clubs (US & Canada). There are significant enough differences between many International Clubs and NA Clubs that your DX Marathon staff in a continuing emphasis on creating level playing fields has chosen these cateogories.
• We have emphasized the seriousness of the requirement to have a single operating station for entry into the program, i.e. remote stations are allowed but second remote stations or remote stations are allowed but second remote stations or remote receiving antennas separate from the home station are disallowed. The operating staff of the DX Marathon consider violations to this rule as significant and will assess penalties if this rule is broken.
• All restrictions in participation of stations in Russia and Belarus are removed and they will be eligible for plaques/certificates. Other stations may work these countries and receive full credit. Donbas, however, beginning with D1 are not legitimate calls and will not be recognized.
• Special Note: The United Kingdom has relaxed its location rules for some call signs. G0ABC, G1XYZ, M3QRS, etc. can now be in any GD, GI, GJ, or GW location as well as G. There is no way to know when this is the case and we believe that few stations employ these rules changes with the UK. Meanwhile, GD5ABC still must be in GD, MW3QRS in GW, etc. For overall fairness, all G0ABC type calls will be scored as G, England, regardless of where they are located.
Following are the complete 2025 rules:
Activity period
The CQ DX Marathon is a yearlong activity, beginning at 0000 UTC January 1, 2025 and ending at 2359 UTC December 31, 2025.
Frequencies and Disallowed Entries
Radio frequencies in the 160-6 meter bands are eligible including the 60m band and all WARC bands (30, 17 & 12 meters). Contacts through repeaters or satellites are not allowed nor are contacts with maritime or aeronautical mobile stations. All contacts must be made entirely over amateur radio frequencies – i.e., Echolink-type, DMR, All-Star, etc. contacts do not count. Stations designating /AM (aeronautical mobile) will not be counted as a legitimate contact. Stations designating /MM (maritime mobile) are located on a floating, undocked, or docked watercraft and will not be counted as a legitimate contact.
All operations are allowed provided the station is operated from a single location, i.e. multiple operating locations are disallowed.
Modes
Any modes for which the operator is licensed may be used. Popular modes seen in the DX Marathon include:
- CW: Utilizes the International Morse Code
- Phone: USB, LSB, DSB, FM (voice), AM
- Digital: FT8, FT4, PSK, RTTY
General
Each participant in the DX Marathon program may submit one log each year per operating location. Participants submitting logs for either single-mode or single-band entries must include only those contacts in their submission. Logs submitted with multiple modes or multiple bands will not be considered for single-mode or single-band entries. A participant may use up to two callsigns per station provided that the callsigns are clearly stated on the submission form. Both callsigns must be used at the same operating location using the equipment and antennas commensurate with their entered class.
Remote operation is permitted if all transmitters, receivers, and antennas are at a single physical location. A remote station in a different country than the entrant’s country of license must comply with all local laws and regulations of that country. Once a remote station is selected by the participant, the participant must use the same remote station for that year’s activity period. Participants must operate only those band segments allowed by their license privileges. The use of spotting networks is allowed for all classes. When referring to power, it shall be measured at the antenna feed point.
If an entrant operates from both a primary station and a remote station, they will be treated as separate entries. Each entry may be submitted provided they have different callsigns or a portable callsign designator. Entries that include contacts made with the assistance of remote receivers and/or transmitters, in addition to contacts from a primary station, are not permitted.
If the DX Marathon Program Administrator determines that a submission includes QSOs combined from more than one location, the participant may be suspended from the DX Marathon Program or at minimum the current year’s submission will not be scored. Decisions of the DX Marathon Program Administrator will be final.
Classes
There are seven entry classes, “Unlimited”, “Limited”, “Formula 100W, “Formula Unlimited” “QRP Limited”, “QRP Unlimited” and “DX Marathon Challenge.” Only one of these classes may be selected for your participation in 2025.
Unlimited
Unlimited Class allows entrants to use up to the maximum legal power output permitted on each band and the power permitted according to their operating license. Any antenna or combination of antennas may be used in this class.
Limited
Limited Class entrants are allowed a maximum output power of 100 watts. Antennas such as verticals or wire antennas, rotatable dipoles and arrays are allowed. Examples of wire antennas include wire dipoles, G5RV, Windoms, Off-center fed (OCF), and end-fed antennas. Any such antennas, whether vertical or wire, may not at any point be higher than 50 feet (15m) above ground level and shall not exceed 135 feet (41m) in length. If a sloping wire antenna is employed, the highest anchor point shall not exceed 50 feet (15m) above ground level. If two towers or trees are employed, the length and height requirement stated in this paragraph apply.
If a participant operates in a high-rise building structure, vertical and wire antennas are allowed on the roof of the structure subject to the length restrictions stated above. Rotatable dipoles on top of multi-story buildings are allowed only if the height does not exceed 50 feet (15m) above ground level. The length restrictions of 135 feet (41m) as stated above will apply for long wire antennas.
Antennas in the classification of an “array” may be used. An array antenna means the use of driven element(s) and parasitic elements. Examples include Yagis, Hexbeams, Spider beams, and Cubical Quads. These antennas are limited to a height of 50 feet (15m) above ground level. Yagis are limited to 3 active elements and a boom length no greater than 16 feet (5m). Spider beams and Hexbeams have the 3-element restriction but do not have a boom length restriction. Rotatable dipoles for 30m and 40m are allowed in this class subject to the height restrictions stated above.
Formula 100W
Formula 100W Class entrants are allowed a maximum output power of 100 watts.
Antennas such as verticals or wire antennas are allowed. Examples of wire antennas include wire dipoles, G5RV, Windom, Off-center fed (OCF), and end-fed antennas. Any such antennas, whether vertical or wire, may not at any point be higher than 65 feet (20m) above ground level and shall not exceed 135 feet (41m) in length. If a sloping wire antenna is employed, the highest anchor point shall not exceed 65 feet (20m). If a participant lives in a high-rise structure, vertical and wire antennas will be allowed on the roof of the structure subject to the height restrictions stated in the Limited Class. The length restrictions of 135 feet (41m) shall apply.
Array antennas or rotatable dipoles may not be used in this class.
Formula Unlimited
All the rules associated with the Formula 100W apply except this class will allow output power up to the allowable output as defined by the operator’s license.
QRP Limited
The QRP Limited Class is allowed a maximum output power of 5 watts. Operators selecting the QRP Limited class may use any wire antenna with no restrictions on height or length. Vertical antennas are also allowed in this class both single band and multi-band antennas. No array antennas of any type including yagis, hexbeams, quads, four squares, etc are allowed in this class.
QRP Unlimited
The QRP Unlimited Class is allowed a maximum output power of 5 watts. Operators selecting the QRP Unlimited class may use any antenna they wish. There are no restrictions on antenna configuration, height, or length. Array antennas of any kind and any height may be used. Hexbeams, quads, stacked elements, and four squares are allowed in this class.
DX Marathon Challenge
The Challenge Class will allow participants to separately count the total number of entities and zones that they work in 2025 on the each of the amateur bands (8) including WARC (10M, 12M, 15M, 17M, 20M, 30M, 40M, 80M) in CW, Phone, or Digital modes. A registration email is required to be sent to wc3w@dxmarathon.com prior to December 1, 2025. A confirmation email back to you will be sent. The DX Marathon staff may choose at their exclusive discretion to cap the number of entrants during the course of the year so interested candidates should register as early in the year as possible. The registration will not obligate the participant to enter in this class if they choose not to submit a Challenge Class entry.
Participants who select the Challenge Class MAY submit a second entry for the regular DX Marathon (i.e. Unlimited, Limited, Formula, QRP) as they have in the past. This will be required if a participant wishes to have their score counted toward their club total score. The Challenge total score will NOT BE USED TOWARDS THEIR CLUB SCORE; only their regular DX Marathon submittal will be applied to their selected Club.
Challenge class entries will not count for any other awards or rankings, continental awards, band awards or mode awards. The individual recognition award available to challenge award participants include the top world Challenge score and the runner-up Challenge score.
Scores will not be differentiated by power levels or antennas used. Those who choose to enter, will work as many CQ DX Countries and zones as defined on our website on each of the above stated 8 bands. The winner (s) will be determined by summing the total number of DXCC Countries and zones worked on each band.
Special Note On Antennas For Above Classes:
If you are not certain if your antenna fits the description above within any class, please contact the DX Marathon Program Administrator for a ruling.
Scoring
Scoring is very simple: you score one point the first time you work a new country/entity and one point for working a zone. Add the country and zone points together and that results in your total score. There are no multipliers in the DX Marathon Program.
Each country and zone count only once. A single QSO may count for both a country and a zone. Example: If in the year you work 238 countries and 37 zones, your score is 275. The CQ DX Countries List and the CQ Zone List constitute the official program lists and are available on the DX Marathon website. In the case of ties, the participant whose last scoring contact was earlier will be judged the winner. The decisions of the DX Marathon Program Administrator are final.
Submissions
All submissions must be received no later than January 5, 2026. No extensions will be granted. Late submittals will be scored and considered “check logs” and participants will not be eligible for awards. If your callsign changed during the year, or if you used a contest call sign at your station, please enter your primary and alternate call on the submission form. Otherwise, you will not receive credit for both callsigns used and no exceptions will be made. Using the new submission tool, participants can upload anytime during the year. Each subsequent updated submission will replace the previous one. All submissions are private and not made public. Submissions can be made through https://entry.dxmarathon.com.
Special Note: It is very important to declare the basis upon which you are submitting. Our scoring software WILL NOT make this determination. If you are submitting for a single band, please so state. If you are submitting for a single mode, please so state. If you submit for either a single band or single mode. Do not commingle, i.e. if submitting for a single band and your log contains other bands, you will be defaulted into ALL BANDS. Similarly, if you submit for single mode and your submission contains multiple modes, you will be defaulted to ALL MODES. We do NOT have a single band, single mode category. Please see the FAQ’s for more detailed explanation.
Verification
QSLs or any other form of QSO verification are not required. The participant is expected to claim contacts only from stations they have every reason to believe are legitimate, and only to claim contacts in which an accurate two-way exchange was clearly accomplished. Each contact for a claimed country or zone must be a solid contact. The station claiming a contact with a DX station is expected to have had his or her callsign fully and accurately received and transmitted by the other station along with an exchange of signal reports. The DX Marathon scoring team reserves the right to verify any QSOs submitted by participants, including Dxpeditions logs sent to the scoring team. Any other available sources of verification may be employed by the scoring team to validate a claimed QSO. The DX Marathon staff encourages all participants to carefully check the accuracy of information in a claimed QSO before making their final submission. The DX Marathon administrative staff encourages participants to visit the website and carefully read the FAQ section and review the question “What are the best practices for submitting QSOs?”
There is also extensive information about particular DX calls, currently found under the “Resources” tab on the website. Your administrative staff spends significant time during the year trying to provide information to allow for your clean submission of QSOs. Please use these resources.
Special Note: The United Kingdom has relaxed its location rules for some call signs. G0ABC, G1XYZ, M3QRS, etc. can now be in any GD, GI, GJ, or GW location as well as G. There is no way to know when this is the case, and we believe that few stations employ these rules changes with the UK. Meanwhile, GD5ABC still must be in GD, MW3QRS in GW, etc. For overall fairness, all G0ABC type calls will be scored as G, England, regardless of where they are located.
During the scoring process, the DX Marathon staff will review claimed QSOs that may be invalid, including but not limited to contacts with pirates, broken calls, or stations not operating in claimed countries. Zone errors of stations continue to be an error source. Submissions for any of these errors shall not be counted in the participant’s score and result in a point deduction per error.
Participants may be disqualified in cases of intentional fraud or poor sportsmanship. Every QSO may be subject to verification by the DX Marathon Program Administrator and his staff. Decisions/rulings of the DX Marathon Program Administrator are final.
Results
The final listing of official scores and winners will be published on the DX Marathon website. The claimed scores will be issued on the website within 30 days after scores are submitted in January. Final 2025 scores and results after verification will appear on the website around April 1, 2026.
Awards
Plaques
The DX Marathon will award plaques as follows:
- Highest overall score in Unlimited Class
- Highest overall score in Limited Class
- Highest overall score in Formula Class
- Highest overall score in the Formula Unlimited Class
- Highest overall score in QRP
- Highest overall score in the QRP Unlimited Class
- Highest world overall CW only score
- Highest overall CW scores in Europe and North America
- Highest overall CW scores by a member of the CWOps organization
- Highest world overall SSB score
- Highest world overall Digital score
- Highest overall score for single band entries for the 6, 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, and 160-meter bands
- Highest overall score for each of the 6 continents
- Highest overall score for youth (25 yr old or less)
- Highest overall score for YL
- Highest overall score in the Challenge Class
- Runner-up score in the Challenge Class
- Super DX Marathon Award (highest cumulative points in last five years)
- Highest Club score (75 submissions or greater)
- Highest Club score (26 to 74 submissions)
- Highest Club score (25 submissions or less)
Entrants may receive only one plaque per year. In the case of a participant qualifying for more than one plaque, that participant will receive a plaque for the highest level based on the above listing order.
Special Country Plaques
In 2025, according to how many sponsors we receive, the DX Marathon will honor the highest country score for which sponsors are identified with a plaque. At the time of the issuances of the 2025 rules, the following countries have plaque sponsors, and the highest 2025 score will be the recipient of a beautiful plaque.
- Chile
- Slovak Republic
- Turkey
- Venezuela
During the 2025-year, other countries will be added according to how many sponsors are received. There will be no limit on the number of country plaques.
Certificates
Certificates are awarded to qualified participants in the following order:
- Highest overall score for each of the three modes on each continent except for CW in Europe and North America
- Highest overall score in each CQ zone
- Highest overall score in each country
- Highest overall score for each class in the USA
- Highest overall score in Unlimited, Limited, Formula, and QRP in each USA callsign district
- Highest overall score in each Canadian callsign district
Plaque winners are not eligible for certificates. An entrant may qualify for only one certificate. In the case of a participant qualifying for more than one certificate, that participant will receive a certificate for the highest level based on the above order. A minimum level of points to qualify for a certificate will be established each year by the DX Marathon Program Administrator above which a certificate will be issued. The rulings of the DX Marathon Program Administrator are final.
Special Note: Currently, the DX Marathon does not provide awards for a combination single mode/single band award. If a submission has all entries in a single band and a single mode, it will be counted as a single band submission.
Annual K9EL Special Award
In honor of the contribution of K9EL over his tenure in administering the DX Marathon program, a “Super Marathon Award” will again be issued in honor of K9EL to the participant who has had the cumulative highest five consecutive years of performance using the 2021-2025. The single plaque award will be made irrespective of Class, i.e. Unlimited to QRP. Once a participant has won the award, he will not be ineligible to qualify for this award a second time.
Youth Overlay
The Youth overlay for 2025 is open to anyone who was born on January 1, 2001, or later. Two youth plaques will be awarded to the highest Youth score in the world. The first category will be the top scoring youth 15 years old or younger. The second category will be a plaque award for the highest scoring youth 16-25 years old. Certificates will be awarded to the highest Youth score in each of the six Continents in both categories. To enter the Youth overlay, the entrant must claim Youth entry with birthday stated in the submission form. All Youth entries may be subject to age verification. For certificate qualification, Youth entry must achieve a total score of at least 100. Participation in this overlay does not exclude participation for any of the above plaques or certificates.
YL Overlay
The YL overlay for 2025 is open to any YL operator in the world. A YL plaque will be awarded to the highest YL score in the world and certificates will be awarded to the highest YL score in each of the six Continents. To enter the YL overlay, the entrant must designate this overlay in their submission. For certificate qualification, the YL must achieve a total score of at least 100. Participation in this overlay does not exclude participation for any of the above plaques or certificates.
Club Competition
We encourage the participants in the DX Marathon Program who also are members of a Club to name their Club during the submission process. A Club that wishes to be listed as a participating Club must meet the requirements as outlined below.
The Club score is the total aggregate score from submission by members in any of the designated entry classes.
Special Note: If a Club has a club station with a club call, and members of the Club operate the station with the Club call sign throughout the year, the Club can then enter as a Club station in their submission.
The Club categories are divided into two major tranches for 2025. The first category is entitled International Clubs. The second category will be North American Clubs and include clubs registered in the US and Canada.
International Club:
To qualify as an International Club, you must adhere to the following requirements: • All participating Club members must reside within the DXCC country where the Club is located. • The Club entity must be engaged in ham radio activities such as DXing, community service, emergency services, or contesting. National organizations such as JARL, REF, DARC and the like do not qualify as Clubs and are not eligible to participate. • For Clubs to submit, the Club must establish a single-entry name for their Club. Please register your club name with KI2D@dxmarathon.com. When participants submit at the end of the year, there will be a dropdown menu listing their Club.
North America Clubs
Clubs located in North America must be located within the US and/or Canada. For those Clubs, they must adhere to the following requirements: There will be three tranches of NA Clubs. Plaques will be awarded for the winner of each level. • Clubs with submittals of 75 participants or more. • Clubs with submittals of between 26 and 74 participants • Clubs with submittals of 25 participants or less To qualify as a Club, you must adhere to the following requirements. • All participating Club members must reside within a 250-mile radius of a designated central point. If a member has been a standing member prior to January 1, 2024, and currently lives outside of this radius, that person will be allowed to claim his score towards the Club score provided he is still a member. • The Club entity must be engaged in ham radio activities such as DXing, community service, emergency services (i.e. ARES), or contesting. National organizations are not eligible to participate. If there are any questions as to a Club’s qualification to participate, please contact wc3w@dxmarathon.com.