Personal Locator Beacons

Personal Locator Beacons, or PLBs, are portable radio transmitters, which aid the Search and Rescue (SAR) emergency services in the detection and location of persons in distress. These devices operate in a similar manner to Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRBs) onboard vessels and Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) onboard aircraft. When used correctly, and registered, a PLB helps to identify the owner and their location to the emergency services.

Only PLBs that are programmed with the Irish country code (250) may be registered with ComReg.

PLBs that have another country code programmed into them are not valid for use in Ireland and cannot be registered as in the event of an emergency the relevant authorities/services may not have accurate information.

Therefore, before registering a PLB you are required to ensure that your PLB is programmed with the correct Irish hexadecimal Country Code (250). The Cospas-Sarsat hexadecimal decode program decodes the hexadecimal data of any PLB to confirm the correct country code before registering:

• Access https://www.cospas-sarsat.int/en/beacon-decode-program and
• insert your PLB Beacon Id. (The 15 character code) and
• The 3^rd item in the result Table should indicate “Country code: 250 –Ireland”

To register a PLB or to amend existing details please click on the following link – Register a PLB

All information provided for a registered PLB is forwarded to the Irish Coast Guard.

Please note: ComReg does not register Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRBs) licences. EPIRBs can be registered with the Department of Transport here.