Commission's Rules
What the rules actually govern
General-class questions in this domain test the FCC Part 97 framework: who may transmit, what identifiers are required, what may be transmitted, and how stations coordinate. Know the license term (10 years, renewable), the grace period for renewal (a two-year window after expiration during which the license can be renewed; operating is not permitted until it is renewed), and the rule that a licensed operator may permit a non-licensed person to communicate using the control operator's station only when a control operator is present at the control point and the third party is not a foreign national from a country with which the U.S. has no third-party agreement.
Identification and control
Every amateur transmission must be identified with the station call sign at the beginning and end of the communication and at least every 10 minutes during it. Control operator categories matter: a General may operate all privileges of Technician plus General subbands, and may be the control operator for a Technician or Novice licensee. Remember that the station license is the operator's, but the station must be under the control of a control operator at all times.
Prohibited and restricted communications
The traps cluster around what is prohibited: no broadcasting, no communications for hire, no obscene or indecent language, no false or deceptive signals, no music (with narrow exceptions), no encrypted messages intended to obscure meaning (except for satellite control and a few specific cases), and no business communications except in narrow emergency or convenience situations. Retransmission of other services is generally prohibited.
Worked rule of thumb
If a question asks whether something is legal, check three gates in order: (1) Is there a licensed control operator responsible? (2) Is the content within the permitted purposes of Part 97? (3) Is proper identification being sent? A "yes" to all three usually means legal; any "no" means it is not.
Common traps
Confusing the license term (10 years) with the renewal grace period (2 years). Assuming a Technician can be control operator for a General - they cannot. Forgetting that a station must identify every 10 minutes.