The Easiest Way: Use Online Scanner Feeds
If you just want to listen to local emergency radio and aren't interested in owning a physical scanner, you don't need to worry about frequencies at all. Online scanner feeds handle all the frequency and decoding work for you.
On PoliceScannerFinder, you can browse by state then drill down to your county or city. Use the ZIP code search for the fastest path to feeds near a specific address. Each page lists the active feeds for that location including agency name and what type of traffic each feed carries.
This section of the guide is specifically for people who want to program a physical scanner radio or who want to understand what frequencies their local agencies use, even if they're listening online.
RadioReference.com: The Primary Database
RadioReference.com is the most comprehensive publicly maintained database of radio system information in the United States. It contains frequency data, trunked system information, agency listings, and talkgroup databases for thousands of jurisdictions.
The basic database is free to access. A paid subscription gives you access to additional features and more detailed data. For most users, the free tier provides everything needed to research local agencies.
To look up your area: go to the RadioReference Database tab, select the United States, then your state, then your county. You'll see a list of agencies with radio system types, frequencies (for conventional systems), or trunked system links (for P25 and other digital systems).
The data is maintained by volunteers and is generally accurate, but it can lag behind real-world changes. If an agency migrated to a new system recently, RadioReference may not reflect that yet.
Understanding What You Find
Conventional Analog Systems
If your agency shows up as a conventional FM system, you'll see one or more specific frequencies listed (for example, 155.790 MHz). Program those frequencies into your scanner. When the agency transmits, your scanner will stop on the active frequency.
Most rural agencies, volunteer fire departments, and smaller town police departments still run on conventional analog. These are the easiest systems to monitor and any basic scanner radio will work.
P25 Trunked Systems
If your agency is on a P25 trunked system, RadioReference will list a system ID, control channel frequencies, and talkgroup IDs. You need a digital trunking scanner to follow this type of system.
Talkgroup IDs are especially important. They identify which group of users within the trunked system you want to monitor. The county sheriff might have one set of talkgroup IDs for patrol, another for detectives, and another for jail operations. RadioReference lists these talkgroups with names when they're publicly documented.
For physical scanners, most modern digital scanners can be programmed by importing RadioReference data directly. Software like Sentinel (for Uniden scanners) and Chirp (for various radios) can automate much of this programming work.
Finding Frequencies Through Other Sources
FCC Licensing Database
The FCC maintains a public database of all licensed radio frequencies in the United States. You can search by entity name (the agency name) at wireless.fcc.gov/uls to find the frequencies an agency is licensed to operate on. This is more authoritative than RadioReference but also harder to navigate and doesn't include trunked system details.
Local Scanner Hobbyist Forums
The RadioReference forums and regional scanner listening groups often have the most current, locally verified information. People who have been monitoring a specific county for years know about recent system changes, agency migrations, and which talkgroups are worth monitoring. Searching for "[your county] scanner" in any major scanner forum will usually surface a thread with local experts.
FOIA Requests
Talkgroup assignments and radio system configurations are public records in most jurisdictions. A Freedom of Information Act request to your county can sometimes surface a complete talkgroup list that isn't available through other sources. This is more effort than most listeners need, but it's a legitimate path if you're doing systematic monitoring.
Figuring Out What Radio System Your Local Agency Uses
If you're not sure whether your local agencies are on analog or digital, there are a few ways to find out.
Start with RadioReference. Look up your county and check the radio system type listed for the agencies you care about. The system type field will tell you whether it's conventional FM (analog), P25 (digital), or another standard.
You can also call your county's communications center directly and ask. Most dispatch centers will tell you what system they use. They may not give you talkgroup IDs, but knowing whether they're on P25 versus analog is generally information they'll share.
If a basic analog scanner picks up fire dispatch but gets nothing from police, the likely explanation is that police have migrated to digital while fire is still analog.
What to Do If Your Area Has No Active Online Feed
If you can't find any active online feeds for your county through PoliceScannerFinder or Broadcastify, a physical scanner radio is your only option for local monitoring. Use RadioReference to identify what system your agencies use, then purchase a scanner that supports it.
For areas still on conventional analog, any scanner radio in the $30 to $80 range will work. For P25 trunked systems, you need a digital scanner that supports P25 trunking, which typically starts around $150.
You can also consider setting up your own feed for your area. Platforms like Broadcastify allow volunteers to add new feeds. If your county has coverage gaps, contributing a feed is a meaningful way to help the scanner listening community in your area.
A Note on Encryption
Finding frequencies won't help if an agency has encrypted. In that case, you'll find the frequencies, program them correctly, and hear either silence or digital noise. There's no workaround for encryption through legal means.
See our guide on why police channels are encrypted for more on this situation and what alternatives exist.
Legal Reminder
Researching and listening to unencrypted public safety frequencies is legal. Attempting to access encrypted channels or using scanner information to evade or assist criminal activity is not. Always follow all applicable local, state, and federal laws.
Written by
PoliceScannerFinder Research Team
The PoliceScannerFinder Research Team studies publicly available scanner feeds, emergency communication systems, and public safety radio technology. Our mission is to make scanner listening approachable for beginners while providing accurate, responsible information about how emergency radio works across the United States.