Amateurs can also participate in emergency operations by officially enrolling in RACES, which is administered by local/county/state emergency management agencies with guidance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A RACES Emergency Service Plan has been signed by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director dated December 20, 2005.

RACES operation is conducted by Amateurs using their own primary station licenses and by using existing RACES stations. The FCC no longer issues new RACES (WC prefix) station call signs. Operating privileges in RACES are dependent upon, and identical to, the class of license held in the Amateur Radio Service. All of the authorized frequencies and emissions allocated to the Amateur Radio Service are also available to RACES on a shared basis; however, in the event the President invokes his War Emergency Powers, Amateurs involved with RACES could be limited to frequencies assigned by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and announced by the Federal Communications Commission.

Although RACES was originally based on potential use for wartime, it has evolved over the years to encompass all types of emergencies.

Even though RACES and ARES are separate entities, the ARRL advocates dual membership and cooperative efforts between both groups.