In Europe / USA this radio seems to be legal for USB CB ..
To the best of my knowledge , it would be a breach of the communications act to use a Ham radio for public frequencies ( people have been prosecuted for such )
The problem lays in the radio being able to operate outside the UHF frequency range ( Same in the USA I believe ) ...
Baofeng has software for locking the radio into Memory Mode , so if you program in the 80 UHF CB frequencies ( 70cm ) and the radio is unable to operate outside said frequencies then it would be legal for such ...
Unfortunately only Americans have access to such (1) Radios ( the right firmware ) and (2) the programming software to lock the radio ( correct firmware ) ... This is apparently proprietary , and is only available through one Baofeng seller in the USA ...
SO you would need to source the correct UV-5r from the states , and use the correct software to make ( program ) yourself a 80 channel hand held CB or walkie talkie ...
Yes I have done the research - I have contacted Baofeng about getting the software to lock the UV-5r to channel mode , and heard nothing back .
Next step is to see if the guy that writes the CHIRP software can mod his programming software to allow such ..
For now , the Baofeng is for licensed ham operators in Australia : There have apparently been a lot of problems with these radios in Australia as they cover Police / Ambulance / Fire frequencies as well a few others used by the Government . So the ability to limit the radios to amateur band plans is a plus ..
I have already programmed the GT-3 to 144-148mhz as well as 430-450mhz and it wont operate outside these frequencies , not even by accident . I also have all the 2 meter and 70cm repeaters programmed in for the state .
For your information only , the frequency range can be greatly expanded . The Baofengs will work well outside the frequencies listed by the factory ...
I guess this is why a few people have bricked ( killed ) their radios , trying for as much frequency range as they can get ...
I converted a UV-5r to a scanner , then when it could not transmit at all ( only receive ) I pushed the frequency range well beyond stock ...
They are a fun little radio for sure ...