FCC Regulatory Fees Due August 31st

In the Commission's last-ever paper notice to broadcasters, it moved up the annual regulatory fee filing date from September to August 31st; an apparent attempt to avoid having regulatory fees become the topic de jure at the September NAB Radio show in September. Broadcasters who have not already filed their fees should attend to this task immediately.

The notice mailed this year states that it is the last of its breed. Beginning next year, licensees will be responsible for timely and complete fee filing on their own; there will be no more mailed notices and licensees must rely on the Commission's online resources for all information relating to regulatory fees.

Although notices were mailed this year, note carefully the Commission's disclaimer that licensees bear the full responsibility to file on time for all primary stations and auxiliaries that require a fee. Indeed, many of the mailed notices failed to list all of the licensees' auxiliaries, and some of those listed have been canceled. Be careful though, even cancelled auxiliaries need to be paid for if they were cancelled within the last fiscal year.

It made clear, however, that errors in its notices will not excuse a broadcaster from properly paying for all its stations and auxiliaries. Therefore, it is important to take the time to double-check the entire list against the Commission's online resources and your actual complement of auxiliaries in use. The failure to pay all the fees when due will incur late penalties when the Commission does catch up with the errors, with the possible result of being flagged on the FCC "red-light" list and becoming ineligible from obtaining action on any applications pending or to be filed at the Commission.

To start the fee payment process, from the FCC's home page, www.fcc.gov, click on the yellow regulatory fee sign in the banner to go to the regulatory fee welcome page, or go directly there at www.fcc.gov/feefiler. At www.fcc.gov/fees/regfees.html, the commission has posted links to the various FCC public notices explaining the regulatory fees system and also providing links to its feefiler system through which all regulatory fees must be paid.

To enter the system, you must log in with your federal registration number (FRN). While every licensee should have an FRN, there is a link to the FRN registration manager should an update be required to an existing FRN or should there be a need to apply for a new one. After clicking on "Log In" the filer is presented with a list of parent stations and their auxiliaries. It is important to double-check this list of auxiliaries against the FCC's license database. The list in the fee detail screen is frequently incorrect.

Auxiliaries can be verified in the Universal Licensing System (ULS) General Menu Reports, available through the FCC's search tools web page at www.fcc.gov/searchtools.html. Click on FCC General Menu Reports and query the ParentChild database. From this menu, you can search the parent station by call sign or Facility ID number to find a list of all auxiliaries licensed under the parent station. Each active auxiliary must be listed in the fee filer system, or added to it and a $10.00 annual regulatory fee paid for it. Once in the parent child search, click on each active auxiliary to verify that it is associated with the FRN of the parent licensee, that it is listed as "active" and the correct contact person is designated. These details can be changed in the ULS system, found on the home page of the Wireless Division, or directly at http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls. Once logged in here, auxiliary licenses can be associated with the parent station's FRN and details can be updated.

If an auxiliary needs to be added to the fee filer, click the add button. To add or change an FRN for an auxiliary, return to the ULS system, enter the online filing menu after logging in and associate the correct FRN with the auxiliary licenses.

While this system is convoluted and difficult to follow (which didn't make it too easy to explain, either), it is important nonetheless that all fees are paid by August 31st and that each licensee has properly listed all auxiliaries to the main station. The statute authorizing the FCC to collect regulatory fees also levies a 25% penalty for filing late.

This column is provided for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice pertaining to any specific factual situation. Legal decisions should be made only after proper consultation with a legal professional of your choosing.