Please note that this calendar is intended to be a useful guide to FCC deadlines but is not intended to be an exhaustive list of required filings. Filing requirements may change over the year, and new filing requirements may be adopted or eliminated. Please contact David O’Connor, Washington Counsel for the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, with any questions about this calendar (Tel: 202-383-3429, doconnor@wbklaw.com).
- January 10 – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists. All full power and Class A TV stations, and all commercial and noncommercial AM and FM radio stations, must prepare and upload to their online public inspection files a list of important issues facing their communities, and the programs aired in the months of October, November, and December 2024 dealing with those issues.
- January 10 – All Class A TV stations must upload to their online public files documentation certifying their continued Class A eligibility for Fourth Quarter 2024.
- January 10 – All noncommercial educational radio and television stations that are not affiliated with NPR or CPB, and that suspended regular programming to conduct third party fundraising for the benefit of a non-profit organization, must generate relevant documentation for the period October 1-December 31, 2024 and place it in their public inspection file by this date. Such stations can devote no more than 1% of their total airtime to such fundraising efforts.
- January 10 – Documentation of any foreign government-provided programming aired between October 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 must be uploaded to station’s online public file.
- January 30 – Children’s Television Program Reports. Annual Children’s Television Programming Report (Form 2100, Schedule H) must be filed by January 30 using the FCC’s Licensing and Management System (LMS). This report should cover the period from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024.
- January 30 – Children’s Television Commercial Limitations Certification. Annual certification of compliance with the commercial limits in children’s TV programming must be uploaded by all commercial full-power and Class A TV stations to their online public inspection files by January 30. This certification should cover the period from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024.
- January 31 – SoundExchange Minimum Fees. Webcasters, including broadcasters who simulcast their signals on the Internet or through a mobile app, must pay their minimum annual fees by January 31. These fees are now $1,000 per stream for commercial and noncommercial streams not affiliated with a school or CPB. Noncommercial educational webcasters (affiliated with a school or college), not affiliated with NPR and CPB, must make elections about recordkeeping requirements that will apply to their streaming operations by January 31.
February- None
March
- March 9 – Daylight Saving Time begins. Daytime-only radio stations and stations with pre-sunrise and/or post-sunset authorizations should check their sign-on and sign-off times on their current FCC authorizations to ensure compliance. All times listed on FCC licenses are in Standard Time.
April
- April 10 – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists. All full power and Class A TV stations, and all commercial and noncommercial AM and FM radio stations, must prepare and upload to their online public inspection files a list of important issues facing their communities, and the programs aired in the months of January, February and March dealing with those issues.
- April 10 – All Class A TV stations must upload to their online public files documentation certifying their continued Class A eligibility for the First Quarter.
- April 10 – All noncommercial educational radio and television stations that are not affiliated with NPR or CPB, and that suspended regular programming to conduct third party fundraising for the benefit of a non-profit organization, must generate relevant documentation for the period January 1-March 31 and place it in their public inspection file by this date. Such stations can devote no more than 1% of their total airtime to such fundraising efforts.
- April 10 – Documentation of any foreign government-provided programming aired between January 1 and March 31 must be uploaded to station’s online public file.
May- None
June – None
July
- July 10 – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists. All full power and Class A TV stations, and all commercial and noncommercial AM and FM radio stations, must prepare and upload to their online public inspection files a list of important issues facing their communities, and the programs aired in the months of April, May, and June dealing with those issues.
- July 10 – All Class A TV stations must upload to their online public files documentation certifying their continued Class A eligibility for the Second Quarter.
- July 10 – All noncommercial educational radio and television stations that are not affiliated with NPR or CPB, and that suspended regular programming to conduct third party fundraising for the benefit of a non-profit organization, must generate relevant documentation for the period April 1-June 30, and place it in their public inspection file by this date. Such stations can devote no more than 1% of their total airtime to such fundraising efforts.
- July 10 – Documentation of any foreign government-provided programming aired between April 1 and June 30 must be uploaded to station’s online public file.
- July 1-31 – Copyright Royalty Claims. All television stations that were carried as a distant signal by a cable system during 2023 and that aired a program that they produced for which they own the copyright and which was retransmitted by a cable system: File a copyright royalty claim form between July 1-31, 2025 in order to share in the 2024 cable royalty distribution.
August or September
- Annual FCC Regulatory Fees. Although the precise dates will not be determined until the summer, the window for paying the FCC’s Annual Regulatory Fees can open as early as August, but typically opens and closes in September. Broadcasters must pay their FCC Annual Regulatory Fees by the deadline established by the FCC or incur a 25% penalty. Regulatory fees cover the period from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.
September
- September 8 – New EAS Code. Implementation deadline for new Emergency Alert Service Event Code: Ashanti Alerts (alerts for persons over the age of 17 who are missing or abducted from states, territories, or tribal communities).
- September 30 (possibly) – Broadcast Annual Employment Report (FCC Form 395- B). All commercial and noncommercial AM, FM, TV, and Class A TV Stations in a Station Employment Unit with 5 or more full-time employees must file this form by September 30, if it has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by then. As of the date of the publication of this calendar, the OMB has not yet approved the use of this reinstated form. There are also administrative and judicial challenges pending to the reinstatement of the form. Watch for developments about the requirements for the use of this form.
October
- October 10 – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists. All full power and Class A TV stations, and all commercial and noncommercial AM and FM radio stations, must prepare and upload to their online public inspection files a list of important issues facing their communities, and the programs aired in the months of July, August, and September dealing with those issues.
- October 10 – All Class A TV stations must upload to their online public files documentation certifying their continued Class A eligibility for the Third Quarter.
- October 10 – All noncommercial educational radio and television stations that are not affiliated with NPR or CPB, and that suspended regular programming to conduct third party fundraising for the benefit of a non-profit organization, must generate relevant documentation for the period July 1-September 30 and place it in their public inspection file by this date. Such stations can devote no more than 1% of their total airtime to such fundraising efforts.
- October 10 – Documentation of any foreign government-provided programming aired between July 1 and September 30 must be uploaded to station’s online public file.
November
- November 1 – This is a good time of year to check your tower for FCC and FAA lighting and painting requirements.
- November 2 – Daylight Saving Time ends. Daytime-only radio stations and stations with pre-sunrise and/or post-sunset authorizations should check their sign-on and sign-off times on their current FCC authorizations to ensure compliance. All times listed on FCC licenses are in Standard Time.
December
- December 1 – Biennial Ownership Reports. Ownership information accurate as of October 1, 2025 must be submitted on FCC Form 2100, Schedule 323 (for commercial stations) or FCC Form 2100 Schedule 323-E (for noncommercial stations).
- December 1 – Annual EEO Public File Reports. Radio and television station employment units in Georgia with 5 or more full-time employees must place in their online public inspection file an FCC Annual EEO Public File Report. The report must also be posted on the station’s website, if it has one.
- December 1 – Ancillary/Supplementary Reports. Television stations (including Class A TV, Low Power TV, and FM6 stations) that provided any subscription-based “ancillary or supplementary services” during the 12-month period ending on September 30, 2025 must file an FCC Form 2100-Schedule G (formerly known as FCC Form 317).
