REC LPFM/NCE Advisory Letter #24: False Regulatory Fees - Action Recommended
LPFMs and NCEs are advised to check CORES to determine if Regulatory Fees were applied to their FRNs in error.
Regulatory Fees are paid by commercial broadcast licensees once per year for their stations, translators and boosters. The FCC is authorized by law to collect these fees. (47 USC §159).
However, paragraph (e)(1)(C) of that law specifically exempts noncommercial educational (NCE) radio (including LPFM) and television stations from paying these fees. In addition, NCE/LPFM stations are also exempt from paying application fees (47 USC §158(d)(1)(C)).
Failure to pay regulatory fees will result in an entity (at the FRN level) going into “red light” status. Entities in red light status will result in the Commission withholding action on broadcast applications, including renewals. In some cases, it may open a proceeding to show cause why a license should not be cancelled. These regulatory fees are used to reimburse the appropriations that are provided to fund the operations of the FCC and exist for all commercial licensees of FCC regulated services.
Over the past couple of weeks, REC Networks has received multiple inquiries from LPFM and NCE stations regarding being assessed regulatory fees or being advised of red light status. We have experienced this in past years, but it was more isolated.
REC is recommending that all LPFM and NCE entities access the FCC CORES system to verify that they have not been charged for regulatory fees in error. These charges may appear on:
The licensed FM/AM/TV station(s).
Unbuilt FM/TV construction permits.
Any commonly owned FM translator station (translators not commonly owned will be the responsibility of the licensee and based on their entity type, may or may not be liable for regulatory fees).
Any FM booster stations.
There are no regulatory fees associated with broadcast auxiliary stations such as studio to transmitter links and remote broadcast pickup stations.
To determine if your organization has been charged for any regulatory fees:
Access the FCC CORES system at https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do.
Enter your CORES username (which is normally associated with an email address) and the appropriate password.
Request the security code by clicking [Send Code].
Wait for the security code to arrive in your email, enter that code and click [Submit Code].
Once logged in, click on the link “Manage Existing FRNs | FRN Financial | Bills and Fees”.
Click on “FRN Financial”.
On this screen, look for your FRN, click on “View/Make Payments”, even if the status is “Green Light”.
On the next screen, click on [Open Bills]
If you see any charges here, either red or green light, take a screen shot and contact the FCC at arinquiries@fcc.gov. Provide them with your FRN and the bill number and advise them that these are for NCE facilities and should not be subject to regulatory fees. They may take some time to resolve this. If they don’t, please be persistent, but polite. Note, that items that are already marked to “Treasury” have been referred out of the FCC and it will take them more time to resolve.
Please report any incidents and your experience to REC Networks so we can track them and assist if needed/appropriate.
Do yourself a favor and make this check a part of your yearly ritual for your station.