The FCC released an Order this week announcing an upcoming increase in application fees to be paid on any “feeable” application.  For commercial broadcasters, that includes applications for technical changes in facilities, applications for assignments or transfers of control of broadcast companies and stations, license renewal applications, requests for Special Temporary Authority when a station is silent or not operating with its authorized facilities, and even Biennial Ownership Reports (due to be filed by December 1, 2025).  The FCC is required by law to adjust its fees every two years to account for increases in the Consumer Price Index. With the recent increases in inflation in all sectors of the economy, FCC fees, like everything else, will be going up – by an average of about 17.4%, which follows an increase of 11.6% that was imposed in 2022 (see our article here).  This year’s increases brought a concurring statement from Chairman-designate Carr, who observed that these steep increases in fees most hurt smaller entrepreneurs who cannot afford new additional costs.  But, he states that there is not much that the FCC can do as Congress has mandated that these fees increase with inflation  The changes will be effective 30 days after the schedule of fees is published in the Federal Register – so broadcasters who want to save a few dollars on technical changes or other applications that they know to be coming up would be well advised to get their applications on file sooner rather than later.

Fees do not apply to most applications by noncommercial licensees.  Otherwise, the fees apply to most requests by broadcasters for FCC actions.  New fees will also take effect for non-broadcast services including private radio and satellite services for which some broadcasters hold authorizations, as well as for broadcast auxiliary applications (processed by the FCC’s Wireless Bureau). For the principal broadcast services administered by the FCC’s Media Bureau, here are the new fees that will take effect sometime in 2025 – watch for the effective date to be announced in the near future:

§1.1104  Schedule of charges for applications and other filings for media services.

Table 1 to § 1.1104

Table 2 to § 1.1104

Table 3 to § 1.1104

Table 4 to § 1.1104

Table 5 to § 1.1104

Table 6 to § 1.1104