AirtallyQuarterly issues/programs lists: deadlines, late uploads and your renewal
Every commercial radio and TV station, and every noncommercial educational station that is not exempt, places a list of the programs that gave the most significant treatment of community issues in its online public inspection file every quarter. At renewal the licensee certifies that the file was complete at the appropriate times. This page sets out the dates, how the FCC counts late uploads, and what to do before you file.
1. The deadline
- Each list covers a calendar quarter and is due by the 10th day of the next quarter: January 10 for October–December, April 10 for January–March, July 10 for April–June, October 10 for July–September (47 CFR 73.3526(e)(11)–(12) commercial, 73.3527(e)(8) noncommercial).
- A deadline on a weekend or federal holiday moves to the next business day (47 CFR 1.4(j)): October 10 is sometimes Columbus Day.
- When a lapse in funding closed the FCC's systems, the FCC moved the deadlines: the October–December 2018 lists to 11 February 2019 (Public Notice DA 19-26) and the July–September 2025 lists to 1 December 2025. Airtally applies both.
- Lists are kept until final action on the station's next renewal, so the file holds the whole license term.
2. How the FCC counts late lists
In its notices the FCC sorts late lists by how late they were. In DA 23-1051, against a TV station in Tacoma, it counted "seven lists more than one year late, four lists between one month and one year late, and one list between one day and one month late" and proposed a $9,000 forfeiture; the base forfeiture for public file violations is $10,000 (47 CFR 1.80). Airtally uses the same three buckets, from the upload dates the FCC's public file system records. Run on that station's public file listing it reproduces the FCC's count exactly (7, 4 and 1).
3. The annual EEO public file report
Station employment units with five or more full-time employees place an annual EEO public file report in the public file and on the station's website every year on the anniversary of the date the renewal application is due (47 CFR 73.2080(c)(6)). For the States whose radio licenses expire on December 1 (North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Wisconsin, California) that is August 1; for Maryland, D.C., Virginia and West Virginia, June 1.
4. The renewal dates
| States (radio) | Renewal due | License expires |
|---|---|---|
| MD, DC, VA, WV | Jun 1, 2027 | Oct 1, 2027 |
| NC, SC | Aug 2, 2027 | Dec 1, 2027 |
| FL, PR, VI | Oct 1, 2027 | Feb 1, 2028 |
| AL, GA | Dec 1, 2027 | Apr 1, 2028 |
| AR, LA, MS | Feb 1, 2028 | Jun 1, 2028 |
| TN, KY, IN | Apr 3, 2028 | Aug 1, 2028 |
| OH, MI | Jun 1, 2028 | Oct 1, 2028 |
| IL, WI | Aug 1, 2028 | Dec 1, 2028 |
| IA, MO | Oct 2, 2028 | Feb 1, 2029 |
| MN, ND, SD, MT, CO | Dec 1, 2028 | Apr 1, 2029 |
| KS, OK, NE | Feb 1, 2029 | Jun 1, 2029 |
| TX | Apr 2, 2029 | Aug 1, 2029 |
| WY, NV, AZ, UT, NM, ID | Jun 1, 2029 | Oct 1, 2029 |
| CA | Aug 1, 2029 | Dec 1, 2029 |
| AK, AS, GU, HI, MP, OR, WA | Oct 1, 2029 | Feb 1, 2030 |
| CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT | Dec 3, 2029 | Apr 1, 2030 |
| NJ, NY | Feb 1, 2030 | Jun 1, 2030 |
| DE, PA | Apr 1, 2030 | Aug 1, 2030 |
Renewals are due on the first day of the fourth full calendar month before the license expires (47 CFR 73.3539), the next business day if that is a weekend. TV stations follow the same order one year later (73.1020).
5. Before you file
- Upload any list or EEO report that is still missing: it remains late, but the file is complete.
- Prepare the explanation exhibit for every late or missing document, with due dates and upload dates, and the steps you took to prevent a recurrence.
- After filing, broadcast six on-air announcements over four weeks starting within five business days of the FCC's acceptance notice, and place the certification in the file within seven days of the last one (73.3580).
Check your own station
Airtally reads your public file from the FCC and checks every quarter of the term in your browser. Check your station free or see the sample.