REGULATORY FEES  
FACT SHEETFederal Communications Commission
445 12th St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554 September 2009
WHAT YOU OWE – CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEMS FOR FY 2009
Cable television systems operating on October 1, 2008 must pay a regulatory fee per subscriber1 for all 
of the community units (CUIDs) in which they operate.  The number of basic cable subscribers that 
you served on December 31, 2008 should be used as the basis from which to calculate your fee 
payment.  You may pay your regulatory fee for all of your basic service subscribers with a single line 
entry in Fee Filer without having to list your individual CUIDs.    
Licensees of CARS facilities must pay a regulatory fee for each CARS facility that was operating 
on October 1, 2008, even if a facility’s license expired after October 1, 2008.  In instances where a 
license or authorization is transferred or assigned after October 1, 2008, the fee must be paid by the 
party that is the licensee or holder of the authorization on the date that the fee payment is due.  
When submitting payment, CARS licensees should individually list each of their CARS call signs.
Notice of Billing:  Beginning in FY 2009, CARS licensees will not receive a pre-completed 
regulatory fee bill (FCC Form 159-B) in the mail for their CARS licenses.  A regulatory fee bill will 
be created, but this bill will be available for viewing only by accessing Fee Filer.  CARS licensees 
are also required to make regulatory fee payments for all other non-billed holdings, such as cable 
systems and other fee services. 
TYPE OF FEE REGULATORY FEE 
PAYMENT
PAYMENT TYPE 
CODE
Cable System Subscriber Fee $0.88 per subscriber 0971
CARS License $260 per license 0970
MANDATORY USE OF FEE FILER
Beginning this year, licensees must begin the process of filing their annual regulatory fee obligation 
by entering the Commission’s Fee Filer system with a valid FRN and password.  Only Form 159-E 
vouchers generated from Fee Filer will be permitted to be submitted with regulatory fee payments 
  
1 Number of Subscribers In a Community Unit = Number of single family dwellings + Number of individual 
households in multiple dwelling units (e.g., apartments, condominiums, mobile home parks, etc.) paying at the basic 
subscriber rate + Number of bulk-rate customers + Number of courtesy and free service.  (NOTE:  Bulk-Rate 
Customers = total annual bulk rate charge ¸ basic annual subscription rate for individual households).
2
to U.S. Bank.  
There are many benefits to licensees for using the Commission’s Fee Filer system:  1) expeditious 
submission of payment; 2) no postage or courier costs (when paid electronically through Fee Filer); 
3) fewer errors caused by illegible handwriting or payments submitted without an FRN number or 
the appropriate data attributes (e.g., payers will avoid receiving delinquency notices because of 
payment submission errors); 4) improved recordkeeping and payment reconciliation; 5) reduced 
administrative burden on both licensees and on Commission staff in processing regulatory fee 
payments; 6) less expensive than a wire transfer; and 7) a reduced burden of preparing, mailing, and 
storing paper documents.
Bear in mind that the U.S. Treasury rejects credit card transactions greater than $99,999.99 from a 
single credit card in a single day, in accordance with U.S. Treasury Bulletin No. 2005-03.  If you 
need to pay $100,000.00 or more, then you must pay via a check, an automated clearing house 
(ACH) debit, or wire transfer.  An ACH debit can be accomplished via Fee Filer.  
If you choose to pay by check or money order, you must print the fee filer generated Form 159-E 
voucher and mail it along with your check/money order to U.S. Bank.   If you choose to pay via 
wire transfer, you must fax your Form 159-E voucher to U.S. Bank one hour in advance of the wire 
transaction.
- FCC -