REGULATORY FEES  
FACT SHEETFederal Communications Commission
445 12th St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554 September 5, 2013
REGULATORY FEE EXEMPTIONS FOR FY 2013
General Exemptions
Each year, the Commission is required to collect regulatory fees. Licensees and regulatees are 
assessed fees as set forth in Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2013,
Report and Order 78 FR 52433, (August 23, 2013) (“FY 2013 Regulatory Fees Report and Order”).  
The Commission also publishes industry-specific guidance in Who Owes Fees & What Is My FY 
2013 Fee, which can be found on the Commission website at 
http://transition.fcc.gov/fees/regfees.html.
This Public Notice provides information about those entities that are exempt from payment of 
regulatory fees.  Government entities are not required to pay regulatory fees.  Non-profit entities 
(exempt under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code) also may be exempt.  The Commission 
requires that any entity claiming exempt status submit, or have on file with the Commission, a valid IRS 
Determination Letter documenting its nonprofit status or certification from a governmental authority and 
attesting to its exempt status.  Licensees that are incorrectly identified as exempt from regulatory fees 
are advised to contact the Commission’s Financial Operations Help Desk at (877) 480-3201, Option 4. 
Also, a regulatee is exempt from paying regulatory fees if the sum total of all the regulatory fees it owes 
is less than $10.  Regulatees are responsible for calculating their own total fee obligation to determine 
whether they qualify for this de minimis exemption.  The Commission reserves the right to request 
documentation that supports a de minimis exemption claim.  
Specific Service Category Exemptions
In addition to the general exemptions explained above, the following guidance applies to specific 
service categories.  Noncommercial educational (NCE) FM station licensees and full service NCE 
television broadcast station licensees are exempt from paying regulatory fees, provided that these 
stations operate solely on an NCE basis.  If these stations are exempt, then the licenses held to 
provide peripheral services are also exempt from regulatory fees, provided that such licenses are used 
solely in conjunction with the commonly owned NCE stations.  Peripheral services may include 
auxiliary broadcast stations for AM/FM/TV/LPTV services, remote pickup stations, FM translators or 
boosters, or TV translators or boosters.   Emergency alert system (EAS) licenses for auxiliary service 
facilities are exempt, as are licenses held for Educational Broadband Service (EBS).
2Under our community service exemption, a broadcast facility is exempt from regulatory fees if it 
meets all three of the following criteria: (1) it is not licensed to, and is not commonly owned in whole 
or in part, by the licensee of a commercial broadcast station; (2) it does not derive income from 
advertising; and (3) it is dependent for support on subscriptions/contributions from the members of 
the community served.  Finally, licensees of TV translator, TV booster, FM translator, FM booster, 
and LPTV stations who have obtained a fee refund because of an NTIA facilities grant for their 
station or a fee waiver because of demonstrated compliance with the eligibility and service 
requirements of § 73.621 of the Commission's rules are exempt from paying regulatory fees.
- FCC -