DA 21-1142

REGULATORY FEE EXEMPTIONS FOR FY 2021

General Exemptions

On August 26, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) released Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 21-98 (FY 2021 Regulatory Fees Report and Order).  This document is available for viewing at http://www.fcc.gov/regfees.  The Commission’s automated filing and payment system (Fee Filer) is now available for filing and viewing of FY 2021 regulatory fees.  Regulatory fee payments MUST BE RECEIVED by the Commission no later than 11:59 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, on September 24, 2021. The Commission has instituted a mandatory electronic payment policy, which means that licensees will not be able to make regulatory fee payments by check, money order, or cashier’s check.  Only credit card, ACH, debit cards, and wire transfer payments will be accepted.  Please make sure that your electronic fee payment is made and the transaction is complete by the due date of FY 2021 regulatory fees.  
  While FY 2021 regulatory fees will not become effective until the rulemaking is published in the Federal Register, regulatees, at their own discretion, may submit payments at any time before the FY 2021 regulatory fees due date.  

Commission licensees and regulatees should consult the FY 2021 Regulatory Fees Report and Order for specific information concerning regulatory fee payment obligations, the regulatory fee process, and regulatory fee requirements for payment.  The Commission also publishes industry-specific guidance in FY 2021 - Who Owes Fees and What Is My Fee, and can be found on the Commission website at http://www.fcc.gov/regfees.

This Fact Sheet 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 6, or (202) 418-1995.

DE MINIMIS REGULATORY FEE LEVEL

Regulatees whose total FY 2021 annual regulatory fee liability, including all categories of fees for which payment is due, is $1,000 or less are exempt from payment of FY 2021 regulatory fees.  The de minimis threshold applies only to filers of annual regulatory fees (not regulatory fees paid through multi-year filings), and it is not a permanent exemption.  Rather, each regulatee will need to re-evaluate and re-calculate its regulatory fee liability each year in order to determine whether they meet the de miminis exemption.  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: (1) AM/FM/Digital (UHF/VHF) TV/LPTV services; (2) remote pickup stations; (3) FM translators or boosters; or (4) TV translators.  Licenses held for Educational Broadband Service and Emergency alert system licenses for auxiliary service facilities are both exempt.

Under the Commission’s  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, the fee exemption includes licensees of TV translator, TV booster, FM translator, FM booster, and LPTV stations which have obtained a fee refund because of an National Telecommunications and Information Administration (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.

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