If your LPFM application is a singleton, meaning it is not in competition with other applicants, the FCC most likely has designated your application as Accepted for Filing recently.
How do I check whether my application is Accepted for Filing? If you were in our Torchbearer program, you already know, and we’re notifying other people we worked with too. To check yourself, Do Not Depend on your Application Status in LMS!! It’s going to say “Pending” even when the application is Accepted for Filing! Usually you must manually check today’s and every historical FCC Daily Digest, in this case back to January 2nd. Look for your application in the APPLICATIONS listing within each Daily Digest.
What are my Accepted-for-Filing obligations?
- Post a Public Notice saying that your group has applied for an LPFM station. Learn how, below.
- Respond promptly to any Petitions or Informal Objections (“pleadings”) regarding your application — usually within 10 days. These documents have specific requirements and timing, so you’ll probably want to chat with someone (like Prometheus) who’s dealt with them before, and we can also recommend communications attorneys. To check if any pleadings have been filed, enter your application’s File Number into the FCC’s LMS Pleading Search. By checking yourself, frequently, you can find out about filings before the notice arrives — giving yourself more time to respond. …and there aren’t always notices…
If no pleadings are filed, then after about 30 days from the day it was Accepted for Filing, your application will be Granted. Congratulations! You now have 3 years to get on the air and file your license-to-cover application, which is a lot simpler than what you filed in December!
We can help you design, and build, or help you build, your radio station.
How do I post an Accepted-for-Filing Public Notice?
Your organization should post an announcement to your publicly accessible website, or if not available that of your parent organization, and place a link to the announcement on the main webpage under a conspicuous link or tab labeled ‘FCC Applications.” If your organization does not have a website you may post the announcement on a locally focused third-party website. Use following template:
On [DATE], [APPLICANT NAME], applicant for a new LPFM station [STATION FREQUENCY], [STATION COMMUNITY OF LICENSE], filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for a new Low Power FM Station Construction Permit. Members of the public wishing to view this application or obtain information about how to file comments and petitions on the application can visit [INSERT HYPERLINK TO YOUR APPLICATION IN THE MEDIA BUREAU’S LICENSING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM] which you can find by searching for your application at www.fcc.gov/stationsearch
The announcement should be posted with a conspicuous link or tab labeled “FCC Applications” “no earlier than the date of release of the acceptance public notice for the application, and not later than five business days following release of the acceptance public notice for the application.” The announcement should remain online “for a minimum of 30 consecutive days. If the applicant does not maintain an applicant-affiliated website, and the applicant is required to compensate a website owner in exchange for posting on a publicly accessible website, the applicant must post the online notice for a period of not less than 24 consecutive hours, once per week (Monday through Friday), for four consecutive weeks.” (§ 73.3580)