To broadcast radio or television signals in the United States, you need a license from the Federal Communications Commission, and the FCC broadcast license requirements cover eligibility, a construction permit, technical and financial showings, community notice, content and operational rules, and renewal every eight years.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 307 – Licenses The license grants a temporary right to operate on a specific frequency, not ownership of the airwaves.2Federal Communications Commission. Radio Spectrum Allocation
Who Can Hold a Broadcast License
The FCC screens every applicant against several qualification standards. Fail any of them and the application will not move forward.
Foreign Ownership
Under 47 U.S.C. § 310(b)(3), no more than 20 percent of a licensee’s capital stock can be owned or voted by foreign individuals, governments, or foreign-organized corporations. That is a hard statutory line. Section 310(b)(4) addresses indirect ownership through a parent company: if more than 25 percent of a parent’s stock is foreign-owned, the FCC can refuse or revoke the license when it finds the public interest would be served by doing so.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 310 – License Ownership Restrictions The indirect cap leaves the FCC some discretion; the 20 percent direct cap does not.
Character
The FCC weighs whether an applicant is honest and trustworthy enough to run a station. All felony convictions are treated as relevant.4Federal Communications Commission. FCC 85-648 – Policy Regarding Character Qualifications in Broadcast Licensing A conviction is not an automatic bar, but it triggers closer review.
Financial Capacity
Applicants have to show enough net liquid assets, on hand or from committed sources, to build the station and operate it for three months with no revenue.5Federal Communications Commission. Instructions for FCC 314 Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License The rule is meant to keep stations from launching and going dark within weeks.
Debts to the FCC
If you owe any delinquent non-tax debt to the Commission, the “red light” rule freezes processing of your applications. After 30 days without payment or a satisfactory arrangement, the application is dismissed.6eCFR. 47 CFR 1.1910 – Procedures for the Collection of Debts Old fines, unpaid regulatory fees, and auction debt all count.
From Construction Permit to Operating License
No one begins broadcasting on the strength of a license application alone. The first step is a construction permit, which authorizes you to build the station. Commercial stations file FCC Form 2100, Schedule 301; noncommercial educational stations use Schedule 340, both filed electronically.7Federal Communications Commission. FCC 301 Instructions – Application for Construction Permit for a Commercial Broadcast Station
The engineering portion is the technical heart of the application and usually requires a broadcast engineer. You provide exact transmitter coordinates, the effective radiated power of the signal, and the antenna height above average terrain.8Federal Communications Commission. Form 2100, Schedule 340 Instructions – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel Construction Permit Application Those numbers determine coverage and whether your signal will interfere with existing stations. Bad data can get the application dismissed at initial review. The rest of the form covers legal qualifications, ownership structure, alien ownership disclosures, financial certifications, and documentation that the transmitter site is actually available to you.
Once the application is accepted for filing, you have to notify the local community. Under 47 CFR § 73.3580, that means on-air announcements at least six times over four consecutive weeks, no more than two per week and never two on the same day, between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. local time, plus a website posting for at least 30 consecutive days.9eCFR. 47 CFR 73.3580 – Local Public Notice of Filing of Broadcast Applications
If the application clears review, the FCC issues a construction permit giving you three years to build the station to the approved specifications.10eCFR. 47 CFR 73.3598 – Period of Construction Tolling rules can pause that clock for events outside your control, such as natural disasters or delays from administrative or judicial proceedings, but routine construction delays do not qualify.
After construction finishes, you file a “license to cover” application, certifying the station was built as authorized and is ready to operate. The full operating license issues after the FCC processes that filing.
What It Costs
Application Fees
Commercial construction permit applications carry filing fees that vary by service. Under the most recent fee schedule, a new commercial FM station application costs $3,870 without an auction ($4,545 with one), a new AM station costs $4,675 (or $5,350 with auction), and a new full-power commercial television station costs $5,000 (or $5,675 with auction).11Federal Register. Schedule of Application Fees Noncommercial educational applications are generally exempt from these processing fees.
Annual Regulatory Fees
Every commercial station also pays annual regulatory fees. For FY 2026, proposed AM radio fees range from $1,685 (Class C) to $4,610 (Class A). FM fees run from $3,180 (Classes A, B1, and C3) to $3,505 (Classes B, C, C0, C1, and C2). Full-power digital television fees use a population-based fee factor rather than a flat rate. Construction permits carry their own annual charge: $600 for AM, $1,050 for FM, and $5,300 for digital television.12Federal Register. Review of the Commission’s Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2026 Miss a regulatory fee payment and the red light rule kicks in, freezing pending applications until the debt clears.
Tower Registration and Environmental Review
Building the broadcast tower is a separate regulatory track. Antenna structures taller than 200 feet above ground level, or those near an airport where they could affect flight paths, must be registered with both the FCC and the FAA. FAA lighting and painting specifications must be obtained and included in the registration before construction begins.13Federal Communications Commission. Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) – Overview
The National Environmental Policy Act also applies. The FCC treats tower construction as a major action, and you must prepare an Environmental Assessment if the site falls into sensitive categories: wilderness areas, habitats of threatened or endangered species, properties eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, floodplains, wetlands, or areas where the tower could affect migratory birds (particularly structures over 450 feet). High-intensity lighting in residential areas and facilities that might exceed RF radiation limits also require an assessment.14Federal Communications Commission. Tower and Antenna Siting If none of those categories applies, document your review anyway in case the FCC asks later.
Rules That Apply Once You’re on the Air
Content Restrictions
Obscene material is banned at all times. Indecent and profane content, meaning material that does not rise to legal obscenity but depicts sexual or excretory functions in an offensive way, is prohibited between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. From 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. is the “safe harbor” when indecent programming may air.15Federal Communications Commission. Broadcast of Obscenity, Indecency, and Profanity Indecency forfeitures reach $325,000 per violation and $3,000,000 for a continuing violation.16GovInfo. 47 USC 503 – Forfeitures
Children’s Programming
Television stations must air at least 156 hours of core educational and informational programming for children each year, including a minimum of 26 hours per quarter of regularly scheduled weekly programs. Most of that must run on the primary program stream, though multicasting stations may air up to 13 hours per quarter of the regularly scheduled requirement on a multicast stream. Stations file Children’s Television Programming Reports documenting what they aired.17Federal Communications Commission. Children’s Educational Television – Rules and Orders
Political Advertising
You cannot refuse to sell airtime to a legally qualified candidate for federal office. In the 45 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election, candidates get the lowest unit charge — the best rate any commercial advertiser paid for the same class of ad in the same time slot.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 315 – Candidates for Public Office Every request for broadcast time by or on behalf of candidates, along with requests from issue advertisers on matters of national importance, goes into an online political file within one business day.19Federal Communications Commission. Fact Sheet – FCC Political Programming Rules
Operational Duties
Every station maintains an online public inspection file hosted by the FCC. Commercial stations follow 47 CFR § 73.3526; noncommercial educational stations follow § 73.3527.20eCFR. 47 CFR 73.3526 – Online Public Inspection File of Commercial Stations Quarterly issues and programs lists in that file are how the FCC verifies you are addressing your community’s needs.
All broadcast stations participate in the Emergency Alert System with compliant equipment, conduct monthly tests, and log receipt of weekly tests. Full-power stations retransmit required weekly and monthly tests; low-power FM and Class D noncommercial educational stations have reduced transmission obligations but still log test receipts.21eCFR. 47 CFR Part 11 – Emergency Alert System (EAS)
Stations identify themselves with call letters and city of license at sign-on and sign-off and hourly at a natural break near the top of the hour.22eCFR. 47 CFR 73.1201 – Station Identification
Stations with five or more full-time employees run an active EEO recruitment program: widely distribute vacancy information for every full-time job (30 or more hours per week) and notify recruitment organizations that have requested notice. Larger stations, meaning more than ten full-time employees in bigger markets, also complete at least four longer-term recruitment initiatives every two years, such as job fairs, internships, or community outreach on broadcasting careers. The FCC checks EEO at renewal, at the mid-term for qualifying stations, and through random audits.23Federal Communications Commission. EEO Rules and Policies for Radio, Broadcast TV and Non-Broadcast TV
Renewing the License and Selling the Station
Broadcast licenses last up to eight years, with expiration staggered by state.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 307 – Licenses You file the renewal application (FCC Form 2100, Schedule 303-S) four months before expiration.24Federal Communications Commission. License Renewal Applications for Radio Broadcast Stations The FCC asks whether the station served the public interest during the prior term, whether there were serious violations of the Communications Act or FCC rules, and whether lesser violations added up to a pattern of abuse.25Federal Communications Commission. The Public and Broadcasting Reviewers work through a long checklist: required reports, the public inspection file, RF exposure compliance, EEO, ongoing ownership eligibility, and for TV stations, children’s programming. A station off the air for more than 12 consecutive months faces questions about whether it is still serving its community.
Selling a station means filing an assignment application (Form 2100, Schedule 314) before closing.26Federal Communications Commission. Instructions – Form 2100, Schedule 314 – Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License The FCC reviews the buyer the same way it reviews any new applicant: citizenship, character, and finances, including the three-month operating standard. Both parties sign electronically, and a local public notice must be posted online for 30 consecutive days after acceptance for filing. Closing a transfer without FCC approval can bring forfeitures, forced divestiture, continuing reporting obligations, or revocation.27Federal Communications Commission. Enforcement Advisory No. 2023-02
Penalties
For most broadcast violations, such as failing to keep the public file, missing EAS tests, or exceeding authorized power, the maximum forfeiture is $25,000 per violation or per day of a continuing violation, with a $250,000 ceiling for any single act or failure to act.16GovInfo. 47 USC 503 – Forfeitures Indecency violations carry the sharply higher $325,000 and $3,000,000 caps described above.
Operating without a license at all sits in its own category. Under 47 U.S.C. § 511, knowingly engaging in pirate broadcasting draws fines up to $2,000,000, plus up to $100,000 for each day the violation continues, and the FCC often proceeds directly to a notice of apparent liability without the preliminary warning a licensed station would receive first.28Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 511 – Enhanced Penalties for Pirate Radio Broadcasting