Federal Communications Commission Rules and Regulations

FCC rules and regulations govern broadcasting, phone and internet service, wireless spectrum, and virtually every electronic device sold in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission writes and enforces them under authority Congress granted in the Communications Act of 1934,¹ and they reach far beyond the companies you’d expect. If you run a business that ships electronics, hold a broadcast license, place calls to customers, or operate a ham radio, some part of this rulebook applies to you.

What the FCC Regulates

The agency’s authority covers broadcasting (radio and TV stations), telecommunications (landline and mobile phone service), broadband internet access, wireless spectrum, satellite communications, cable television, and any electronic equipment that emits radio frequency energy. Each area has its own detailed rules, but they share a common statutory anchor: regulating communication in the public interest. The rules below are the ones that most often trip up businesses and consumers.

Rules for Radio and TV Stations

Broadcast licensees carry the heaviest ongoing compliance burden in the FCC’s rulebook.

Content Restrictions

Obscene content is banned on broadcast radio and television at all times. Indecent or profane material is prohibited between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., the hours when children are most likely to be in the audience. The FCC defines indecent speech as material depicting sexual or excretory activities in a way that is patently offensive by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium.² These rules apply only to over-the-air broadcast stations. Cable channels and streaming services are not covered.

Political Advertising

Broadcasters must sell advertising time to legally qualified political candidates, and the price is capped during campaign windows. In the 45 days before a primary and the 60 days before a general election, stations may charge candidates no more than their lowest unit rate for the same class of airtime. Outside those windows, ordinary commercial rates apply.³

Emergency Alert System

All broadcast radio and TV stations, cable systems, satellite providers, and wireline video systems must participate in the Emergency Alert System. Participation means maintaining EAS equipment, relaying national alerts, and running tests. Monthly tests alternate between daytime and nighttime hours, and stations must run weekly header code tests at random times.⁴

Online Public Inspection File

Broadcast stations must maintain an online public inspection file hosted by the FCC. It contains the station’s license, ownership reports, political advertising records, and other documents open to public review. A station with its own website must link to the FCC-hosted file from its homepage and provide contact information for someone who can help people with disabilities access the file’s contents.⁵

Rules That Protect Consumers

Some of the FCC’s most consequential rules have nothing to do with broadcasting. They target the calls, texts, and data practices ordinary people encounter every day.

Robocalls and Unwanted Texts

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act makes it illegal to call or text a cell phone using an auto-dialer or prerecorded voice without prior consent, aside from emergencies and certain government-backed debt collection.⁶ The FCC treats illegal robocalls as its top consumer protection priority and has imposed penalties reaching hundreds of millions of dollars against the worst offenders.⁷ The agency also requires phone carriers to deploy caller-ID authentication so spoofed numbers can be blocked before reaching you.

Data Breach Notification

A telecommunications carrier that discovers a breach of customer data must notify law enforcement within seven business days. The report goes to the Secret Service and FBI through a central reporting facility, and the carrier cannot tell customers or the public until the law enforcement waiting period ends. Once it does, the carrier must notify affected customers.⁸ The FCC has broadened these rules in recent years to cover all personally identifiable information, not just traditional phone-usage data.

Accessibility

Television stations and video programming distributors must provide closed captioning and meet caption quality standards. Distributors can request certification from programmers that content meets those standards, and programmers who fail to respond within 30 days get reported to the FCC.⁹ On the wireless side, an FCC rule finalized in January 2026 requires that 100% of wireless handset models be hearing aid compatible, closing a gap that had let manufacturers exempt some models.¹⁰

Rules for Electronic Devices

Nearly every electronic gadget sold in the country must pass FCC review before it reaches store shelves. The requirement applies to any device that emits radio frequency energy, and that covers two categories. Intentional radiators are designed to transmit radio signals, such as Wi-Fi routers, Bluetooth headphones, and cordless phones. Unintentional radiators use digital circuitry that emits radio energy as a byproduct, including personal computers, printers, and coffee makers with digital controls.¹¹

Manufacturers and importers must get the device approved before it can be marketed, imported, or used in the United States. Two main paths exist. Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity is a self-certification process. Certification requires testing by an accredited lab. Which path applies depends on the device type and its interference potential.¹¹ That is why “FCC ID” labels appear on electronics. A device without proper authorization cannot legally be sold here.

Rules for Wireless Spectrum

Radio spectrum is finite, and responsibility for managing it is split. The FCC allocates spectrum for non-federal uses, including commercial wireless carriers, broadcasters, and private businesses. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration handles spectrum for federal agencies such as the military, the FAA, and the FBI.¹²

The FCC maintains a Table of Frequency Allocations that designates which bands are available for which services. Allocated bands currently run from 8.3 kHz to 275 GHz.¹² When demand for new spectrum arises, the agency can reallocate bands or auction licenses to the highest bidder.

Universal Service Fund Contributions

The FCC oversees the Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes phone and internet access in underserved areas through four programs: high-cost support for rural carriers, Lifeline discounts for low-income households, E-Rate for schools and libraries, and Rural Health Care for medical facilities. Telecommunications carriers fund the USF through a contribution factor applied to their interstate revenue. For the second quarter of 2026, that factor is 37.0%, meaning carriers owe 37 cents on every dollar of qualifying revenue.¹³ Carriers typically pass the cost through as a line item on customer phone bills.

A separate initiative, the Affordable Connectivity Program, provided broadband discounts to qualifying households but ran out of congressional funding and ended on June 1, 2024. It remains inactive unless Congress appropriates new money.¹⁴

Who Has to Comply

Broadcasters. Radio and TV stations must hold an FCC license and follow content, technical, and public-file requirements.
Telecommunications carriers. Landline and mobile phone companies face rules on service quality, consumer protection, data breach notification, and USF contributions.
Internet service providers. Broadband companies must report deployment data to the FCC and comply with applicable consumer protection rules. The scope of broadband regulation has shifted between administrations, and the exact obligations depend on the rules in effect at any given time.
Equipment manufacturers and importers. Anyone who makes, imports, or markets electronic devices that emit RF energy must obtain FCC authorization before selling in the United States.¹¹
Cable and satellite providers. These companies must participate in the Emergency Alert System, follow accessibility requirements, and comply with programming-related rules.⁴
Individual operators. Amateur (ham) radio operators need an FCC license earned by passing a volunteer-administered exam, and they must follow operating rules covering frequency use, power limits, and identification.¹⁵

How the FCC Enforces the Rules

The agency has a graduated enforcement toolkit. Which tool it uses depends on who committed the violation and how serious it was.

Citations

When someone who does not hold an FCC license breaks the rules, the agency generally cannot jump straight to a fine. It must first send a written citation describing the violation and give the person a chance to meet with an FCC field office representative. Only if the same conduct continues after the citation can the FCC pursue a monetary penalty.¹⁶ That matters for small businesses and individuals whose equipment or practices may violate a rule they didn’t know existed.

Monetary Forfeitures

For licensed entities and those already on notice, the FCC can impose financial penalties. The base forfeiture for marketing unauthorized equipment is $7,000, and maximum penalties vary by entity type (2025 figures, adjusted for inflation):

Broadcasters, cable operators, and their applicants: up to $62,829 per violation, or up to $628,305 for a continuing violation.
Common carriers and their applicants: up to $251,322 per violation, or up to $2,513,215 for a continuing violation.
Equipment manufacturers and service providers: up to $144,329 per violation, or up to $1,443,275 for a continuing violation.
All other violators: up to $25,132 per violation, or up to $188,491 for a continuing violation.

Broadcasting obscene, indecent, or profane material carries steeper maximums: up to $508,373 per violation and $4,692,668 for a continuing violation. Pirate radio operators face the harshest treatment, with fines reaching $2,453,218.¹⁷

License Revocation

The most severe action is revoking a station’s license or construction permit. The FCC can revoke for false statements in a license application, repeated failure to operate as the license requires, or willful violations of FCC rules. It can also revoke a license when a broadcaster repeatedly refuses to sell reasonable advertising time to a legally qualified federal candidate.¹⁸ Revocation shuts down a station, so the FCC reserves it for the most serious or persistent violations.

Unlicensed Operation

Operating a radio transmitter without FCC authorization is illegal under Section 301 of the Communications Act. Investigations in this area span pirate FM stations and unauthorized use of commercial wireless frequencies. A licensee whose authorization has lapsed must either obtain temporary operating authority or stop transmitting.¹⁹

1
Federal Communications Commission. Communications Act of 1934
2
Federal Communications Commission. Broadcast of Obscenity, Indecency, and Profanity
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S. Code 315 – Candidates for Public Office
4
eCFR. 47 CFR Part 11 – Emergency Alert System
5
eCFR. 47 CFR 73.3527 – Online Public Inspection File of Noncommercial Educational Broadcast Stations
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S. Code 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
7
Federal Communications Commission. Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts
8
eCFR. 47 CFR 64.2011 – Notification of Customer Proprietary Network Information Security Breaches
9
Federal Communications Commission. Closed Captioning of Video Programming on Television
10
Federal Register. Achieving 100% Wireless Handset Model Hearing Aid Compatibility
11
Federal Communications Commission. Equipment Authorization – RF Device
12
Federal Communications Commission. Radio Spectrum Allocation
13
Federal Communications Commission. Contribution Factor and Quarterly Filings – Universal Service Fund
14
Federal Communications Commission. Affordable Connectivity Program Has Ended – Frequently Asked Questions
15
Federal Communications Commission. Amateur Radio Service
16
Federal Communications Commission. Regulation by Citation
17
eCFR. 47 CFR 1.80 – Forfeiture Proceedings
18
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S. Code 312 – Administrative Sanctions
19
Federal Communications Commission. Unlicensed Operation or Operation at Variance with License