Authority and General Requirements
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) has published an updated Fee Filing Guide reflecting revised fee rates effective July 3, 2014. The Commission's authority to impose and collect fees is grounded in Title III, Section 3001 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-39), revising Section 8 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 158.
Under Commission rules, use of an FCC Registration Number (FRN) is mandatory for all feeable submissions. Filings lacking a valid FRN on FCC Form 159 will be returned as unprocessable. In accordance with the Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA), the FCC withholds action on applications and benefit requests from entities with unresolved delinquent non-tax debts owed to the Commission, dismissing requests if satisfactory payment arrangements are not made.
Routine requests for fee waivers, determinations, reconsiderations, deferrals, and refunds are directed to the Office of the Managing Director and reviewed with the Office of General Counsel pursuant to 47 CFR Sections 1.1113, 1.1115, and 1.1117. Decisions on these matters are placed on the record in FCC Docket 86-285.
- Mandatory FCC Registration Number (FRN) obtained via CORES or FCC Form 160.
- Remittance Advice FCC Form 159 required for fee submissions (except when using online credit card filing).
- DCIA rules mandate withholding processing on applications from delinquent debtors.
- Payments must be in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. financial institution; cash is not accepted.
Equipment Approval Services Fee Schedule
Part B of the filing guide outlines fee rates and administrative requirements for equipment authorization submissions processed under FCC Form 731 and Grantee Code registrations. All Form 731 equipment authorization filings and Grantee Code assignment requests must be submitted electronically.
When an applicant is assigned a Grantee Code, fee payment must be received and verified within 30 calendar days, or the code is automatically removed from the database. For Form 731 applications, required exhibits must be uploaded within 5 calendar days of application submittal, and fee payment must be processed within 15 calendar days to avoid application dismissal.
- Grantee Code Assignment: $65.00 (Payment Type Code: EAG)
- Certification for Receivers (except TV and FM): $530.00 (Payment Type Code: EEC)
- Certification for Devices Under Parts 11, 15, and 18 (except receivers): $1,365.00 (Payment Type Code: EGC)
- Certification for All Other Devices: $690.00 (Payment Type Code: EFT)
- Modifications and Class II Permissive Changes: $65.00 (Payment Type Code: EAC)
- Request for Confidentiality under Certification: $195.00 (Payment Type Code: EBC)
- Class III Permissive Changes (Software Defined Radios): $690.00 (Payment Type Code: ECC)
- Advance Approval of Subscription TV Systems: $4,180.00 (Payment Type Code: EIS)
- Request for Confidentiality for Subscription TV Systems: $195.00 (Payment Type Code: EBS)
Experimental Radio Services Fee Schedule
Part C covers filings under the Experimental Radio Services. All non-classified experimental radio applications must be submitted electronically through the OET Experimental Licensing System on the FCC website.
Classified applications (Confidential or Secret) for national security purposes must submit unclassified portions electronically—using placeholder data if needed to clear system validations—along with an electronic exhibit noting submission of classified portions to the FCC Security Operations Staff or Operations Center.
- New Station Authorization (FCC Form 442 & 159): $65.00 (Payment Type Code: EAE)
- Modification of Authorization (FCC Form 442 & 159): $65.00 (Payment Type Code: EAE)
- Renewal of Station Authorization (FCC Form 405 & 159): $65.00 (Payment Type Code: EAE)
- Assignment of License or Transfer of Control (FCC Form 702 or 703 & 159): $65.00 (Payment Type Code: EAE)
- Special Temporary Authority (Correspondence & Form 159): $65.00 (Payment Type Code: EAE)
- Confidentiality Request / Withholding from Public Inspection: $65.00 (Payment Type Code: EAE)
Payment Methods and Submission Addresses
Fees can be remitted using credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover), checks, bank drafts, money orders, or wire transfers. Postdated checks, third-party checks, altered checks, or checks older than six months are rejected. When utilizing online credit card payment options supporting 128-bit encryption, paper Form 159 forms must not be sent to the lockbox bank.
For non-online fee submissions, checks or Form 159 credit card authorizations must be sent to the designated U.S. Bank lockbox in St. Louis, Missouri. Wire transfers require sending a completed Form 159 via fax to U.S. Bank at (314) 418-4232 at least one hour prior to initiating the wire.
- Mail Address: Federal Communications Commission, Equipment Approval Services (or Experimental Radio Services), P.O. Box 979095, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000.
- Courier / Hand-Delivery: Federal Communications Commission, c/o U.S. Bank – Government Lockbox 979095, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63101 (Attention: FCC Government Lockbox).
- Wire Transfer Routing: ABA 021030004, Receiving Bank: TREAS NYC, BNF: FCC/AC-27000001.
- Non-feeable Washington DC Filings: FCC Secretary's Office, Room TW-B204, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554 (Attn: Enforcement Bureau).