FCC Shutdown & Impacts on Licensing
Update: 10/01/2025
The FCC announced that due to the “lapse in federal government funding, the FCC will suspend most operations effective 12:00:01 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2025. During a suspension of normal operations some public facing filing systems and databases will remain available while others will not…. The systems unavailable include, among others… the Universal Licensing System (ULS).”
See the Q & As below to understand the impact to your license application.
- How will this affect my application?
- We will continue to work on applications we receive from customers. The frequency coordinators will remain working, since they are not part of the FCC.
- For new applications your paperwork will be completed, coordinated, and ready for final submission to the FCC.
- However, during the shutdown the FCC system that receives applications will not be available. So, once we and the coordinators complete our work, your application will be put in a queue for submission as soon as the FCC reopens.
- What if my application has already been submitted to the FCC?
- All application processing at the FCC will cease. Your application will remain in the FCC’s que. The FCC licensing queue works on a first-in-first-out basis. As soon as the FCC returns to work, they will pick up where they left off in the licensing que. Your position in the queue will not be affected by the shutdown.
- Is there anyone else who can grant a license?
- The FCC is the only entity that can grant a license.