UPDATED: November 18, 2025
The FCC has revised filing deadlines following its extended shutdown from October 1–November 12. Filings that were due during the shutdown and through November 17 were due on November 18, and new dates now apply across key broadcast systems. Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists are due December 1, and EEO filings and audit responses are due November 24. STAs expiring during the shutdown are extended to December 5th. Silent stations were required to resume operations by 11:59 p.m. on November 18, and construction permits that would have expired during the shutdown must file a license to cover by November 28. The FCC cautions that reminder emails were not sent during the shutdown and that system backlogs may slow processing.
For Colorado stations, the FCC has set a staggered political file upload schedule; Colorado’s window runs December 17–24 for political documents generated during October and early November. The FCC will issue additional LMS guidance, but for now, any LMS applications filed from November 18–25 will be treated as if filed on November 25, which may matter for mutually exclusive technical filings. Stations should review these revised dates carefully, file early when possible, and coordinate with engineering and legal advisors to ensure compliance amid ongoing system congestion.
November 13, 2025
On September 30, 2025, the FCC issued guidance on operations during the funding lapse and released its shutdown plan. Because the extended shutdown created a backlog, the FCC expects a high volume of filings as normal operations resume. Accordingly, the FCC has released a Public Notice outlining four areas of guidance, below is an abbreviated version of the notice:
First, staff will work in good faith to address complications caused by the influx of filings, applying a flexible, commonsense approach.
Second, all filing deadlines that fell between October 1 and November 17, 2025, are now extended at least until Tuesday, November 18, 2025. Additional system-specific deadline guidance will be issued before that date. (This does not apply to NORS, DIRS, or spectrum-auction-related filings under section 309(j).)
Third, Special Temporary Authorities set to expire between October 1 and November 17, 2025, are extended to November 18, 2025, except for STAs involving section 309(j) activities.
Fourth, until further guidance is issued, parties should limit filings to those requiring immediate action and refrain from seeking additional deadline extensions.
