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PUBLIC NOTICE

Federal Communications Commission

News Media Information 202 / 418-0500

445 12th St., S.W.

Internet: http://www.fcc.gov

Washington, D.C. 20554

TTY: 1-888-835-5322

DA 13-120 

Released:  January 30, 2013

TELEVISION BROADCAST STATIONS REMINDED OF THE UPCOMING PUBLIC 

INSPECTION FILE DEADLINE

MM Docket No. 00-168; MM Docket No. 00-44 

In 2012, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules requiring full power and Class 
A television broadcast stations to post most of their public inspection files online in a central, 
Commission-hosted database.  While stations have been required to upload new public file 
documents to the online database since launch of the online file requirement last August, the 
Commission gave stations six months to upload documents that were already in their public 
inspection file when the new rule went into effect.  
That six-month deadline expires next Monday.  Except for the items discussed below, public file 
documents that were already in a station’s public file before August 2, 2012, must be uploaded to 
the Commission’s site by midnight EST on February 4, 2013.  
· Only documents specifically required by the Commission’s public file rules (excluding 
those noted below) need be uploaded.  The rule’s requirement can be found on the 
Commission’s public inspection file site.
· No station is required to upload political files that were placed in their public file prior 
to August 2, 2012; however, they are required to maintain those documents at the 
station, where they must remain until the end of the two-year retention period.  
· In addition, stations are not required to upload letters and emails from the public to their 
online public file; rather, stations must continue to maintain letters and emails in a 
correspondence file at the main studio.
The Commission continues to assist stations with this transition.  Members of the public and 
broadcasters will find answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the website if they 
have questions.  For further information, you can contact the Licensing Support Hotline at (877) 
480-3201 option 2, (717) 338-2888, or (717) 338-2824 (TTY).  You may also submit requests 
and report any errors or problems with the online site at https://esupport.fcc.gov/request.htm.   
The Hotline and support are available to assist with questions Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. 
to 6:00 p.m. ET. In order to provide better service, all calls to the Hotline are recorded.

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Limited assistance will be available on Saturday, February 2nd, Sunday, February 3rd, and after 
business hours on Monday, February 4th.  Stations may email bpif_help@fcc.gov with issues and 
questions.  We caution stations that weekend and after hours support will be limited, and not all 
issues may be able to be resolved.  We strongly urge stations to seek Commission assistance 
during the remaining weekday business hours.
The Commission links to the public inspection file are as follows:  for access by the public –
http://stations.fcc.gov; for access by TV broadcasters – https://stationaccess.fcc.gov.
For press inquiries, contact Janice Wise, janice.wise@fcc.gov, (202) 418-8165.
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