The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has issued additional guidance concerning the upcoming filing window for new noncommercial educational (NCE) reserved-band FM translator stations, clarifying several issues that could be significant for prospective applicants.
The Public Notice, DA 26-902, comes as broadcasters, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and LPFM licensees prepare for what will be the FCC's first filing window specifically for new NCE reserved-band FM translators.
The filing window is scheduled to open at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on November 4, 2026, and close at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 17, 2026. The FCC previously established the procedures and application limits for the window and subsequently moved it from August to November.
Who Is Eligible?
The FCC reiterates that an applicant must generally be the licensee or permittee of an existing NCE FM, noncommercial AM, or LPFM station that the proposed translator will rebroadcast.
However, DA 26-902 provides an important clarification for organizations that are in the process of acquiring a primary station.
A proposed assignee or transferee may apply for a translator even though the underlying station assignment or transfer has not yet been completed, provided that:
- The assignment or transfer application for the primary station has already been filed with the FCC when the translator application is submitted; and
- The proposed assignee or transferee requests a temporary waiver of the FCC's eligibility rule.
The translator application will count toward the applicant's national application limit.
The FCC's existing limits allow most applicant entities to submit no more than 10 applications nationally during the window. Tribal LPFM applicants subject to the applicable rule may file up to four, while other LPFM applicants subject to the rule may file up to two.
Time-Sharing Stations Can Apply
The Bureau also clarified that NCE FM and LPFM stations operating under a time-sharing arrangement are eligible to participate.
A translator proposed by a time-sharing station can operate only during the time period assigned to that particular primary station.
Importantly, the FCC says that each time-sharing permittee or licensee must file its own application. The parties cannot submit a joint translator application.
They can, however, agree among themselves to time-share the proposed translator, with each party filing a separate application.
The Seven-Point Comparative System
The FCC's competitive selection system becomes important when two or more applications are technically mutually exclusive — meaning they cannot all be granted under the FCC's technical rules.
In such cases, applicants can receive up to seven merit points based on four categories:
- Established local applicant: 3 points
- Diversity of ownership: 2 points
- Statewide network: 1 point
- Technical parameters: 1 point
DA 26-902 specifically clarifies how applicants qualify for the first two categories.
Three Points for Being an Established Local Applicant
Perhaps the most significant clarification concerns the three localism points.
To receive the points, an applicant must certify that it has been both local and established in the community to be served continuously for at least two years immediately preceding the application filing.
For a nongovernmental applicant to qualify as local, it must have either:
- Its physical headquarters within 25 miles of the reference coordinates of the community;
- A campus within 25 miles; or
- At least 75% of its governing board members residing within 25 miles.
The applicant must also provide documentation supporting its claim.
A Major Translator-Specific Clarification
The FCC acknowledges that FM translators do not have the same community-of-license coverage requirement imposed on full-power AM and FM stations.
That creates a potential problem: an applicant could theoretically identify a community as its community of license even though its proposed translator does not actually provide meaningful signal coverage to that community.
The Bureau therefore establishes a specific test for the localism points.
To qualify as a local applicant, the proposed translator must provide at least a 60 dBu signal to some portion of the proposed community of license.
If the translator does not provide a 60 dBu signal over any portion of the designated community, the applicant cannot claim the three established-local-applicant points. However, within the FCC's initial Public Notice, it stipulated, "In such situations, the applicant will be considered “local” if its headquarters, or at least 75% of its governing board members’ residences, are within 25 miles of the reference coordinates of the proposed transmitting antenna location" (footnote 25, DA 26-601). Common Frequency contacted the FCC for clarification on this matter -- the answer is pending.
The FCC emphasizes that this 60 dBu requirement applies specifically to applicants seeking the localism points; it is not establishing a general requirement that every NCE translator provide 60 dBu service throughout its community of license.
This distinction could be particularly important when applicants are designing translator facilities and selecting their proposed communities of license.
Two Points for Diversity of Ownership
The FCC also clarifies how applicants can obtain the two diversity-of-ownership points.
The proposed translator's 60 dBu contour cannot overlap with:
- The principal community contour of an existing full-power AM, FM or LPFM station in which the applicant or another party to the application has an attributable interest; or
- The 60 dBu contour of an existing non-fill-in FM translator in which the applicant or another party has an attributable interest.
The FCC further clarifies an apparent error in its earlier filing-window instructions.
For purposes of the diversity-of-ownership calculation, the principal community contour of a full-power commercial FM, NCE FM or LPFM station is the 3.16 mV/m contour, equivalent to 70 dBu — not the 60 dBu contour.
The Bureau says the earlier June filing-window notice had incorrectly identified the NCE FM principal-community contour as the 1 mV/m (60 dBu) contour. DA 26-902 corrects that error.
Schedule 349 Is Now Available
The FCC also announced that FCC Form 2100, Schedule 349, the application used for an FM translator or FM booster construction permit, is now available for data entry in the Commission's Licensing Management System (LMS).
Prospective applicants therefore have the ability to begin preparing their applications well before the November filing window.