FCC Adopts Regulatory Fees Order for Fiscal Year 2025

The FCC has adopted its Regulatory Fees Order for Fiscal Year 2025, and while a specific due date for has not yet been set, regulatory fees will be due on or about September 25, 2025. Payments received after the deadline will be subject to an automatic 25% late fee and interest charges, and failure to pay will result in “red-light” status with the FCC.

Complete regulatory fee information for FY 2025 can be found here. The general regulatory fee schedule can be found in Appendix B to the Regulatory Fee Report and Order. Regulatory fee payments must be initiated using CORES. VoIP providers, common carriers, wireless licensees, broadcasters, and satellite companies can check CORES to see their FY 2025 assessments.

This year, the FCC has implemented amendments to the methodology it uses to assess regulatory fees for space and earth stations. Specifically, the Commission will:

1. assess regulatory fees on space and earth stations once they are authorized, rather than when the stations are certified to be operational, and
2. split existing regulatory fee categories for Space Stations (Non-Geostationary Orbit) into two new fee categories: small constellations (fewer than 1000 authorized space stations) and
   large constellations (1000 or more authorized space stations). This approach eliminates the existing category for “Less Complex” Non-Geostationary networks, while retaining a separate low-fee category for Small Satellite networks, which again includes for this year short duration space missions for Rendezvous and Proximity Operations or On-Orbit Servicing, including Orbit Transfer Vehicles.

For broadcasters, television station fees are going up slightly, while radio station fees have been reduced. The FCC will continue to assess fees for full-power broadcast television stations based on the population covered by each station’s contour as the Commission has done since 2020.

If you have questions about the FCC’s regulatory fee payment procedures, or need assistance preparing fee payment documentation, please contact an attorney in our Broadband, Spectrum, and Communications Infrastructure; Media; Satellite; or Utilities practice groups.