WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday opened its first filing window devoted to new noncommercial educational FM translators in the reserved band.
Eligible applicants have until 6 p.m. Eastern on November 17, 2026, to submit complete construction-permit applications for channels 201 through 220, covering 88.1 to 91.9 MHz. The FCC said it will strictly enforce the deadline.
The opportunity is limited to licensees or permittees of existing noncommercial educational FM stations, noncommercial AM stations and low-power FM stations that the proposed translator would rebroadcast. Most entities may file no more than 10 applications nationwide; lower limits apply to LPFM applicants.
The applications do not create stations or transfer ownership immediately. The FCC must review technical and legal qualifications, identify mutually exclusive proposals and select among competing applications under its noncommercial point system. Local public-notice obligations begin only after the FCC accepts an application for filing.
Why the window matters
New translators could help public, educational, Tribal, college and religious broadcasters fill coverage gaps and extend existing programming into communities their primary signals do not adequately reach. Translators remain secondary facilities, however, and do not receive the same interference protection as full-power stations.
The rules also limit speculation. A permit granted through this window is tied to the primary station named in the application. From grant through four years of on-air operation, the translator generally cannot switch primary stations or be assigned separately; it may transfer only with the primary station to the same entity.
A filing freeze on minor modifications for LPFM stations, FM translators and FM boosters remains in effect through the close of the window. The proceeding does not change the FCC’s local AM/FM ownership caps, and no new facility should be counted as an operating station until the agency grants a permit and construction is completed.
The FCC moved the window from August to November after college, Tribal and community-broadcasting groups said the summer schedule would make participation difficult for smaller organizations.