The FCC has announced the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) is open for EAS Participants to file Form One. Under the FCC's rules, EAS Participants must renew their Form One filing each year. The deadline to renew Form One is February 28, 2023.
An EAS Participant is any entity required to comply with the Commission's Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules. This includes radio and television stations, low power television stations, low power FM stations, Class D non-commercial educational FM stations, and cable systems. A separate Form One must be filed for each EAS Participant. This means that if an entity is the licensee of multiple stations, it must file a separate Form One for each station. A Form One must also be filed for stations that are silent.
The following EAS Participants are exempt from renewing the Form One: TV translator stations, FM booster stations and FM translator stations that "entirely rebroadcast the programming of another local FM broadcast station[]," and broadcast stations that are satellites or repeaters of a hub station and "rebroadcast 100 percent of the programming" of that primary or hub station.
Broadcasters can file ETRS Form One through the ETRS system, found here. To access Form One, filers must use their FCC Username and password. If you do not have a FCC Username, you can obtain one here. If you have forgotten the password associated with your FCC Username, you can reset it here.
To prepare an updated Form One:
- Click on "Submit Form One" in the top menu bar.
- Test Cycle: select "2023 ETRS Form One Filing" from the drop-down menu.
- Complete the FCC Registration Number field.
- EAS Participant Type: select appropriate type. The remaining fields will adapt to the selection made from this menu.
- If a broadcaster, fill in the facility ID of the EAS Participant, hit enter. The remaining fields will pre-populate based on the information in the FCC's records for that facility.
- If a MVPD, complete the PSID field. The remaining fields will also pre-populate.
- Confirm the pre-populated fields are accurate.
- Click "Submit Form One."
The FCC and FEMA have not announced when or whether they will conduct a nationwide EAS test for 2023 (there was no test in 2022). If there is a 2023 nationwide EAS test, then EAS Participants will need to file Form Two and Form Three.
If you need any assistance filing Form One, please contact the Wiley attorney who regularly handles your FCC matters or the authors of this alert.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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