Expired License?
Has your license lapsed? When was the last time you checked the expiration date? The FCC no longer has a grace period to renew your license after it has expired. If you fail to renew your license within a timely manner, you may not be able to reinstate your original license due to the many rule changes the commission has made over the past few years.
If you fail to renew and then seek to reinstate what you previously held by filing a new application, you may not get what you bargained for…or, to put it another way, “You can’t always get what you want.” Rule changes such as modified frequency procedures, protected status of newly granted centralized trunked stations, technical considerations owing to incumbents on the co-channel and adjacent channel frequencies, etc., may preclude the reinstatement of your original system.
However, if your license has expired there may yet still be a way to get back what was once thought lost but you must act immediately. FCC Public Notice DA 03-2729 acknowledged that special circumstances may exist where renewal deadlines may inadvertently be missed. Renewal applications filed no later than 30 days after the expiration date will be granted as long as the application includes a waiver request. Renewal applications filed more than 30 days after the expiration date must also include a waiver request, but will be subject to stricter review and will not routinely be granted.
Operations must cease immediately once a license has expired. If you continue to operate the FCC may initiate enforcement action, including the imposition of fines or forfeitures, against the licensees for untimely filing and unauthorized operation between the expiration of the license and the late renewal filing.
If you require on-air operations, the FCC may permit immediate or temporary operation upon filing a Special Temporary Authority (STA).
The FCC requires the renewal with waiver and STA filings be done interactively online using their Universal Licensing System (ULS). Let DCI/LAO assist in the preparation of your renewal application, waiver request and/or STA.
Do not delay. Call today!
