47 U.S.C. § 308

Requirements for license

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(a) Writing; exceptions

The Commission may grant construction permits and station licenses, or modifications or renewals thereof, only upon written application therefor received by it: Provided, That (1) in cases of emergency found by the Commission involving danger to life or property or due to damage to equipment, or (2) during a national emergency proclaimed by the President or declared by the Congress and during the continuance of any war in which the United States is engaged and when such action is necessary for the national defense or security or otherwise in furtherance of the war effort, or (3) in cases of emergency where the Commission finds, in the nonbroadcast services, that it would not be feasible to secure renewal applications from existing licensees or otherwise to follow normal licensing procedure, the Commission may grant construction permits and station licenses, or modifications or renewals thereof, during the emergency so found by the Commission or during the continuance of any such national emergency or war, in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as the Commission shall by regulation prescribe, and without the filing of a formal application, but no authorization so granted shall continue in effect beyond the period of the emergency or war requiring it: Provided further, That the Commission may issue by cable, telegraph, or radio a permit for the operation of a station on a vessel of the United States at sea, effective in lieu of a license until said vessel shall return to a port of the continental United States.

(b) Conditions

All applications for station licenses, or modifications or renewals thereof, shall set forth such facts as the Commission by regulation may prescribe as to the citizenship, character, and financial, technical, and other qualifications of the applicant to operate the station; the ownership and location of the proposed station and of the stations, if any, with which it is proposed to communicate; the frequencies and the power desired to be used; the hours of the day or other periods of time during which it is proposed to operate the station; the purposes for which the station is to be used; and such other information as it may require. The Commission, at any time after the filing of such original application and during the term of any such license, may require from an applicant or licensee further written statements of fact to enable it to determine whether such original application should be granted or denied or such license revoked. Such application and/or such statement of fact shall be signed by the applicant and/or licensee in any manner or form, including by electronic means, as the Commission may prescribe by regulation.

The Commission in granting any license for a station intended or used for commercial communication between the United States or any Territory or possession, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and any foreign country, may impose any terms, conditions, or restrictions authorized to be imposed with respect to submarine-cable licenses by section 35 of this title.

(d) Summary of complaints

Each applicant for the renewal of a commercial or noncommercial television license shall attach as an exhibit to the application a summary of written comments and suggestions received from the public and maintained by the licensee (in accordance with Commission regulations) that comment on the applicant’s programming, if any, and that are characterized by the commentor as constituting violent programming.

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 308, 48 Stat. 1084; July 16, 1952, ch. 879, § 6, 66 Stat. 714; Pub. L. 87–444, § 3, Apr. 27, 1962, 76 Stat. 63; Pub. L. 102–538, title II, § 204(b), Oct. 27, 1992, 106 Stat. 3543; Pub. L. 103–414, title III, § 303(a)(15), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4295; Pub. L. 104–104, title II, § 204(b), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 113.)Editorial NotesAmendments

1996—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–104 added subsec. (d).

1994—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–414 made technical amendment to reference to section 35 of this title to correct reference to corresponding section of original act.

1992—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–538 inserted before period at end “in any manner or form, including by electronic means, as the Commission may prescribe by regulation”.

1962—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 87–444 struck out requirement that applications or statements of fact were to be signed under oath or affirmation.

1952—Subsec. (a). Act July 16, 1952, § 6(a), provided that the Commission may grant construction permits and station licenses, or modifications or renewals, only upon written application except that during war or emergency periods no formal application need be filed.

Subsec. (b). Act July 16, 1952, § 6(b), substituted “All applications for station licenses or modifications or renewals thereof, shall set forth” for “All such applications shall set forth”.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1996 Amendment

Pub. L. 104–104, title II, § 204(c), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 113, provided that: “The amendments made by this section [amending this section and section 309 of this title] apply to applications filed after May 1, 1995.”

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 72 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1937–2025 · leading case: United States v. Baxter, 841 F. Supp. 2d 378 (D. Me. 2012).

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United States v. Baxter, 841 F. Supp. 2d 378 (D. Me. 2012). · cites it 9× “Baxter, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) amateur radio licensee, for forfeitures based on three asserted violations of the Communications Act of 1934(Act) and its regulations: 1) failure to respond to an FCC inquiry in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 308 ; 2) willful or…”

Telesaurus Vpc, LLC v. Power, 623 F.3d 998 (9th Cir. 2010). · cites it 2× “The complaint alleges: “Radiolink as a common carrier, knowingly violated 47 U.S.C. §§ 308 and 309, and other seetion[s of] the Communications Act”; that Radiolink “used the Converted Frequencies for commercial, common-carrier (as defined by the FCC) two-way radio service…”

Alvin Lou Media, Inc. v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, 571 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2009). · cites it 2× “§ 309 (a), regarding “the public interest, convenience, and necessity”; 47 U.S.C. § 308 (b), regarding an applicant’s “citizenship, character, and financial, technical, and other qualifications”; and 47 U.”

Gene A. Folden, Coastal Commc'ns Assocs., & Judith A. Longshore v. United States, 379 F.3d 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2004). “Congress instructed that upon selecting a lottery winner, the Commission was to determine whether the winner was qualified pursuant to 47 U.S.C. §§ 308 (b), 309(a) (2000). 2 1982 Conf.”

Spevack v. Klein, 385 U.S. 511 (1967). · cites it 2× “§ 481 ; 47 U. S. C. §§ 308 (b), 312 (a) (4): 5 U.”

Nat'l Ass'n of Regulatory Util. Commissioners v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, 525 F.2d 630 (D.C. Cir. 1976). · cites it 2× “86 Also, the provision of 47 U.S.C. § 308 (b) authorizing consideration of factors of “citizenship, character, and financial, technical and other qualifications .”

Johnston Broad. Co. v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, 175 F.2d 351 (D.C. Cir. 1949). · cites it 3× “1084 , 1089, 47 U.S.C.A. §§ 308 (a), 319(a). 3 Secs. 308(b) and 319(a) of the Act, 48 Stat.”

Am. Legal Found. v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n & the United States of Am., Am. Broad. Companies, Inc., Intervenors, 808 F.2d 84 (D.C. Cir. 1987). “The CIA’s complaint prompted filings by a number of media groups, including the American Legal Foundation. These filings raised, among other things, the issue whether government agencies such as the CIA had standing to file administrative complaints with the Commission.”

Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n v. Sanders Bros. Radio Station, 309 U.S. 470 (1940). “7 See § 308 (b), 47 U. S. C. § 308 (b). 8 See § 311, 47 U.”

In Re: Nextwave Pers. Commc'ns, Inc. Debtor. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n v. Nextwave Pers. Commc'ns, Inc., 200 F.3d 43 (2d Cir. 1999). “See 47 U.S.C. § 308 (b). Historically, the FCC assigned licenses through a system of comparative hearings, rating and ranking applicants under a public interest standard.”

Webr, Inc. v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, Florian R. Burczynski, Etc., D/B/A Ultravision Broad. Co., Intervenor, 420 F.2d 158 (D.C. Cir. 1969). · cites it 2× “Section 308(b) of the Federal Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 308 (b) (1964), provides that an applicant for a license must submit proof of his good character.”

Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n v. Woko, Inc., 329 U.S. 223 (1946). “1085 , 47 U. S. C. § 308 (b). It provides, too, that any station license may be revoked for false statements in the application.”

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— 47 U.S.C. § 308(b) — 2 cases

Telecomm. Rsch. & Action Ctr. v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, 836 F.2d 1349 (D.C. Cir. 1988).

in Re: Thomas Lytle & Ellen Lytle (Tex. App. 2015).

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