2026 NCE FM translator window

Applications

The FCC makes this window's applications public after it closes (DA 26-601). This page lists every one, by state, with its status, starting the morning after they appear in the FCC's database.

Key dates

• August 3, 2026: Schedule 349 opens in LMS for data entry (N2)
• October 2, 2026: Freeze on LPFM, FM translator and booster minor changes starts at 11:59 pm ET (N2)
• November 4, 2026: Window opens at 12:01 am EST (N2)
• November 17, 2026: Window closes at 6:00 pm EST; the freeze ends and this is the snapshot date for points (N2)

The rules in brief

• Who can file: the licensee or permittee of an existing NCE FM, noncommercial AM or LPFM station that the translator will rebroadcast (47 CFR 74.1233(b)(5)(i)). A pending assignee or transferee of that station may file with a temporary waiver request, and time-share licensees may each file separately (DA 26-902).
• How many: up to ten applications per applicant nationwide; four for a Tribal LPFM applicant and two for other LPFM applicants (74.1233(b)(5)(ii), 73.860).
• Form: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 349 in LMS. No filing fee. Applications filed outside the window are dismissed (DA 26-601, DA 26-666).
• Conflicts: a fill-in translator wins over one that extends the station's coverage (74.1233(e)(1)). Applicants of the same type are compared on the NCE point system, up to 7 points: established local applicant 3, diversity of ownership 2, state-wide network 2, technical parameters 1 or 2 (73.7003(b)).
• Local points need at least 60 dBu over part of the community of license; diversity points look at the 70 dBu principal community contour of full-service stations the applicant holds (DA 26-902).
• Tie-breakers, in order: fewest attributable radio authorizations, fewest pending new and major-change applications, then the earliest-filed application (74.1233(e)(3)).
• Grants carry a four-year holding period: the primary station can't change and the translator can't be sold apart from it (74.1233(b)(6)).

FCC public notices in MB Docket No. 26-20

• FCC 26-37 (May 28, 2026): FCC adopts application limit and eligibility restrictions
• DA 26-601 (June 17, 2026): Dates, procedures, and requirements for the window
• DA 26-666 (July 6, 2026): Revised dates: November 4 to November 17, 2026
• DA 26-902 (August 27, 2026): Clarification on eligibility and the point system

From the FCC's LMS public database as of October 16, 2026, updated every morning. A window application here is a new-station construction permit application in the window's service with a receipt date inside the window. Not a product of the FCC; check LMS before you rely on a status.