LPFM self-inspection checklist

Eligibility and ownership

• The licensee is still a nonprofit educational organization, a public safety entity, or a Tribal applicant.47 CFR 73.853(a)
• The organization is still local: headquarters or campus, or 75% of the board, within 10 miles of the antenna (20 miles outside the top 50 markets).47 CFR 73.853(b)
• It holds no other LPFM station (Tribal applicants: up to two).47 CFR 73.855
• It holds no other broadcast station, except up to two FM translators or boosters that rebroadcast this LPFM under the 73.860(b) conditions.47 CFR 73.860
• Any change of more than half the board in one go was filed as a pro forma transfer within 30 days.47 CFR 73.865(d)

Operating schedule and power

• On the air at least 36 hours a week: at least 5 hours a day on at least 6 days (schools excepted on weekends and breaks).47 CFR 73.850(b)
• Transmitter power output is within tolerance: not below 90% of the minimum or above 105% of the maximum authorized TPO.47 CFR 73.840
• The station runs only at the times, power and modes on its license.47 CFR 73.1745(a)
• If anything is out of compliance with the technical rules or the license, the station goes off the air within three hours.47 CFR 73.845
• The transmitter is FCC-certified.47 CFR 73.1660
• Carrier frequency and modulation stay within the FCC limits.47 CFR 73.1545, 73.1570
• The transmitting system and its monitors get periodic complete inspections.47 CFR 73.1580

Station identification

• Call letters followed by the community of license, at sign-on, at sign-off and hourly, as close to the top of the hour as feasible at a natural break.47 CFR 73.1201

Programming and underwriting

• No commercials. Underwriting announcements identify sponsors but don't promote for-profit businesses (no calls to action, prices or qualitative claims).47 CFR 73.503(d)
• Sponsored or furnished programs carry a sponsorship announcement.47 CFR 73.1212
• On-air contests are run as announced, with the material terms disclosed.47 CFR 73.1216
• Callers are told before a telephone conversation is broadcast or recorded for broadcast.47 CFR 73.1206
• No broadcast hoaxes; no lottery advertising outside the 73.1211 exceptions.47 CFR 73.1217, 73.1211
• No obscene material at any time; indecent material only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.47 CFR 73.3999
• Rebroadcasts of another station have that station's permission.47 CFR 73.1207

Emergency Alert System

• An EAS decoder (or CAP intermediary device) is installed and working whenever the station is on the air. LPFM needs no encoder.47 CFR 11.11, 11.35(a)
• The decoder monitors the two sources assigned in the State EAS Plan.47 CFR 11.52(d)
• Weekly tests received are logged; LPFM does not have to send weekly tests.47 CFR 11.61(a)(2)
• Required monthly tests are relayed within 60 minutes of receipt (LPFM sends the test script).47 CFR 11.61(a)(1)
• Missed tests are logged with the reason.47 CFR 11.35(a)
• ETRS identifying information is renewed every year, and national test results are filed on time.47 CFR 11.61(a)(3)(iv)

Station log

• A station log is kept. Each entry has the date, the time and the name of the person making it.47 CFR 73.877
• It records equipment outages, any operation outside the license, tower light failures and repairs, and EAS log entries.47 CFR 73.877(a)-(d)
• The station, its log and its records are available to an FCC inspector during business hours and whenever on the air.47 CFR 73.878

Tower and RF safety

• If the tower must be lit or painted, the lights work and are checked, and outages are reported to the FAA and logged. Check it47 CFR 73.1213, 17.48, 73.877(a)
• RF exposure at the site is within the FCC limits for workers and the public. Check it47 CFR 1.1310

Political broadcasts

• Any request to buy time by or for a candidate, or about a national political matter, is recorded in the political file right away and kept two years.47 CFR 73.1943
• Legally qualified candidates get equal opportunities.47 CFR 73.1941

License, silence and sale

• You know the license renewal deadline and the on-air notice schedule. Check it47 CFR 73.3539, 73.3580
• The station has not been silent for 12 months in a row. If it is, the license expires on its own.47 CFR 73.873(b)
• A station going dark for good files a cancellation application in LMS at least two days ahead.47 CFR 73.1750
• A sale recovers only legitimate and prudent expenses; a construction permit is not sold within 18 months.47 CFR 73.865(a), (c)

About this checklist

• It covers the rules 47 CFR 73.801 applies to LPFM stations, the LPFM rules themselves (73.840-73.878) and the EAS rules in Part 11, as published in the eCFR on October 14, 2026.
• LPFM stations don't keep a public inspection file; the political file is the one public file they keep.
• It is a guide to get ready, not legal advice. The rule links open the current official text.

Not a product of the FCC.