Data / Federal rules / 2026-06866
Review of Foreign Ownership Policies for Broadcast, Common Carrier and Aeronautical Radio Licensees
The Federal Communications Commission published this final rule in the Federal Register on April 9, 2026. It took effect on May 11, 2026.
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What the agency says
In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC) adopted a Report and Order to update foreign ownership rules for common carrier and broadcast licensees to clarify the Commission's review under section 310(b) of the Communications Act of 1934. With regard to common carrier licensees, the Report and Order adopted rules to codify existing policy regarding which entity is the controlling U.S. parent; codify the Commission's advance approval policy regarding certain deemed voting interests; require identification of trusts and trustees; extend the remedial procedures and methodology to privately held companies; add requirements regarding the contents of remedial petitions; require the filing of amendments as a complete restatement to petitions for declaratory ruling; and clarify U.S. residency requirements. For broadcast licensees only, the Report and Order covers: how the Commission should process applications filed by a broadcast licensee during the pendency of a remedial petition for declaratory ruling under section 310(b)(4); and other foreign ownership considerations related to processing applications for NCE and LPFM stations. Regarding broadcast licensees only, the Report and Order directs the Media Bureau to issue processing guidelines detailing how the Commission would process applications filed by a broadcast licensee during the pendency of a remedial section 310(b)(4) petition; and clarifies other foreign ownership considerations related to processing applications for noncommercial educational (NCE) and low power FM (LPFM) stations.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-06866
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Final rule
- Agency
- Federal Communications Commission
- Published
- April 9, 2026
- Takes effect
- May 11, 2026
- Dates
- Effective date: These rules are effective May 11, 2026.
- Docket
- GN Docket No. 25-149; FCC 26-3; FR ID 294037
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 47 CFR 1
- Topics
- Administrative practice and procedure; Authority delegations (Government agencies); Communications; Communications common carriers; Organization and functions (Government agencies)
- Pages
- 25
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Everything from the Federal Communications Commission · Rules on administrative practice and procedure · Rules on authority delegations (government agencies) · Rules on communications · Published in April 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.