47 U.S.C. § 158
Section 158 · Application fees
Current version, with additions and removals from the October 25, 1994 version.
(1) The Schedule of Application Fees established under this section shall be reviewed by the Commission every two years after October 1, 1991, and adjusted by the Commission to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Increases or decreases in application fees shall apply to all categories of application fees, except that individual fees shall not be adjusted until the increase or decrease, as determined by the net change in the Consumer Price Index since April 7, 1986, amounts to at least $5.00 in the case of fees under $100.00, or 5 percent in the case of fees of $100.00 or more. All fees which require adjustment will be rounded upward to the next $5.00 increment. The Commission shall transmit to the Congress notification of any such adjustment not later than 90 days before the effective date of such adjustment.
(2) Increases or decreases in application fees made pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to judicial review.
(1) The Commission shall prescribe by regulation an additional application fee which shall be assessed as a penalty for late payment of application fees required by subsection (a) of this section. Such penalty shall be 25 percent of the amount of the application fee which was not paid in a timely manner.
(2) The Commission may dismiss any application or other filing for failure to pay in a timely manner any application fee or penalty under this section.
(1) In general
In every even-numbered year, the Commission shall review the schedule of application fees established under this section and, except as provided in paragraph (2), set a new amount for each fee in the schedule that is equal to the amount of the fee on the date when the fee was established or the date when the fee was last amended under subsection (c), whichever is later—
(A) increased or decreased by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index during the period beginning on such date and ending on the date of the review; and
(B) rounded to the nearest $5 increment.
(2) Threshold for adjustment
The Commission may not adjust a fee under paragraph (1) if—
(A) in the case of a fee the current amount of which is less than $200, the adjustment would result in a change in the current amount of less than $10; or
(B) in the case of a fee the current amount of which is $200 or more, the adjustment would result in a change in the current amount of less than 5 percent.
(3) Current amount defined
In paragraph (2), the term "current amount" means, with respect to a fee, the amount of the fee on the date when the fee was established, the date when the fee was last adjusted under paragraph (1), or the date when the fee was last amended under subsection (c), whichever is latest.
In addition to the adjustments required by subsection (b), the Commission shall by rule amend the schedule of application fees established under this section if the Commission determines that the schedule requires amendment—
(1) so that such fees reflect increases or decreases in the costs of processing applications at the Commission; or
(2) so that such schedule reflects the consolidation or addition of new categories of applications.
(1) Parties to which fees are not applicable
The application fees established under this section shall not be applicable to—
(A) a governmental entity;
(2) The Commission may waive or defer payment of an charge 1 in any specific instance for good cause shown, where such action would promote the public interest.
(C) a noncommercial radio station or noncommercial television station.
(2) Cost of collection
If, in the judgment of the Commission, the cost of collecting an application fee established under this section would exceed the amount collected, the Commission may by rule eliminate such fee.
The Commission shall prescribe appropriate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.
Until modified pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the Schedule of Application Fees which the Federal Communications Commission shall prescribe pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be as follows: