The Quarterly Issues/Programs List: a complete guide

Every quarter, full-power radio and TV stations put a list in their FCC Online Public Inspection File showing the programs that gave the station’s most significant treatment of community issues during the previous three months. It’s one of the most routine items in the public file, and one of the easiest to let slip.

What it is

For commercial AM and FM stations the rule is 47 CFR 73.3526(e)(12). The station keeps, every three months, “a list of programs that have provided the station’s most significant treatment of community issues during the preceding three month period.” Commercial TV and Class A TV stations have the same requirement in 73.3526(e)(11)(i), and nonexempt noncommercial educational stations in 73.3527(e)(8).

Which stations

Commercial AM and FM radio stations (73.3526(e)(12)).
Commercial TV and Class A TV stations (73.3526(e)(11)(i)).
Noncommercial educational stations, except exempt ones. The rule names Class D FM stations and stations whose programming is wholly instructional as exempt (73.3527(e)(8)).

Low-power and other services have their own rules. If you’re not sure which apply to your station, check the FCC’s rules or your communications counsel.

What it must include

The rule asks for two things:

“A brief narrative describing what issues were given significant treatment and the programming that provided this treatment.”
For each program: “the time, date, duration, and title of each program in which the issue was treated.”

Pillsbury’s September 2026 advisory adds practical points: list programming that most significantly treated each issue (not everything), show programming across all three months of the quarter, don’t list an issue with no programming, and show variety in format and length, source, time of day and day of week. It notes the FCC has indicated about five to ten issues per quarter is likely to be enough, though fewer or more may fit a station.

Example (made-up station WXYZ-FM, Anytown):

Issue 1: Road safety on Highway 12. A series of crashes at the Highway 12 and Main Street intersection led residents to call for a traffic signal. Listeners raised it in calls to the station and it came up at two city council meetings. The station’s programming covered the crash data the police department released, the council’s decision and how residents could comment.

Anytown This Week (public affairs program), Sunday, July 12, 2026, 6:00 AM, 30 minutes: interview with the city traffic engineer about the proposed signal.
Morning news, Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 7:30 AM, 3 minutes: report on the council vote.
Public service announcement, aired 14 times September 1–30, 2026, 30 seconds each: how to comment on the state road plan.

When it’s due

The list for each calendar quarter is due by the tenth day of the next quarter: January 10 (October–December), April 10 (January–March), July 10 (April–June) and October 10 (July–September). FCC rule 1.4(j) moves a filing date that falls on a weekend or federal holiday to the next business day. To be safe, many stations upload by the 10th regardless. See the due dates for 2026, 2027 and 2028.

The FCC sometimes moves deadlines. After the 2025 government shutdown, lists due October 10, 2025 were given until December 1, 2025 (Media Bureau public notice DA 25-943).

How long it stays in the file

Lists are kept in the public file “until final action has been taken on the station’s next license renewal application.” In practice that means a full license term of lists, and the renewal application asks the licensee about them (see fines and renewal).

Format

The rule says what the list must include but doesn’t prescribe a form. Most stations use a document with a short introduction, then each issue with its narrative, followed by the programs that addressed it. A PDF is the usual upload. Put the quarter and year in the file name (for example “WXYZ-FM 2026 Q3 Issues Programs List.pdf”) so anyone, including the FCC, can find it. Our free template follows this layout.

Where it goes

In the station’s Online Public Inspection File at publicfiles.fcc.gov, in the Issues and Programs Lists folder. Many stations keep a subfolder per year. A list uploaded to a different folder is harder to find, for listeners and for anyone checking the file.

Common mistakes

Uploading late, or not at all. Staff turnover and “administrative oversight” come up again and again in enforcement actions.
An issue with no programs. Each issue should be followed by the programs that treated it.
Missing details. Each program needs its time, date, duration and title.
Only one month covered. Show programming across all three months.
Skimping. Pillsbury urges stations to err on the side of over-inclusiveness.
No explanation for a late list. If a deadline is missed, Pillsbury advises uploading an explanation for the delay to the public file.
No records. Keep notes during the quarter of which programs treated which issues; rebuilding them at the deadline is hard.

What happens if a list is missing

The FCC’s base forfeiture for violating the public file rules is $10,000 (47 CFR 1.80, Table 1 to paragraph (b)(11)). Missing and late lists often come to light at license renewal. Recent examples are in our guide to public file fines.

How StationClerk helps

The free check shows, quarter by quarter, which lists the FCC’s public file shows for your station this license term and when each was uploaded. The Desk ($19 per station per month) builds each list with you, makes an accessible PDF, and emails you before each deadline until the list shows up in your file.

Sources

StationClerk is independent software. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Communications Commission, and nothing it shows or produces is legal advice. Each station is responsible for its own public inspection file and quarterly lists.