Additional Operations Guidance and Extension of Filing Deadlines

On September 30, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Public Notice providing guidance on FCC operations in the event of a partial lapse in funding. The FCC also released a Plan for Orderly Shutdown Due to Lapse of Congressional Appropriations. Many of the Commission’s regular services were unavailable or unsupported due to the lapse in appropriations. Given the unprecedented length of the shutdown, we anticipate that the public will have an exceptionally large number of filings and submissions that they will want to provide the FCC over a relatively short period of time as we resume normal operations. Therefore, we provide the following guidance:

1. FCC staff will work in good faith with parties to resolve and address issues that arise with an influx of new filings and requests.
2. To help ease burdens on filers and staff, the FCC will extend filing deadlines, as needed. By this Public Notice, we now further extend deadlines for all filings that would have been due from October 1, 2025, through November 17, 2025. The deadline for all such filings is now extended at least until Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
3. Any Special Temporary Authorities that would have expired from October 1, 2025, through November 17, 2025, are extended at least until November 18, 2025, except to the extent that such STAs relate to activities authorized under section 309(j).
4. Until such further guidance is issued, we ask parties to limit filings and submissions except where immediate authority is needed and to refrain from submitting filings seeking additional relief from filing deadlines for the time being.