# 2026-16133: FCC Gears Up Auction 114 for FM Broadcast Permits Next Year 2026-16133, Auction of FM Broadcasting Construction Permits Scheduled for February 2, 2027; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other Procedures for Auction 114, is a Federal Register rule from Federal Communications Commission published 2026-08-07, effective 2026-08-07; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16133 - As of: 2026-08-14 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2026-16133 - Title: Auction of FM Broadcasting Construction Permits Scheduled for February 2, 2027; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other Procedures for Auction 114 - Type: Rule - Agencies: Federal Communications Commission - Citation: 91 FR 51075 - Published: 2026-08-07 - Effective: 2026-08-07 - Comments close: 2026-09-30 - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: none - Last updated: 2026-08-14 ## In one line FCC Gears Up Auction 114 for FM Broadcast Permits Next Year ## Summary This document summarizes the procedures, deadlines, and upfront payment and minimum opening bid amounts for the upcoming auction of FM broadcast construction permits. The Auction 114 Procedures Public Notice summarized here provides details regarding the procedures, terms, conditions, dates, and deadlines governing participation in Auction 114 bidding, as well as overview of the post- auction application and payment processes. ## Effects PRIA read - Mandatory application and payment deadlines: cost, medium. If you want to bid for an FM construction permit, you must file a short-form application (FCC Form 175) by 6:00 p.m. ET on September 30, 2026, and your upfront payment must be received by 6:00 p.m. ET on December 3, 2026. Bidding is scheduled to begin on February 2, 2027. - Wire-transfer only upfront payments: cost, medium. All upfront payments for Auction 114 must be sent by electronic wire transfer in U.S. dollars to the specified U.S. Treasury account and must be received before 6:00 p.m. ET on December 3, 2026. Each payment must be accompanied by a completed FCC Form 159 and the form must be faxed or emailed at le… - 132 FM construction permits offered: benefit, low. Auction 114 will offer 132 FM broadcast construction permits, including 33 permits that were offered but not sold in prior auctions. These 132 new allotments are available for qualified bidders to select and bid on. - Higher deposit for former defaulters: cost, medium. If an applicant (or its controlling interests) is a former defaulter, the applicant must pay an upfront payment that is 50% greater than the amount required of non-defaulters (i.e., multiply required bidding units by 1.5). - Environmental and historic-review obligations: cost, medium. Winning permittees must comply with environmental review rules under the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and related statutes, including consultations with agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and preparation of environmental assessments when r… - Mutual exclusivity requires bidding: cost, low. If two or more timely short-form applications select the same FM allotment, that construction permit becomes mutually exclusive and must be awarded by auction; when mutual exclusivity exists, even a single qualified applicant must submit at least one bid to obtain the permit. - Auction may be delayed, suspended, or canceled: cost, low. The FCC may delay, suspend, or cancel Auction 114 at any time before or during bidding for reasons like natural disaster, technical problems, network interruption, evidence of unlawful bidding, or other factors affecting fair conduct. The FCC will notify participants by public notice and/or the bid… ## Related documents - [2026-20591](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20591): Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission Under Delegated Authority, 2026-10-08 - [2026-20590](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20590): Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, 2026-10-08 - [2026-20676](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20676): Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission Under Delegated Authority, 2026-10-08 - [2026-20607](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20607): Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval to Office of Management and Budget, 2026-10-08 - [2026-20681](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20681): Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to Office of Management and Budget, 2026-10-08 - [2026-20486](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20486): Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, 2026-10-06 ## Sources - [2026-16133 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/07/2026-16133/auction-of-fm-broadcasting-construction-permits-scheduled-for-february-2-2027-notice-and-filing) - [2026-16133 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-07/pdf/2026-16133.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2026-16129, Special Conditions: ATR-GIE Avions de Transport Régional Model ATR42-500 and AT…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16129) - [Next: 2026-16136, Ohio Regulatory Program](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16136) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16133 (as of 2026-08-14).