December 12th Deadline To Comply with New EAS Rules

EAS rules adopted by the FCC in September 2022 go into effect on December 12, 2023, requiring broadcasters receiving EAS alerts to default for at least 10 seconds to the IPAWS internet-based alert system to see if a CAP-formatted message comes through. If it does, stations must rebroadcast the CAP message.  If it does not, stations would retransmit the EAS Alert received from the broadcast primary station specified in the State EAS Plan.

For those stations using Sage EAS equipment, the FCC recently granted an extension until March 11, 2024 before those stations must follow the new rules.