National EAS Test Dates, Form Deadlines …and New EAS Requirements

All broadcast stations (except TV and FM translators) should have filed their EAS Form One by August 27, 2018. If stations have not filed the form or need to amend a previously filed EAS Form One, they should do so now.

The National EAS Test is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. EST on September 20, 2018. By 11:59 pm that day, all stations must also file the EAS Form Two in ETRS, which won’t become available to work on/complete until the test is complete. EAS Form Three is then due on November 5, 2018. All forms are filed through the FCC’s ETRS web page.

In case you haven’t heard, at its July meeting, the Commission adopted a soon-to-be effective requirement for stations to notify the FCC when they broadcast a false EAS alert. This notification is due within 24 hours of becoming aware of such a broadcast. For now, an email to the FCC Ops Center is required, but a further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (comments due September 10) asks whether a more detailed reporting system should be created, potentially allowing the public and other interested organizations to report the false alerts. Be on the lookout for the effective dates of the new false EAS reporting requirement.