In addition to the wealth of information that you can get electronically from our web site, you can also find information and learn about the Commission’s activities through the resources offered at our Washington DC headquarters.
Visiting FCC Facilities
On March 12, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FCC restricted visitor access to its facilities to only those visitors with a clear operational necessity. In light of the improved pandemic conditions, updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that focuses on COVID-19 Community Levels and the associated Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the Task Force) guidance, beginning on June 9, 2022 the Commission will permit visitors with scheduled appointments, in conjunction with safety protocols identified by the Task Force, to enter its facilities. Our Visiting FCC Facilities page provides information to help guide visitors through the FCC’s facility security screening process and COVID-19 safety protocols for the FCC’s Headquarters and other facilities.
FCC Library
The FCC Library closed to the public on December 5, 2001.
The FCC Library contains a wide variety of legal and technical information on telecommunications and related subjects. The legal collection includes: federal and statutory histories; reference works; treatises; loose-leaf services; and a collection of cross-indexed legislative histories dating back to the beginning of communications law.
Documents contained in the Library include: Code of Federal Regulations, Title 47 (containing all FCC rules); FCC Annual Reports; FCC Federal Court Briefs (selected); the FCC Record; FCC Reports, First and Second Series; Federal Radio Commission Annual Reports; Federal Registers,1934 to present (containing the full text of FCC Report and Orders); Pike and Fisher Radio Regulations, First and Second Series; Radio Act of 1927; Communications Act of 1934, as amended; the Telecommunications Act of 1996; as well as other proposed and/or enacted legislation pertaining to communications, telecommunications, broadcasting, administrative procedures, and independent agency regulations.
Reference Information Center
The Reference Information Center (RIC) is the official Commission custodian for designated records. The center provides a convenient location for members of the general public wishing to research and obtain record information on applications, formal and informal proceedings, and FCC programs and activities. The RIC handles the intake, processing, organization, maintenance, retrieval and retirement of this record information.
RIC's customers are varied. They include industry associations, attorneys, academic researchers, and individual consumers. RIC also is responsible for managing and maintaining the Electronic Comment Filing System. This system, which allows comments to be filed with the Commission from remote locations, facilitates public participation in Commission proceedings.
Commission Meeting Room
The FCC holds monthly Commission Meetings that are open to the Public. At these meetings, FCC Commissioners discuss and vote upon various Commission matters. The FCC announces open meetings seven days in advance in the Federal Register, under the heading "Sunshine Notice" in the Daily Digest, and on our FCC Events Page. The meetings are also broadcast live from www.fcc.gov/live.
Office of Media Relations
The Office of Media Relations (OMR) is responsible for interacting with members of the news media, oversees the agency's website, and produces the Daily Digest - a daily listing of rulemaking documents, reports, news releases, public notices and Commission speeches released each day. Although the most common method of viewing the Digest is from the Daily Digest web page, or through the Digest Listserver.
Freedom of Information Act Requests
The Freedom of Information Act, commonly known as the FOIA, was enacted by Congress in 1966 to give the American public greater access to the Federal Government's records. You do not have to file a FOIA request to obtain information which is routinely available for public inspection, including records from docketed cases, broadcast applications and related files, petitions for rulemakings, various legal and technical publications, legislative history compilations, etc. Much of this information is already available on the FCC website, but if you would still like to file a FOIA request, follow the instructions on our FOIA web page.