Section 73.3526 of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Rules states that "[e]very permittee or licensee of an AM, FM, TV or a Class A station in the commercial broadcast services shall maintain a public inspection file containing the material" set forth in this section. Similarly, Section 73.3527(c) of the FCC's rules requires noncommercial educational stations to provide access to materials in the public inspection file.

The public inspection file must be maintained at the main studio of the station and must be available for public inspection at any time during regular business hours. In a recent enforcement proceeding, the FCC has stated that while "brief, security related delays to access a public file" may be reasonable, stations cannot require members of the public to make appointments as a requirement to gain access to a station's public inspection file. Should you have questions about public file access, please contact your station counsel. For more information about the contents of your station's public file, click here to access NAB's Counsel memo, "Your Public File — What to Keep, What to Toss and Where to Keep It" or contact the NAB Legal department at (866) 682-0276.