EAS: Nationwide Test and Reminder to Issue Accessible Alerts
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the FCC will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on August 11, 2021, at 2:20 p.m. (EDT). A test of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) will be conducted simultaneously. A back-up test is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. on August 25, 2021 in case of circumstances requiring a postponement. All EAS Participants must participate and must take the following steps:
- File a Form One through the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) on or before July 6, 2021.
- Submit "day-of-test" information by submitting a Form Two on or before August 12, 2021.
- Submit comprehensive post-test information by filing a Form Three on or before September 27, 2021.
Certain EAS Participants are exempt from registering and filing in ETRS: LPTV stations that function as television broadcast translator stations, FM broadcast booster stations and FM translator stations which rebroadcast all programming of other local FM broadcast stations and broadcast stations that are satellites or repeaters of a primary station and rebroadcast all programming of that primary station.
Broadcasters should file the required forms through the ETRS system using their registered FCC Username and password. Broadcasters that do not have an FCC Username can obtain one in the FCC's User Registration System and reset their password here if necessary.
The FCC also reminds EAS Participants to provide alerts in an accessible manner for persons with a disability. For example, the EAS text must be displayed on-screen where it will not interfere with other visual messages and in a way that is readily readable and understandable.