On December 15, 2023, the FCC published in the Federal Register the Third Report and Order adopting rules to improve the Wireless Emergency Alerts (“WEA”) systems’ accessibility and performance, there by setting the effective date.
The Order is effective December 15, 2026 except for the following amendments, which are delayed indefinitely to obtain OBM approval:
- 47 C.F.R. § 10.210 – WEA Participation Election Procedures, which modifies the rule to include the new disclosures that are required to be filed in the WEA Database and to include the new biannual filing deadlines of March 1 and September 1.
- 47 C.F.R. § 10.350(d) – WEA Testing and Proficiency Training Requirements, which modifies the rule to allow state and local authorities to conduct up to two WEA tests per county per calendar year.
- 47 C.F.R. § 10.480(a) and (b) – Language Support, which amends the rule to require participating CMS providers to support pre-scripted pre-installed templates that correspond to the default language of the mobile device.
- 47 C.F.R. § 10.500(e) – General Requirements, which amends the rule to require participating CMS providers to support the thirteen languages identified below and American Sign Language.
The FCC will release a notice announcing the effective date of these provisions.
The only provision that will currently become effective December 15, 2026 is the amendment to 47 C.F.R. § 10.500(i), which requires participating CMS providers to support the presentation of location-aware maps along with the emergency alert message.
For additional information please see previous blog post FCC Releases Adopted WEA Accessibility Report and Order.
Please Contact Us if you have any questions.