FCC ECFS Scraper — Federal Communications Commission Filings & Comments

Extract regulatory filings, comments, and ex parte notices from the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). This actor queries the FCC's public API to retrieve comprehensive telecommunications regulatory data including proceeding documents, author information, law firm representation, and submission metadata.

Features

• Query by Proceeding — Filter by FCC proceeding number (e.g., "23-411" for Net Neutrality, "17-108" for Broadband Privacy Rules)
• Filter by Submission Type — Find comments, replies, ex parte notices, public notices, petitions, and more
• Bureau-Level Filtering — Target specific FCC bureaus (Wireline, Wireless, Enforcement, International, etc.)
• Law Firm & Author Tracking — Extract representation details for lobbying intelligence and regulatory research
• Date Range Queries — Filter filings by received or disseminated date
• Document Extraction — Extract document filenames, URLs, and descriptions for each filing
• Structured Output — JSON records with computed fields for analytics and downstream processing

Use Cases

• Telecom Regulatory Tracking — Monitor ongoing FCC proceedings for industry developments
• Lobbying Intelligence — Identify which companies and law firms are engaged on specific regulatory matters
• M&A Diligence — Track buyer/seller regulatory exposure by filing history
• Litigation Support — Gather regulatory filings and ex parte notices relevant to disputes
• News Monitoring — Stay informed about recent regulatory actions and industry comments
• Academic Research — Analyze patterns in FCC regulatory proceedings and stakeholder participation

Output Fields

Each filing record includes:

Field	Type	Description
submissionId	string	Unique FCC filing ID
submissionType	string	Filing type (COMMENT, REPLY, EX PARTE, PUBLIC NOTICE, etc.)
submissionTypeShort	string	Short code for submission type
dateReceived	ISO date	When the FCC received the filing
dateDisseminated	ISO date	When the filing was made public
dateSubmission	ISO date	When the filer submitted the document
bureauCode	string	FCC bureau code (WC, WTB, EB, IM, etc.)
bureauName	string	Full FCC bureau name
proceedingNames	array	FCC proceeding numbers (e.g., ["23-411", "17-108"])
proceedings	array	Full proceeding objects with descriptions and bureau details
addressEntity	string	Organization/entity submitting the filing
authors	array	List of author/filer names
authorCount	number	Count of authors
lawfirms	array	Representing law firm names (when applicable)
lawfirmCount	number	Count of law firms
documents	array	Attached documents with filename, URL, and description
documentCount	number	Total attached documents
viewingStatus	string	Public access status (Unrestricted, Restricted, etc.)
textPreview	string	First 500 characters of filing text content (if available)
hasText	boolean	Whether full text content is available
apiUrl	string	Direct link to filing on FCC API
reportNumber	string	Associated FCC report number
delegatedAuthorityNumber	string	Delegated authority reference
fileNumber	string	File number reference

Getting Started

1. Register for a Free API Key

The FCC ECFS data is provided through the api.data.gov service. Register for a free API key:

1. Visit https://api.data.gov/docs
2. Click "Register" and create a free account
3. Generate an API key for the FCC ECFS API
4. Use your key in the actor's API Key input field for higher rate limits

The default DEMO_KEY works but is heavily rate-limited (5 requests/hour). A registered API key allows thousands of requests per day.

2. Find Proceeding Numbers

FCC proceedings are identified by a number like "23-411". Common proceedings:

• 23-411 — Restoring Net Neutrality Reclassification (2023–ongoing)
• 17-108 — Broadband Privacy Rules (ongoing)
• 20-32 — Improving Competitive Video Markets (ongoing)
• 19-125 — 5G and Beyond (ongoing)

Browse current proceedings at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/:

1. Use the search interface to find proceedings of interest
2. Note the proceeding number (e.g., "23-411")
3. Paste into the actor's Proceedings field

3. Run the Actor

Basic example (Net Neutrality proceeding, 50 most recent filings):

• Proceedings: 23-411
• Max Results: 50

Advanced example (Track all Wireless Bureau filings from 2025):

• Bureau Code: WTB
• Date Received After: 2025-01-01
• Sort By: date_received
• Sort Order: DESC

Lobbying intelligence example (Find all Verizon filings on Net Neutrality):

• Proceedings: 23-411
• Author: Verizon

Input Parameters

• API Key (optional) — Your registered api.data.gov key. Default uses rate-limited DEMO_KEY. Register here.
• Proceedings (optional) — Comma-separated list of proceeding numbers (e.g., "23-411,17-108").
• Submission Type (optional) — Filter by type (COMMENT, REPLY, EX PARTE, PUBLIC NOTICE).
• Bureau Code (optional) — FCC bureau (WC=Wireline, WTB=Wireless, EB=Enforcement, IM=International).
• Law Firm Name (optional) — Partial match on law firm name (e.g., "Wiley Rein").
• Author/Filer Name (optional) — Partial match on submitter name (e.g., "Verizon").
• Date Received After (optional) — Filter filings from this date (YYYY-MM-DD).
• Date Received Before (optional) — Filter filings until this date.
• Sort By — Field to sort results (date_received, date_disseminated, date_submission). Default: date_received.
• Sort Order — ASC (oldest first) or DESC (newest first). Default: DESC.
• Max Results — Maximum filings to return (0=unlimited, up to 25,000). Default: 500.

Pricing & Cost

• Base cost — $0.003 per filing record
• Compute cost — Additional per-second Apify compute charges (typically $0.01–0.05/hour depending on actor runtime)

Example run cost:

• 500 filings at $0.003/result = $1.50
• 5-minute execution time at $0.02/hour compute ≈ $0.002
• Total: ~$1.50 per 500-filing run

For high-volume runs (5,000+ filings), contact support for custom enterprise pricing.

FAQ

Q: What's the difference between COMMENT, REPLY, and EX PARTE?

• COMMENT — Public comments filed in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
• REPLY — Reply comments submitted after the initial comment period.
• EX PARTE — Informal written or oral communications with FCC staff (lobbying meetings, follow-ups).

Q: Can I scrape all FCC filings?

• Yes, but DEMO_KEY is heavily rate-limited. Register for a free api.data.gov key for production use.

Q: How far back does the data go?

• The FCC ECFS database contains filings dating back decades. Use date filters to focus on recent activity.

Q: What if a proceeding has no results?

• Check that the proceeding number is correct. Not all proceedings are active or may have no comments yet.

Q: Can I get filing content (full text)?

• The textPreview field contains the first 500 characters of available text. Use the apiUrl to access the full filing on the FCC API.

Q: What are the rate limits?

• DEMO_KEY: 5 requests/hour
• Registered API key: Thousands of requests per day (check api.data.gov for current limits)

Legal Disclaimer

This actor extracts publicly available data from the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System. All data is provided by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and is in the public domain. Users are responsible for complying with the FCC's terms of service and applicable laws governing data use. This actor is provided as-is for informational and research purposes.

Support

For issues, feature requests, or questions:

• Check the FAQ section above
• Review your API key and rate limits (register at api.data.gov if using DEMO_KEY)
• Verify proceeding numbers exist on fcc.gov/ecfs

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