Effective Thursday, February 14, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will change the bank that provides the FCC and its clients with lockbox services to U.S. Bank in St. Louis, MO. The FCC previously used the lockbox services of Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, PA.

A lockbox bank serves as the filing and processing agent for a corporation or government entity. Fees, payments, and applications, along with any associated identifying information, are sent directly to the lockbox instead of to the entity itself. Among other things, the FCC's lockbox bank opens mail, processes funds, records remittance data, forwards remaining materials to the FCC, and deposits funds in the FCC's accounts.

The FCC released an Order announcing the new lockbox numbers and addresses and updating rules referring to the lockbox bank (see Order, DA 08-122, released January 25, 2008). The FCC has also established a 45-day transition period that will begin on February 14, 2008 to mitigate the transition's impact on our customers and to provide time to resolve any reconciliation and change-over discrepancies.

Filings inadvertently mailed to Mellon Bank during the transition period will be date-stamped and recorded as received by Mellon Bank, and then forwarded to U.S. Bank, St. Louis, MO for processing. However, after the transition period, any filings or wires received at Mellon Bank will be returned to sender. In order to avoid delays, the FCC strongly encourages the use of our electronic filing and payment options. Electronic payments can be submitted through our secure website at http://www.fcc.gov/fees/feefiler.html. Electronic payments allow for faster processing of applications and eliminate concerns that payments are being sent to the wrong location. New instructions for making wire payment have been posted at http://www.fcc.gov/fees/wiretran.html. All wire payments will be processed by the Federal Reserve Bank, NYC.

For more information on the FCC's lockbox bank transition, please refer to the documents and information hyperlinked below. You may also contact Octavia Purnell of the FCC Office of Managing Director at (202) 418-1999, or the FCC Financial Operations Help Desk at (877) 480-3201 Option 4, or e-mail your inquiries to ARINQUIRIES@FCC.GOV.

• 5/28/08
  Notice to Customers Making Payment by Check.
  Order : Word | Acrobat

• 1/25/08
  FCC Announces New Lockbox Numbers and Addresses and Updates Rules Referring to the Lockbox Bank.
  Order : Word | Acrobat

• 2/12/08
  FCC Names U.S. Bank as New Lockbox Bank Used for Filing Applications and Non-Auction Payments.
  News Release: Word | Acrobat