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fcc_proceedings

FCC proceedings

One row per FCC proceeding (the FCC's docket equivalent, e.g. 17-108), ingested from the FCC ECFS public API (/proceedings) by build_fcc_proceedings. The FCC does not participate in regulations.gov — its rulemaking dockets and public comments live in ECFS — so this table extends the dataset's docket universe to the FCC. Requires an api.data.gov key (DATA_GOV_API_KEY). Walked whole every run, so later closings and status changes are current. Each creation-date window is pooled over whole walks by document, less its filing-activity counters, until one walk is clean or the pool holds exactly the count ECFS aggregates for it. One row per docket name: ECFS holds more than one document for a few dockets (seven on 2026-09-23, three of them re-created 2026-09-21), and the row is the original docket, then the one ECFS edited last. A document with no docket name is left out (one, a 2017 stub). Proceedings with no created date are unreachable through the API's date-range queries and are not included (legacy shells with no filing activity). There is no program or topic field, so a title search misses proceedings (see description), and open proceedings carry placeholder close dates (see date_closed). All columns are stored as VARCHAR.

Coverage. True range: every proceeding ECFS dates, created from 1991 on, re-read whole each run so later closings and status changes are current. A proceeding with no created date is left out, because the API's date-range queries cannot reach it. (measured 2026-09-28)

  • Parquet file: fcc_proceedings.parquet
  • MCP query_sql support: Configured; requires an available artifact.
  • Publication status: Not established by this schema page or its measurement date.
  • Row count: Not stated here; the MCP describe_table reply gives the live count under publication.
Column Type Description
name VARCHAR Proceeding (docket) number, e.g. 17-108 or 23-320. Primary key / dedup key, and the join key to fcc_filings.proceeding_names_json.
id_proceeding VARCHAR ECFS numeric identifier, reused across some docket names in retained data (301759 appears with both 17-108 and 87-432). Native filing-to-proceeding joins require name AND id_proceeding; the numeric ID alone is not globally unique. The table's primary key remains name.
description VARCHAR Proceeding title/subject (ECFS description_display, falling back to description), e.g. Restoring Internet Freedom. There is no program or topic field, and titles often leave the program out: Universal Service dockets include 13-184 (Modernizing the E-rate Program for Schools and Libraries.) and 02-60 (In the Matter of Rural Health Care Support Mechanism), neither of which says universal service, and high-cost programs such as the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (19-126) and the 5G Fund (20-32) use their own names. Search titles together with bureau_code (WC, or CC for older dockets) and known docket numbers, and find related dockets by the proceedings filings name alongside an anchor docket in fcc_filings.proceeding_names_json (for Universal Service, the umbrella docket 96-45 and 10-90). A title search gives a floor, not a complete list.
bureau_code VARCHAR Code of the FCC bureau that owns the proceeding (e.g. WC).
bureau_name VARCHAR Name of the FCC bureau that owns the proceeding (e.g. Wireline Competition Bureau).
rulemaking_or_docket VARCHAR ECFS flag_rulemaking_or_docket: R for rulemakings (RM- numbers), D for dockets.
filing_status VARCHAR ECFS filing-window status for the proceeding (e.g. OPENALL): how filings are accepted, not whether the proceeding is open. Many closed proceedings still read OPENALL; see date_closed for the record-level closure convention.
date_created VARCHAR Timestamp the proceeding was created in ECFS (ISO 8601 string). Sort key.
date_closed VARCHAR ECFS-recorded closure timestamp. NULL or a future date can be used only as a record-level open convention; placeholders include 2099-12-31T23:59:59.999Z and 2100-01-31T05:00:00.000Z. Neither this convention nor a recorded closure establishes current legal effect, filing acceptance or an active comment period. Check filing_status and the specific notice's comment/reply instructions separately.
comment_start_date VARCHAR Start of the initial comment window, when ECFS records one. Often null.
comment_end_date VARCHAR End of the initial comment window, when ECFS records one. Often null.
reply_comment_start_date VARCHAR Start of the reply-comment window, when ECFS records one. Often null.
reply_comment_end_date VARCHAR End of the reply-comment window, when ECFS records one. Often null.
filed_by VARCHAR ECFS account that created the proceeding. An internal FCC username; occasionally useful for spotting bureau conventions.