The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System on November 17 at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time. Normal programming on radio and television stations, cable systems, satellite providers and wireline video providers will be interrupted by a test message identifying the alert as a nationwide test and informing the public that no action is required.
The Emergency Alert System is the national public warning system used to distribute critical information during emergencies. Federal law requires FEMA to conduct a nationwide test at least once every three years to identify technical or operational problems before the system is needed in an actual emergency. This is the first national periodic test since 2023; in the past, such tests occurred every two years. If conditions on November 17 require rescheduling, the alternate test date is December 3.
FEMA will transmit the test at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time using the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, according to the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. The test message will be disseminated in English and Spanish as a Common Alerting Protocol message using the Nationwide Test of the EAS event code. The message will read: "This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 2:20 to 2:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public." Nearly all licensed radio stations in the U.S. are required to participate in the test and submit required filings in the commission's EAS Test Reporting System. EAS participants must file Form Two within 48 hours of the test and Form Three within 45 days.
FEMA and the FCC are announcing the test in advance so the public knows the interruption is only a test and not an actual emergency. The test validates the infrastructure that would be used to warn the country of a genuine crisis.
Programming will resume after the test concludes.