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NCES and FSCS Codes

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. The Federal-State Cooperative System (FSCS) for public libraries is a cooperative program between the federal government and the states. The codes assigned by these entities to schools and libraries are available on the NCES website.

Public schools, public school districts, and many private schools can be assigned NCES codes. Each code consists of three groups of numbers that identify the state, the school district, and the individual school building.

Public libraries can be assigned FSCS codes. Each code consists of two letters that identify the state and two groups of numbers that identify the library system and the individual library outlet/branch.
Some entities, such as private schools or libraries, non-instructional facilities, or schools and libraries under construction, may not have codes. Also, if an entity requests a code from NCES, it may take some time for the code to be assigned.

If you do not know your code, you can proceed as follows:
  • For a public school, go to the NCES school search tool and choose the appropriate search criteria to find your school and NCES code.
  • For a public school district, go to the NCES school district search tool and choose the appropriate search criteria to find your school district and NCES code.
  • For a private school, go to the NCES private school search tool and choose the appropriate search criteria to find your school and NCES code.
  • For a public library, go to the FSCS library search tool and choose the appropriate search criteria to find your library and FSCS code.

Schools and libraries can also ask the appropriate agency in their state (generally the state department of education for schools or the state library for libraries) for their codes. These agencies may even post NCES and/or FSCS codes for entities in their states on a state website.

NCES and FSCS codes are requested but not required on the FCC Form 471. If you cannot locate your code, you can leave this item blank. However, we will ask you again during the review of your application if you can provide the appropriate code(s).