Although the FCC has recently improved its Help Center with a more simplified look and improved user experience, this is not your only avenue for filing captioning complaints. Since content producers are required to submit their certificate of closed captioning compliance with the airing station, the FCC will often be the middle-man for these complaints, forwarding them to the station or cable provider from which the complaint originated. It is advised to initially contact your Video Program Distributor (VPD) within 60 days of the error if you are looking for an immediate response. If the program has not been rectified within 30 days of your complaint, you should file the complaint with the FCC.

Satellite and cable providers (like DirectTV and Time Warner) are ready to assist you with closed captioning concerns. Check with their websites where they have a designated phone number and email address for direct closed captioning issues, as well as a formal inquiry contact person. The FCC website also has a VPD registry searchable by your zip code.

If you have questions regarding closed captioning procedures for a specific station, your contact is usually easy to find. The majority of stations typically have a link in the footer of their website that says Closed Captioning. You can click on that link to find your contact person for that particular station or you can search station call letters on the FCC website. Each station has a profile card that lists its closed captioning expert. You can view this here: FCC: TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files

A reminder that The FCC does not monitor captioning of home videos, DVDs/BluRays, or video games.