Circular 74: How to Make Statutory License Royalty EFT Payments Using Pay.gov

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# How to Make Statutory License Royalty EFT Payments Using Pay.gov

This circular contains instructions
about how to use Pay.gov for statutory
license royalty payments.1 A companion
tutorial (PDF, 3 MB) is available on the
Copyright Office's website.

The U.S. Copyright Office is responsible for administering
the statutory licenses for secondary transmissions of radio
and television programs by cable and satellite systems and
for importing, manufacturing, and distributing digital
audio recording devices or media by digital audio recording
technology (DART) manufacturers and importers. To comply
with copyright statutory license requirements, cable systems,
satellite carriers, and DART manufacturers and importers
must file statements of account with the Copyright Office
and pay royalty fees using an electronic funds transfer (EFT).
Cable systems and satellite carriers are also required to pay a
filing fee.

As of March 31, 2025, remitters are required to use Pay.gov
to submit EFT payments for current, past, and future royalty
filing fees. Using Pay.gov benefits both remitters and the
Copyright Office because it ensures that the Office can receive,
reconcile, and post payments in the same transaction. It also
provides remitters with the convenience of using a credit or
debit card as a form of payment. Most importantly, using
Pay.gov eliminates the need for remitters to separately
complete the remittance advice form. Instead, remitters
provide the remittance advice form through Pay.gov at the
same time they submit payments. The instructions below
explain how to submit EFT payments and remittance advice
form using the relevant Pay.gov form.

Using Pay.gov requires remitters to complete the following
steps:

1\. All remitters must complete a Pay.gov form designed
for the specific royalty type (cable, satellite, or DART),
providing summary information by accounting
year and period. Once completed, this form is sent
automatically to the Office's Licensing Section.
Remitters are also required to attach a printout of the
completed Pay.gov form to corresponding statements
of account submitted to the Office.

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2\. Cable remitters must also complete and upload a remittance advice form using the appropriate
Excel spreadsheet template provided by the Office, which asks for detailed information to allow
the Copyright Office to link payments to the corresponding statements of account.

3\. All remitters must submit payment for royalties and filing fees, as applicable, through an
Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer, debit card, or credit card.

NOTE: For the best experience with the Pay.gov website, use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.

## Before starting an EFT payment on Pay.gov

· Retrieve your system identification number, which is a unique number assigned by the
Licensing Section, to complete the EFT process. If you are a first-time remitter, you may
use 00000 or 99999 as the system identification number in the ID Number field during the
EFT process; upon receipt of the statement(s) of account, the Licensing Section will assign
the identification number(s). Cable system remitters can find their system identification
number by visiting the Search LDS database and searching by their company's legal name
or first community. If you need additional assistance, contact the Licensing Section by email at
licensing@copyright.gov or by calling 202-707-3000 and selecting option 5.

· Contact your bank to determine if your account will accept an ACH debit or credit.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, 1455 East 6th St., Cleveland, OH, 44114, processes
Pay.gov funds. Some banks require this information.

· Refer to Circular 76 (PDF, 75 KB) for current filing fees for cable and satellite statements of account.

## Completing the EFT process using Pay.gov

To begin the EFT process, remitters need to select the Pay.gov form that corresponds to their type of
royalty payment (cable, satellite, or DART) and the payment method.

· Go to the Pay.gov website, www.Pay.gov.

· Click on See All Forms, and select "Library of Congress (Cable, DART, or Satellite) Royalty
Payment" or enter "Library of Congress" in the search bar.

1\. Select the type of royalty payment and the method of payment:

· Cable companies should click either

» "Library of Congress Cable Royalty Payment" (credit card, debit card, or ACH debit
payments) or

» "Library of Congress Cable Royalty Payment - ACH credit"

· Satellite companies should click either

» "Library of Congress Satellite Royalty Payment" (credit card, debit card, or ACH debit
payments) or

» "Library of Congress Satellite Royalty Payment - ACH credit"

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· DART manufacturers or importers should click either

» "Library of Congress DART Royalty Payment" (credit card, debit card, or ACH debit
payments) or

» "Library of Congress DART Royalty Payment - ACH credit"

2\. Complete the appropriate form:

· Cable companies should follow the instructions on the Pay.gov form, which will request
the following summary information to be filled in by accounting year and period for all
submitted statements:

» Contact information for your company

» Filings per filing year and period

» Any system identification number and corresponding first community served (city,
state)

» Totals for each type of filing fee

» Total royalty fee and interest (if applicable)

» Total amendment fee (if applicable)

Cable companies must also complete and upload a remittance advice form to Pay.gov
using the appropriate Excel spreadsheet template provided by the Office. The Pay.gov form
provides a download link for the Excel template. The remittance advice form template
asks for detailed information that allows the Copyright Office to link payments to the
corresponding statements of account. In the template, enter the following information for
each submitted statement:

» Filing year

» Filing period

» System identification number

» First community served (city, state)

» Filing fee and amendment fee (if applicable)

» Royalty fee

» Interest (if applicable)

» Minimum or base fee (SA3 only)

» 3.75 fee (SA3 only, if applicable)

Save the template as a CSV (comma delimited, .csv) file. You will be asked to upload the
remittance advice form after first providing the summary information on the Pay.gov form
and clicking "Continue."

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· Satellite companies should follow the instructions on the form, which will request the
following information for each submitted statement:

» Contact information for your company

» Filing year and period

» Identification number

» Filing fee

» Total royalty fee and interest (if applicable)

» Amendment fee (if applicable)

· DART manufacturers and importers should follow the instructions on the form, which
will request following information for each submitted statement:

» Contact information for your company

» Fiscal year

» Filing period/quarter

» Identification number

» Total royalty fee and interest (if applicable)

» Amendment fee (if applicable)

· All remitters should click "PDF Preview" to review a PDF version of the completed Pay.
gov form. You should save and print this page for your records before proceeding.

3\. Submit payment and authorization: After completing the relevant Pay.gov form and
clicking "Continue," you will advance to the payment page and have the ability to select a
bank account (ACH transfer) or debit or credit card payment.

NOTE: The company ID for the ACH debit transactions is 0000798502.

· Bank account (ACH) payments

» The payment screen will show the payment amount, the payment date, and the account
holder's name. Confirm the information is correct, or update it as needed.

» Select an account type from the drop-down menu.

» Enter the financial institution's routing and account numbers. Confirm the account
number.

» To make changes to your payment information, click "Previous."

» To cancel the payment, click "Cancel."

» When you are satisfied that the information is correct, click "Review and Submit
Payment."

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· Debit or credit card payments

» The payment screen will show the payment amount and cardholder's name. Confirm
that the information is correct, or update it as needed.

» Enter the billing address.

» Enter the debit or credit card information.

» To make changes, click "Previous" or "Return to Your Form."

» To cancel the payment, click "Cancel."

» When you are satisfied that the information is correct, click "Review and Submit
Payment."

NOTE: The daily maximum limit for credit card transactions is $24,999.99 per card. There
is no limit for debit cards.

Then, go to Payment Authorization:

» On the summary page, confirm that the payment and account information is correct.

» To receive an email confirmation upon completion of the transaction, check the box
and provide an email address.

» Read the Authorization and Disclosure Statement.

» If you agree, click "I Agree."

» To make changes, click "Previous" or "Return to Form."

» To complete the transaction, click "Submit Payment."

Confirmation:

» On the Payment Confirmation page, print or save a copy of your receipt. If you
checked the box on the Payment Authorization page, you will receive a confirmation
receipt via email.

### NOTE

1\. This circular is intended as an overview of how to make statutory license royalty payments using
Pay.gov. The authoritative source for U.S. copyright law is Title 17 of the United States Code, which
includes the Copyright Act of 1976 and all subsequent amendments to copyright law. Copyright
regulations are codified in Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Copyright Office practices and
procedures are summarized in the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition. The
copyright law, regulations, and the Compendium are available on the Copyright Office website at
copyright.gov.

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## For further information

By internet

The copyright law, the Compendium, electronic registration, application forms, and related materi-
als are available from the Copyright Office website at copyright.gov.

By email
To send a licensing-related inquiry, email licensing@copyright.gov. To send a general email inquiry,
Contact Us on the Copyright Office website.

By telephone
For licensing-related information, call the Licensing Section at 202-707-3000 and select option 5.
For general information, call the Copyright Public Information Office at 202-707-3000 or
877-476-0778 (toll-free). Staff members are on duty from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., eastern time,
Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

By regular mail

Write to

Library of Congress

U.S. Copyright Office-LS

101 Independence Avenue, SE #6400

Washington, DC 20557-6400

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