The Consolidated Database System (CDBS) was the system used by the Federal Communications Commission for the period from 1998 to 2023 to manage applications for radio, television and prior to the service's transition to the International Bureau, international broadcast stations. CDBS was the successor to the Broadcast Application Processing System (BAPS), a VMS mainframe database system that was used between 1978 and 1998. Broadcast applications would start a slow transition to the License Management System (LMS) for television in 2014, FM radio in 2019 and AM radio in 2023.
When CDBS was first released, applications were still filed on paper and submitted to the FCC. Application data was entered into the database by FCC staff. By 2001, the FCC started to make availability for broadcast applications to be electronically filed. Online filers used a web interface that simulated the paper form. CDBS also provided a "public view" interface for retrieval of applications and application exhibits. CDBS provided a frequently updated raw database of all activity, usually (but not always) updated every business day. CDBS would eventually be able to support the filing of pleadings such as Informal Objections and Petitions to Deny and "non-form" notifications such as changes of address. On the back-end, FCC staff would access applications and change status and other information using a java-based applet.
