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NCES and FSCS Codes

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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, whose data on public libraries is received from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

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

Public libraries can be assigned FSCS codes. Each code consists of two letters that identify the state and four numbers that identify the library system and the individual library branch respectively.

Some entities, such as private schools or libraries, non-instructional facilities, or schools and libraries under construction, may not have codes. Private schools can request to be added to the NCES database. It may take some time for codes to be assigned for private and new public schools, as well as for libraries.

How to find your NCES or FSCS code

If you do not know your code, you can proceed as follows:

  • Public school: use the NCES school search tool and choose the appropriate search criteria to find your school and NCES code.
  • Public library: use the IMLS Library Search tool and choose the appropriate search criteria to find your library and FSCS code.

For the purposes of code assignments and related activities, all states and U.S. territories have a Common Core of Data State Coordinator for schools and a Data Coordinator for libraries. 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).