Government and public statistics

47 CFR 79.1: Closed captioning of televised video programming (captioning quality standards)

US Federal Communications Commission, Code of Federal Regulations (text via Cornell Legal Information Institute), n.d.

Read the original

Read on October 17, 2026

What it is: The text of the FCC rule that sets four quality standards (accuracy, synchronicity, completeness and placement) for closed captioning of televised video programming.
How much weight it carries: Official regulation text, reproduced by Cornell LII, which mirrors the eCFR. The rule covers television video programmers, not every online video, so its standards are a benchmark rather than a general legal duty for all platforms.

Facts taken from this source

The FCC rule says captioning must run from the beginning to the end of the program, to the fullest extent possible.
“Captioning shall run from the beginning to the end of the program, to the fullest extent possible” (79.1(j)(2)(iii), Completeness)
The FCC requires the four quality standards to be met, except for de minimis captioning errors.
“Video Programmers shall ensure that captioning meet the standards of paragraph (j)(2) of this section for accuracy, synchronicity, completeness and placement, except for de minimis captioning errors” (79.1(j)(3), Application of quality standards)
The FCC captioning rule says captions must match the spoken words in their original language, in the order spoken.
“Captioning shall match the spoken words (or song lyrics when provided on the audio track) in their original language (English or Spanish), in the order spoken” (79.1(j)(2)(i), Accuracy)
The FCC rule says captioning must provide non-speech information such as the identity of speakers, music, sound effects and audience reaction.
“Captioning shall provide nonverbal information that is not observable, such as the identity of speakers, the existence of music” (79.1(j)(2)(i), Accuracy)
The FCC rule says captions must not block other important visual content, including character faces.
“Captioning shall be viewable and shall not block other important visual content on the screen, including, but not limited to, character faces” (79.1(j)(2)(iv), Placement)
The FCC rule requires captions to have proper spelling, appropriate punctuation and capitalization.
“Captions shall contain proper spelling (including appropriate homophones), appropriate punctuation and capitalization” (79.1(j)(2)(i), Accuracy)
The FCC rule says captions must start when the speech or sounds start and end about when they end.
“Captions shall begin to appear at the time that the corresponding speech or sounds begin and end approximately when the speech or sounds end” (79.1(j)(2)(ii), Synchronicity)
The FCC rule says offline (prerecorded) captioning must be a complete textual representation of the audio, including speaker identification and non-speech information.
“Ensure offline captioning is a complete textual representation of the audio, including speaker identification and non-speech information” (79.1(j)(2)(vii), offline captioning)

Pages that rest on this source

Government and public statistics

47 CFR 79.1: Closed captioning of televised video programming (captioning quality standards)

US Federal Communications Commission, Code of Federal Regulations (text via Cornell Legal Information Institute), n.d.

Read the original

Read on October 17, 2026

What it is: The text of the FCC rule that sets four quality standards (accuracy, synchronicity, completeness and placement) for closed captioning of televised video programming.
How much weight it carries: Official regulation text, reproduced by Cornell LII, which mirrors the eCFR. The rule covers television video programmers, not every online video, so its standards are a benchmark rather than a general legal duty for all platforms.

Facts taken from this source

The FCC rule says captioning must run from the beginning to the end of the program, to the fullest extent possible.
“Captioning shall run from the beginning to the end of the program, to the fullest extent possible” (79.1(j)(2)(iii), Completeness)
The FCC requires the four quality standards to be met, except for de minimis captioning errors.
“Video Programmers shall ensure that captioning meet the standards of paragraph (j)(2) of this section for accuracy, synchronicity, completeness and placement, except for de minimis captioning errors” (79.1(j)(3), Application of quality standards)
The FCC captioning rule says captions must match the spoken words in their original language, in the order spoken.
“Captioning shall match the spoken words (or song lyrics when provided on the audio track) in their original language (English or Spanish), in the order spoken” (79.1(j)(2)(i), Accuracy)
The FCC rule says captioning must provide non-speech information such as the identity of speakers, music, sound effects and audience reaction.
“Captioning shall provide nonverbal information that is not observable, such as the identity of speakers, the existence of music” (79.1(j)(2)(i), Accuracy)
The FCC rule says captions must not block other important visual content, including character faces.
“Captioning shall be viewable and shall not block other important visual content on the screen, including, but not limited to, character faces” (79.1(j)(2)(iv), Placement)
The FCC rule requires captions to have proper spelling, appropriate punctuation and capitalization.
“Captions shall contain proper spelling (including appropriate homophones), appropriate punctuation and capitalization” (79.1(j)(2)(i), Accuracy)
The FCC rule says captions must start when the speech or sounds start and end about when they end.
“Captions shall begin to appear at the time that the corresponding speech or sounds begin and end approximately when the speech or sounds end” (79.1(j)(2)(ii), Synchronicity)
The FCC rule says offline (prerecorded) captioning must be a complete textual representation of the audio, including speaker identification and non-speech information.
“Ensure offline captioning is a complete textual representation of the audio, including speaker identification and non-speech information” (79.1(j)(2)(vii), offline captioning)