# search

Free-text search across FCC call signs and licensee entity names. Returns up to 50 hits. Use this when the user names a callsign or company but you don't know the exact identifier yet.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `search`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/com-fccdb-api/search

## Facts

- Tool: `search`
- Server: Fccdb (`https://fccdb.com/mcp`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-fccdb-api.md
- Homepage: https://github.com/benlemasurier/fccdb
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade C, identity unverified
- Server auth posture: open
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 2 (1 required)
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `q` | string | yes | Search query |
| `limit` | integer | no |  |

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "search",
    "arguments": {
      "q": "<q>"
    }
  }
}
```

## Why search is rated Low

This is a straightforward query tool that searches publicly available FCC licensing data and returns results. It has no side effects, does not modify data, execute code, or delete anything. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an AI could at worst perform excessive searches, which would be a resource concern rather than a security risk. Classified as Read with low severity.

From the tool's own definition: "Tool performs 'free-text search across FCC call signs and licensee entity names' and 'Returns up to 50 hits' — these are retrieval operations with no modification, deletion, or execution of code/commands."

## Use case

AI agents call search to retrieve information from Fccdb without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Fccdb:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "search": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on Fccdb (3)

- `license_detail` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-fccdb-api/license-detail.md
- `path_profile` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-fccdb-api/path-profile.md
- `tower_detail` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-fccdb-api/tower-detail.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=com-fccdb-api · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/com-fccdb-api