# 2026-12980: DOT Drops Self-Driving Car Safety Reporting Plan

2026-12980, ADS-Equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency, and Evaluation Program; Withdrawal, is a Federal Register proposed rule from Transportation Department, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published 2026-06-26, effective 2026-06-26; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12980
- As of: 2026-07-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-12980
- Title: ADS-Equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency, and Evaluation Program; Withdrawal
- Type: Proposed Rule
- Agencies: Transportation Department; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Citation: 91 FR 38619
- Published: 2026-06-26
- Effective: 2026-06-26
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: 2127-AM60
- Last updated: 2026-07-03

## In one line

DOT Drops Self-Driving Car Safety Reporting Plan

## Summary

The government has decided to cancel a planned program that would have asked companies making self-driving cars to share safety info voluntarily. This change affects car makers, tech developers, and fleet operators who won’t have to join this program anymore. The withdrawal takes effect immediately, with no new costs or deadlines for those involved.

## Abstract

This action withdraws the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2025, which proposed to establish the Automated Driving System-Equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency, and Evaluation Program (AV STEP). The proposal would have created a voluntary program for vehicle manufacturers, developers of Automated Driving Systems (ADS), and fleet operators or system integrators of such vehicles. Based on its reevaluation of the proposal, consideration of the comments received, and subsequent progress on other ADS initiatives, NHTSA is withdrawing the rulemaking.

## Effects PRIA read

- Planned AV STEP Program Canceled: benefit, medium. NHTSA withdrew the proposed AV STEP program effective June 26, 2026. Companies that make self-driving vehicles — including vehicle manufacturers, ADS developers, fleet operators, and system integrators — will not be asked to join this voluntary program and will not face the program's proposed appli…
- Exemptions and Reporting Rules Streamlined: benefit, medium. NHTSA has expanded and streamlined related ADS exemption and reporting processes to support deployment. The Agency expanded the Automated Vehicle Exemption Program to include vehicles built in the United States, streamlined General Exemptions under 49 U.S.C. 30113, and streamlined its Standing Gene…

## Related documents

- [2026-19964](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19964): The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule III for Model Years 2022 to 2031 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks, 2026-09-30
- [2026-11072](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-11072): Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 214; Side Impact Protection; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 305a; Electric-Powered Veh…, 2026-06-03
- [2026-08144](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-08144): Administrative Rulemaking, Guidance, and Enforcement Procedures, 2026-04-27
- [2026-05024](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-05024): Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Modernization of FMVSS No. 102 To Accommodate ADS-Equipped Vehicles, 2026-03-16
- [2026-05023](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-05023): Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Modernization of FMVSS No. 103 and FMVSS No. 104 To Accommodate ADS-Equipped Vehicles; Incorporatio…, 2026-03-16
- [2025-22674](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-22674): Public Hearing for Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards: The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicle Rule III for Model Years 20…, 2025-12-12

## Sources
- [2026-12980 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/26/2026-12980/ads-equipped-vehicle-safety-transparency-and-evaluation-program-withdrawal)
- [2026-12980 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-06-26/pdf/2026-12980.pdf)

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- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12980 (as of 2026-07-03).