FMC renews ocean shipping paperwork burden for public comment
Published Date: 8/11/2026
Notice
Summary
As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal Maritime Commission (Commission) invites comments on the information collection related to Licensing, Financial Responsibility Requirements and General Duties for Ocean Transportation Intermediaries and Related Forms. This notice announces a renewal of an existing collection and includes updates to the collection based on reduction in burden hours due to a new electronic platform and an increase in the number of entities required to respond.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
More entities and recordkeeping increase burden
The Commission estimates a potential universe of 9,611 entities and 19,046 annual responses because of an increase in the number of OTIs and inclusion of Form FMC-65 submissions and recordkeeping requirements; total annual burden for all respondents is estimated at 6,286.51 person-hours. If you are an OTI or a foreign‑based, unlicensed NVOCC required to register (Form FMC-65), you are part of the group the Commission expects to respond and bear some of this combined time cost.
New electronic filing cuts data entry
If you apply for or maintain an Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) license, the Commission is moving to a new electronic platform using Microsoft Entra ID and ServiceNow so you can use modern browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) instead of legacy Internet Explorer. The system will auto-populate previously submitted entity information for FMC-18 amendments and for Forms FMC-48, FMC-48A, FMC-69, and FMC-69A to reduce data entry and human error; typical times listed include 2 hours for a new FMC-18, 1 hour for an amendment, and 10 minutes for renewals and many financial forms.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2026-16270, Infrastructure Security Division, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Vulnerability Assessments
The Infrastructure Security Division, an office within Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency submits the following information collection request) to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance. The is an extension of a previously cleared information collection request on November 15, 2023, with an expiration date of November 30, 2026. The purpose of this notice is to allow additional 60 days for public comments.
Next: 2026-16273, Consumer Protection and Accessibility Advisory Committee; Announcement of Meeting
In this document, the Commission announces the next meeting of its Consumer Protection and Accessibility Advisory Committee (CPAAC or Committee).