NHTSA Seeks OMB Nod for Tire Label Data
Published Date: 9/10/2026
Notice
Summary
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) summarized below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. This document describes a collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval for reinstatement, with modification, of the Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards (UTQGS) requirements under 49 CFR 575.104. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information collection was published on April 8, 2026 (91 FR 17828). No comments were received.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
New UTQGS Burdens on Tire Makers
If you are a passenger-car tire manufacturer or brand owner, you must grade tire lines for treadwear, traction, and temperature; mold those grades into sidewalls; affix paper tread labels to replacement tires; provide grading info at point of sale; include grades in vehicle owner’s manuals; and submit grades to NHTSA. NHTSA estimates about 45 actual respondents (covering ~160 brand names), with 69,888 annual burden hours and about $35,120,000 in annual non-labor costs (including $28,500,000 for printing paper tread labels and testing costs).
Consumer Access to Tire Performance Grades
You will be able to see standardized tire grades (treadwear, traction, temperature) at the point of sale, on molded sidewalls, on paper tread labels on replacement tires, in vehicle owner’s manuals, and in a public database on NHTSA’s website so you can compare tire quality across brands. The agency says the collection and publication of these grades is intended to help consumers make informed tire purchase decisions.
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Key Dates
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