NHTSA's Criminal Penalty Escape Hatch Up for OMB Paperwork Renewal
Published Date: 9/15/2026
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 collection of information for which NHTSA seeks OMB approval concerns NHTSA's Criminal Penalty Safe Harbor Provision. NHTSA previously requested and received a three-year approval of this information collection. NHTSA now requests OMB's approval for a three-year reinstatement of this previously approved information collection. NHTSA published a notice on May 29, 2026 requesting comment on the reinstatement of this ICR. NHTSA received no public comments in response to the notice.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Safe Harbor Application Enables Protection
To seek NHTSA safe-harbor protection under 49 U.S.C. 30170 and implementing rule 49 CFR 578.7, a person must submit a signed, dated document identifying each prior improper report or failure to report and the specific predicate for each, and must provide complete and correct information or explain why such information or documents cannot be provided. The safe-harbor provision shields a person from criminal penalties if they lacked knowledge that the violation would cause death or serious bodily injury and they correct improper or missing reports within a reasonable time.
Reinstated Safe Harbor ICR Burden
NHTSA is requesting a three-year reinstatement of the information collection (OMB Control Number 2127-0609) for its Criminal Penalty Safe Harbor. NHTSA estimates one respondent per year will submit this information on an as-needed basis, with an average burden of two hours per submission, estimated labor cost of $199.82 and an estimated mailing cost of $12.90.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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