Forest Permit Form Gets Another Federal Paperwork Checkup
Published Date: 10/26/2026
Notice
Summary
The Department of Agriculture wants your thoughts on a form used to apply for special permits on National Forest lands, like for roads or utilities. They’re checking if the info they collect is useful, clear, and not too much work for folks filling it out. Comments are open until November 25, 2026, so speak up if you have ideas or concerns!
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Voluntary online SF-299 submission
The Forest Service will offer a voluntary electronic option to complete and submit the SF-299 application on a public website (and may mirror it on other government portals). The agency says the electronic option will generally collect the same information as the paper form and may modestly to moderately reduce the overall burden on applicants.
Annual reporting and application burden
Applicants for special use authorizations must provide and annually submit information such as identification, proposed use, location and duration, technical and financial capability, alternatives, environmental impacts and mitigation, and information to recover agency costs. The collection affects 2,753 respondents with a reported total annual burden of 22,024 hours and a reporting frequency of annually.
Financial data used to set land-use fees
The Forest Service will use information collected on SF-299 to determine whether the land use fee charged for a special use authorization is based on market value; the collection can include annual financial information and documentation of financial capability. This information is used for fee determination and program administration.
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