Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Inspection, Repair and Maintenance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2026-1553]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Inspection, Repair and Maintenance

AGENCY:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval and invites public comment. The information collection concerns records of inspection, repair, and maintenance of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). FMCSA requests approval to renew an ICR entitled, “Inspection, Repair and Maintenance.” FMCSA collects this information to ensure that motor carriers have adequate documentation of their inspection, repair, and maintenance programs necessary to reduce the likelihood of CMV crashes.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before September 14, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA-2026-1553 by any of the following methods:

•

Federal eRulemaking Portal:

Go to

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2026-1553/document.

Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

•

Mail:

Dockets Operations, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, W58-213, West Building, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

•

Hand Delivery or Courier:

Dockets Operations, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, W58-213, Washington, DC, 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

•

Fax:

(202) 493-2251.

To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. See the “Public Participation and Request for Comments” portion of the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section for instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. José R. Cestero, Mechanical Engineer, FMCSA Vehicle and Roadside Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; (202) 309-9284;

jose.cestero@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this notice (FMCSA-2026-1553), indicate the specific section of this document to which your comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of your document so FMCSA can contact you if there are questions regarding your submission.

To submit your comment online, go to

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2026-1553/document,

click on this notice, click “Comment,” and type your comment into the text box on the following screen.

If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8

1/2

by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing.

FMCSA will consider all comments and material received during the comment period.

Privacy Act

In accordance with 5 United States Code (U.S.C.) 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its regulatory process. DOT posts these comments, including any personal information the commenter provides, to

www.regulations.gov

as described in the system of records notice DOT/ALL 14 (Federal Docket Management System (FDMS)), which can be reviewed at

https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/privacy/privacy-act-system-records-notices.

The comments are posted without edits and are searchable by the name of the submitter.

Background

The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) is authorized under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 31502 to prescribe requirements for, among other things, safety of operations of equipment of motor carriers that operate CMVs in interstate commerce. Under 49 U.S.C. 31136, the Secretary also has authority to prescribe regulations to ensure that CMVs are maintained, equipped, loaded, and operated safely. Under 49 U.S.C. 31142 the Secretary must establish standards for annual or more frequent inspections of CMVs. The Secretary's authority to establish improved standards or methods to ensure brakes and brake systems of CMVs are inspected by appropriate employees and maintained properly is provided under 49 U.S.C. 31137(g). These authorities have been delegated to the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 49 CFR 1.87.

Motor carriers must maintain, or require maintenance of, records documenting the inspection, repair and maintenance activities performed on their owned and leased vehicles. There are no prescribed forms. Electronic recordkeeping is allowed (see 49 CFR 390.31(d)). Documents requiring a signature must be capable of replication (

e.g.,

photocopy, facsimile, etc.) in such form that will provide an opportunity for signature verification upon demand. Also, if electronic recordkeeping is used, all of the relevant data on the original documents must be included in the electronic transmission for the records to be valid.

The motor carrier industry has never questioned the need to keep CMV maintenance records. In fact, most motor carriers would keep some records without any regulatory requirements to do so. Records of inspection, repair, and maintenance; roadside inspection reports; driver vehicle inspection reports; the documentation of periodic inspections; the evidence of the qualifications of individuals performing periodic inspections; and the evidence of brake inspectors' qualifications contain the minimum amount of information necessary to document that a motor carrier has established a system of inspection, repair, and maintenance for its equipment which meets the standards in 49 CFR part 396.

FMCSA and its representatives use these records to verify motor carriers' compliance with the inspection, repair, and maintenance standards in part 396. This ICR supports DOT's strategic goal of safety. The ICR also ensures that motor carriers have adequate records to document the inspection, repair, and maintenance of their CMVs, and to ensure that adequate measures are taken to keep their CMVs in safe and proper operating condition at all times. Compliance with the inspection, repair, and maintenance regulations helps to reduce the likelihood of accidents attributable, in whole or in part, to the mechanical condition of the CMV. This ICR submittal includes updated data regarding the number of motor carriers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, vehicle counts, inspections, and other underlying data used to estimate the total burden hours.

If the recordkeeping were required to be completed less frequently, it would greatly hinder the ability of FMCSA and State officials and representatives to ascertain that CMVs are satisfactorily maintained. The timely documentation of CMV inspection, repair, and maintenance enables FMCSA and State officials to evaluate the present state of a motor carrier's CMV maintenance program and to check the current level of regulatory compliance at any point in a carrier's maintenance schedule or program.

FMCSA has identified periodic inspection standards of 22 States, the District of Columbia, the Alabama Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board, 10 Canadian Provinces, and 1 Canadian Territory that are comparable to, or as effective as, the Federal periodic inspection requirements. FMCSA does not require Federal periodic inspections and the related recordkeeping for motor carriers that comply with these equivalent periodic inspection programs. FMCSA is not aware of any other duplicative standards or recordkeeping requirements that apply to motor carriers.

FMCSA does not employ this collection of information for statistical use.

Title:

Inspection, Repair and Maintenance.

OMB Control Number:

2126-0003.

Type of Request:

Renewal of a currently approved information collection.

Respondents:

Motor carriers and CMV drivers.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

715,289 motor carriers and 5,793,962 drivers.

Estimated Time per Response:

Varies according to the requirements for specific records.

Expiration Date:

March 31, 2027.

Frequency of Response:

Varies according to requirements for specific records.

Estimated Total Annual Burden:

13,184,781 hours [9,023,865 hours for inspection, repair, and maintenance + 3,800,113 hours for driver inspection reports + 174,636 hours for disposition of roadside inspection reports + 144,045 hours for periodic inspections + 22,253 hours for records of inspector qualifications + 19,869 hours for records of brake inspector qualifications].

Public Comments Invited:

You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will summarize or include your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information collection.

Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.

Nicole S. Michel,

Acting Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.

[FR Doc. 2026-14350 Filed 7-15-26; 8:45 am]

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