The November 2 notice opens a 30-day comment period
FMCSA published a notice under docket FMCSA-2026-0991 seeking final comments before it submits the Hazardous Materials Safety Permits information collection to the Office of Management and Budget for renewal. Comments are due December 2, 2026. This is a Paperwork Reduction Act review of an existing collection, not a new exemption or an immediate change to which carriers need a safety permit.
Covered permit holders need a communications plan
The collection applies to motor carriers subject to the Hazardous Materials Safety Permit requirements in 49 CFR part 385, subpart E. FMCSA says permit holders must develop a communications plan that allows periodic tracking of covered shipments. The associated record identifies the time of the communication and the shipment’s location and may be kept by the driver or by the company.
Communication must occur at least twice each day
FMCSA estimates that communication between a covered carrier and its driver takes place at least two times per day and that maintaining the daily record takes five minutes per driver. The agency estimates 1,142 respondents, 9,592,800 trips and an annual paperwork burden of 799,400 hours. Those figures are estimates for the information collection review; they do not replace a carrier’s actual permit, security-plan or route-plan obligations.
Records must remain available for six months
The notice says communication records may be kept physically or electronically for at least six months at the carrier’s principal place of business, or be readily available to employees there. FMCSA also describes the related duty to develop and maintain a route plan so law enforcement can verify the correct location of the hazardous-materials shipment. Initial applicants use the Unified Registration System, while updates and renewals use Form MCS-150B.
The review does not suspend current compliance
The existing OMB approval is scheduled to expire November 30, but the notice seeks renewal rather than announcing that the underlying safety-permit rules will end. Carriers should not stop tracking shipments, discard records or change communication frequency because an information collection is under review. FMCSA received no comments on the earlier 60-day notice and is now requesting input on necessity, burden estimates, clarity and ways to reduce burden without reducing information quality.
Driver and fleet takeaway
Hazmat fleets should audit each covered dispatch for a current safety permit, security and route plans, a defined check-in method, responsible personnel and a retrievable record showing time and location. Confirm that drivers know whether they or dispatch enter the record, how to report a missed check-in or route deviation and where electronic records are retained. Keep the records available for at least six months and do not rely on informal text messages unless the company system preserves the required information and retrieval. Stakeholders commenting by December 2 should provide specific evidence about workload, technology and record quality.
U.S. Department of Transportation — Hazardous Materials Safety Permits ICR Renewal
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