3060-0917 February 2007
CORES Registration Form, FCC Form 160
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
A. Justification:
1. FCC Form 160, “CORES Registration Form,” is part of the Commission’s Registration System (CORES). This form maybe found at: www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form160/160.pdf.
(a) Applicants (respondents) use FCC Form 160 to register manually for both “feeable” and “non-feeable” regulatory requirements.
Respondents may include individuals, private sector entities, i.e., corporations, joint ventures, universities, partnerships, attorneys, etc., Federal, state, and local government agencies, and/or foreign entities.
FCC Form 160 collects information that pertains to the applicant entity’s name, address, Taxpayer ID/Social Security Number, contact representative, telephone, e-mail address, and fax number, etc., which is required:
to ensure that the applicant receives any refunds due;
to service public inquiries; and
to comply with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
The FCC uses the information applicants provide for registering applicants and licensees doing business with the FCC.
Once an applicant completes FCC Form 160, the Commission Registration System (CORES) issues the applicant a FCC Registration Number (FRN).
(1) The FRN is a unique business account number, which is used solely for identification purposes.
(2) As an alternative, the FRN can be obtained electronically through the FCC webpage: www.fcc.gov/frnreg.
This information collection contains personally identifiable information on individuals (PII).
(a) The FCC maintains a system of records notice (SORN), FCC/OMD-9, “Commission Registration System (CORES),” to cover the collection, purposes(s), storage, safeguards, and disposal of the PII that individual respondents may submit on FCC Form 160.
(b) The FCC published this SORN last on April 5, 2006 (71 FR 17234, 17253).
(c) Going forward, if the FCC makes substantive changes to CORES, the Commission will conduct a full Privacy Impact Assessment of FCC/OMD-9 SORN, publish a Notice in the Federal Register, and post both documents on the FCC webpage, as required by OMB Memorandum, M-03-22 (September 22, 2003).
Statutory authority for this collection of information is the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), Public Law 104-134, Chapter 10, Section 31001.
2. The Commission uses FCC Form 160 for registering applicants and licensees required to do business with the FCC.
3. The Commission’s electronic filing system requires each applicant/regulatee/entity to provide this information when filing their applications, including FCC Form 160.
(a) The FCC’s application forms have been revised to include the FRN.
(b) The applicants (respondents) may use the FCC’s Internet portal at: www.fcc.gov/frnreg
to provide the information electronically.
(c) The Commission places no restrictions on the media that the public uses to file the information.
4. There is no similar information already available.
(a) According to the requirements of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), the Commission is required to obtain this information from entities (respondents) doing business with the FCC.
(b) The applicant (respondent) only has to register for a FRN once.
5. In conformance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Commission is making an effort to minimize the burden on all respondents, regardless of size.
(a) The collection will have minimal impact on all respondents.
(b) The Commission has limited its collection of information to only the extent needed to identify a person or business doing business with the FCC.
6. The FRN is used each time a person or entity does business with the Commission.
(a) Although this unique number is stored in the Commission’s CORES database, it is an integral part of each filing or service/benefit request.
(b) The FRN serves to identify the filer so as to ensure proper crediting of the transaction and money, if applicable.
7. This information is only collected once to obtain a FRN. There are no special circumstances.
8. The Commission published a Notice in the Federal Register on July 19, 2006 (71 FR 41021), which initiated a 60-day comment period. No comments were submitted as a result of the notice.
9. Respondents will not received any payments or gifts.
10. When applicants and licensees register with the FCC, the must provide their Taxpayer Information Number (TIN) and/or Social Security Number (SSN). The FCC’s CORES Registration System then provides each registrant with a FCC Registration Number (FRN), which identifies the registrant in his/her subsequent dealings with the FCC. This is done to protect the individual’s privacy. Furthermore:
(a) The Commission maintains a SORN, FCC/OMD-9, “Commission Registration System (CORES)” to cover the collection, purpose(s), storage, safeguards, and disposal of the PII that individual respondents may submit on FCC Form 160.
(b) FCC Form 160 includes a privacy statement to inform applicants (respondents) of the Commission’s need to obtain the information and the protections that the FCC has in place to protect the PII.
11. Individuals entrepreneurs who register using FCC Form 160 must provide their Taxpayer Identification Number for the FCC’s CORES program to issue a FCC Registration Number, as required by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
(a) The FCC has a SORN, FCC/OMD-9, “Commission Registration System (CORES),” which covers the PII that applicants submit on FCC Form 160, as noted above.
(b) Furthermore, the Commission will redact any PII submitted on this form before it makes FCC Form 160 available for public inspection.
12. The Commission estimates that:
(a) The respondents who are required to file FCC Form 160 include:
(1) Businesses and other for-profit entities, including individual entrepreneurs (“businesses”) (82%)
(2) Institutions and other non-profits (“institutions”) (13%)
(3) State, local, or tribal governments (“governments”) (5%)
(b) The average burden on respondents is approximately ten minutes (0.166 hours) based on FCC staff's knowledge and familiarity with the availability of the data that respondents are required to have to file FCC Form 160, “CORES Registration Form:”
Businesses x 0.82 x 103,448 applicants = 84,827 respondents
Institutions x 0.13 x 103,448 applicants = 13,448 respondents
Governments x 0.05 x 103,448 applicants = 5,172 respondents
Total Number of Respondents: 103,448 applicants (respondents)
Total Number of Responses: 103,448 responses
The number of responses is calculated as one response per applicant and a one time reporting requirement to register with the FCC)
Total Annual Hourly Burden: 14,420.65 hrs + 2,286.20 hrs + 879.31 hrs = 17,586.16 hrs
(1) 84,827 businesses x 0.167 hours (10 mins)/FCC Form 160 = 14,420.65 hours/annum
(2) 13,448 institutions x 0.167 hours (10 mins)/FCC Form 160 = 2,286.20 hours/annum
(3) 5,172 governments x 0.167 hours (10 mins) FCC Form 160 = 879.31 hours/annum
The Commission estimates that respondents will use the equivalent of a senior staff person at the GS-13/Step 5 ($60.13 per hour) to complete and file FCC Form 160:
(1) businesses: 14,420.65 hours x $43.26/hour = $623,866.49
(2) institutions: 2,286.20 hours x $43.26/hour = $98,905.66
(3) governments: 879.31 hours x $43.26/hour = $38,040.64
Total “In House” Costs: $623,866.49 + $98,905.66 + $38,040.64 = $760,812.79
13. The Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden estimates:
(a) Total annualized capital/startup costs: $.00
(b) Total annual costs (O&M): $0.00
(c) Total annualized cost requested: $0.00
14. There are no costs to the Federal Government:
(a) Congress requires the FCC to collect regulatory fees, which provide the major funding source for the FCC’s operating budget; and
(b) The FCC considers the costs to administer the regulator fee program, e.g., processing FCC Form 160, as part of its regular operations.
15. The Commission has made the following adjustments:
(a) We have decreased our estimate of the total number of respondents—from 134,000 to 103,448 applicants or entities (respondents) that are doing business with the Commission, based on the number of those applicants or entities registered in CORES. With this submission, we are reflecting a more accurate representation of the number of filers based on our empirical evidence;
(b) Because of the decrease in the number of applicants, we have also decreased our estimate of the total annual hourly burden from 22,337 hours to 17,586 hours; and
(c) Upon closer examination, the Commission notes that the “individuals” who are filing FCC Form 160 are doing so in their “entrepreneurial capacity” as business owners, which exempts most of the information that they provide from the personally identifiable information (PII) covered by the Privacy Act. Nonetheless, there is a system of records notice, FCC/OMD-9, “Commission Registration System (CORES)” to cover any PII data that they may provide.
16. The data will not be published for statistical use.
17. We are seeking continued OMB approval to not display the expiration date of OMB approval of the information collection.
(a) Once the form is printed, by waiving the OMB expiration date, it allows the Commission to maintain paper stocks of forms rather than destroying them away because of an outdated OMB expiration date or change to our electronic forms that are available on the Internet or Right Fax system.
(b) The Commission will use an edition date in lieu of an OMB expiration date.
(c) Additionally, the Commission published all OMB-approved information collections in 47 CFR § 0.408.
18. The Commission notes that we have determined that there are fewer respondents than were reported filing FCC Form 160—a decrease from the 156,000 respondents reported in the 60 day Federal Register Notice, with a corresponding reduction in the estimated total annual number of responses and total annual hourly burden.
The Commission also notes that it has determined that there are no “individuals” as such filing FCC Form 160, rather, these people are acting in their “entrepreneurial capacity” as “businesses.”
There are no other exceptions to item 19 of the OMB 83-I “Certification Statement.”
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods:
This information collection does not employ any statistical methods.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | Supporting Statement |
| Author | twatson |
| Last Modified By | Leslie.Smith |
| File Modified | 2007-02-14 |
| File Created | 2007-02-12 |