2120-0785 - Additional Elements for Unmanned Aircraft Registration

PPORTING STATEMENT

Additional Elements for Unmanned Aircraft Registration

OMB Control Number 2120-0785

The FAA proposed changes to the registration requirements for all unmanned aircraft, including small unmanned aircraft, in its notice of proposed rulemaking, Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (85 FR 72438) (RIN 2120-AL31). While the FAA is not finalizing all of the registration changes proposed, the FAA is finalizing requirements that telephone number(s) be included in the registration, that the small unmanned aircraft manufacturer and model be provided, if available, and that the serial number of the standard remote identification unmanned aircraft or the serial number of the remote identification broadcast module be included in the registration record.

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection.

The Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) affirmed that all unmanned aircraft, including recreational small unmanned aircraft, are aircraft. As such, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 44101(a) and as further prescribed in 14 CFR part 47, registration is required prior to operation. See 80 FR 63912, 63913 (October 22, 2015). Aircraft registration is necessary to ensure personal accountability among all users of the National Airspace System (NAS). Aircraft registration also allows the FAA and law enforcement agencies to address non-compliance by providing the means by which to identify an aircraft’s owner and operator.

Subject to certain exceptions discussed below, aircraft must be registered prior to operation. See 49 U.S.C. 44101-44103. Upon registration, the Administrator must issue a certificate of registration to the aircraft owner. See 49 U.S.C. 44103

Congress also passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-254). Section 349 of the Act (49 U.S.C. 44809) does not prohibit the Administrator from promulgating rules generally applicable to unmanned aircraft related to updates to the operational parameters for unmanned aircraft used for limited recreational operations, the registration and marking of unmanned aircraft, and other standards consistent with maintaining the safety and security of the airspace of the United States.

Registration, however, does not provide the authority to operate. Persons intending to operate a small unmanned aircraft must operate in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 44809, part 107 part 91, or any other operating part of 14 CFR, in accordance with a waiver issued under part 107, in accordance with an exemption issued under 14 CFR part 11 (including those persons operating under an exemption issued pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 44807), or in conjunction with the issuance of a special airworthiness certificate, and are required to register.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The information collected as part of the small unmanned aircraft registration system will identify to the FAA those persons owning small unmanned aircraft, whether the intended use is recreational, or as other than recreational. All persons who wish to operate a small unmanned aircraft outdoors are required to register. This information is collected as needed and is for reporting purposes. Only demographic information is released quarterly in the FOIA library. Other information may be disclosed upon request with any individual PII redacted. It will also allow the FAA to provide respondents with educational materials regarding safety of flight in the National Airspace System (NAS) to promote greater accountability and responsibility of these users of the NAS.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The part 48 small unmanned aircraft registration system is a fully (100%) automated, web-based online registration system that requires inputting a minimal amount of information. The part 47 process, which requires mailing an application to the FAA, remains available as an alternative process for small unmanned aircraft owners who wish to use a paper-based registration system.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purpose(s) described in 2 above.

The registration of small unmanned aircraft is within the purview of the FAA. Title 49 U.S.C. 44101-44106 and 44110-44113 require aircraft to be registered as a condition of operation and establish the requirements for registration and registration processes. No other Federal agency has similar requirements, thus there is no duplication.

The agency expects small unmanned aircraft owners to complete aircraft registration using the part 48 registration process. Alternatively, small unmanned aircraft owners may choose to register their aircraft by using the existing part 47 registration process (OMB Control No. 2120-0042) which requires mailing an application to the FAA.

5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize burden.

The information required to be collected from persons intending to register small unmanned aircraft for any purpose other than exclusively limited recreational operations is minimal:

(1) Applicant name and, for an applicant other than an individual, the name of the authorized representative applying for a Certificate of Aircraft Registration.

(2) Applicant’s physical address and, for an applicant other than an individual, the physical address for the authorized representative. The applicant or authorized representative must provide a mailing address if the applicant or authorized representative cannot receive mail at their physical address.

(3) Applicant’s e-mail address or, for applicants other than individuals, the e-mail address of the authorized representative.

(4) Applicant’s telephone number(s) and, for an applicant other than an individual, the telephone number(s) of the authorized representative.

(5) The aircraft manufacturer and model name, if available.

(6) For any standard remote identification unmanned aircraft, the serial number issued by the manufacturer of the unmanned aircraft in accordance with the design and production requirements of 14 CFR part 89. The serial number provided in this application must not be listed on more than one Certificate of Aircraft Registration at the same time.

(7) For any unmanned aircraft equipped with a remote identification broadcast module, the serial number issued by the manufacturer of the remote identification broadcast module in accordance with the design and production requirements of 14 CFR part 89. The serial number of a remote identification broadcast module provided in this application must not be listed on more than one Certificate of Aircraft Registration at the same time.

The FAA believes that the minimal information requested will significantly reduce any burden this registration system might impose.

The FAA emphasizes that the minimal nature of the information being collected under the small unmanned aircraft registration system discussed in this information collection should be viewed in comparison with the current requirement that persons intending to use small unmanned aircraft other than for limited recreational operations comply with the significantly more paperwork-intensive requirements of 14 CFR part 47 and OMB information collection 2120-0042. That information collection is estimated to take 30 minutes per response, as compared with the estimate of 5 minutes per response for this information collection.

6. Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Persons who own small unmanned aircraft are required to register with the FAA prior to operation of those small unmanned aircraft. Registration is effective for three years and must be renewed if the person wishes to continue to use small unmanned aircraft upon the expiration of the Small Unmanned Aircraft Certificate of Registration. The FAA would not be able to disseminate safety information to respondents or assist law enforcement and aircraft accident investigators without this collection or by limiting the frequency of this collection.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

• requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

• requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document; requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records, for more than three years;

• in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;

• requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or

• requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

There are no special circumstances.

8. . Provide information on the PRA Federal Register Notice that solicited public comments on the information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

The FAA proposed changes to the registration requirements for all unmanned aircraft, including small unmanned aircraft, in its notice of proposed rulemaking, Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (85 FR 72438) (RIN 2120-AL31). While the FAA is not finalizing all of the registration changes proposed, the FAA is finalizing requirements that telephone number(s) be included in the registration, that the small unmanned aircraft manufacturer and model be provided, if available, and that the serial number of the standard remote identification unmanned aircraft or the serial number of the remote identification broadcast module be included in the registration record.

The FAA received and responded to comments related to these regulatory requirements in the final rule. The FAA did not receive any comments specifically regarding the information collection aspects of these requirements.

9. Explain any decision to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No gifts or payments are provided to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

There is no assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents. Any PII is protected under Exemption 4 of FOIA.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

• Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices. * If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens.

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included under item 13.

The FAA estimated future small unmanned aircraft (UA) registrations based on new sales projections of small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales. This forecast was then adjusted to obtain the number of small UAS owners who would have to register.

For the total population of recreational UAS owners and commercial UAS owners who are burdened from the interim final rule (IFR), we used the FAA new sales forecast for hobbyist and commercial small UAS owners. ¹ This forecast forms the basis for estimating the number of affected recreational owners of small UAS. To estimate the total number of affected small UAS owners, we added the number of forecasted model and commercial non-model aircraft owners.

To calculate the number of small UAS owners, the FAA notes:

• Affected commercial/public small UAS owners are assumed to own an average of two small unmanned aircraft systems at a time.

• On average, affected recreational small UAS owners are assumed to own an average of 1.5 small unmanned aircraft systems.

• On average, all small UAS operated by affected owners fail within a year and are replaced in the next year.

• We use a seven percent discount rate for calculating present values of costs as prescribed by OMB in Circular A-4.²

• Estimates are provided in constant dollars with 2018 as the base year.

• Based on the web system design and the information to be collected, the FAA estimates that it will take, on average, a total of seven minutes to register one unmanned aircraft, which consists of six minutes as estimated in the Interim Final Rule for the Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft plus one minute to fulfill the expanded information collection as described in the Final Rule for the Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft. ^3,4

• In the part 48 web-based registrtion system, the estimated average time for an affected owner to de-register each aircraft is three minutes.

• In order to estimate the cost burden to small UAS owners, the FAA assigns an hourly value of $25.40 for the value of time for registrants. ⁵

Since affected commercial/public small UAS owners are assumed to own an average fleet size of two aircraft, we calculate the affected commercial/public small UAS owners who must register their UA, and therefore are burdened by the IFR, by dividing the FAA forecast for new UAS sales by two.

Also, since affected recreational small UAS owners are assumed to own an average fleet size of 1.5 aircraft, we calculate the affected recreational small UAS owners who must register their UA, by dividing the FAA forecast for new sales by 1.5.

The following table shows the number of small UA owners affected by this rulemaking over the 3-year period of analysis.

	Number of sUAS Owners (Thousands)
	Commercial		Recreational
Year	Register	De-Register	Register	De-Register
1	200	-	873	-
2	273	200	900	873
3	356	273	913	900
Average	276	237	895	887

Commercial Register

Summary (Annual numbers)	Reporting	Recordkeeping	Disclosure
# of Respondents	276,000
# of Responses per respondent	1
Time per Response	7 minutes
Total # of responses	276,000
Total burden (hours)	32,200

Commercial De-Register

Summary (Annual numbers)	Reporting	Recordkeeping	Disclosure
# of Respondents	237,000
# of Responses per respondent	1
Time per Response	3 minutes
Total # of responses	237,000
Total burden (hours)	11,850

Recreational Register

Summary (Annual numbers)	Reporting	Recordkeeping	Disclosure
# of Respondents	895,000
# of Responses per respondent	1
Time per Response	7 minutes
Total # of responses	895,000
Total burden (hours)	104,416.67

Recreational De-Register

Summary (Annual numbers)	Reporting	Recordkeeping	Disclosure
# of Respondents	887,000
# of Responses per respondent	1
Time per Response	3 minutes
Total # of responses	887,000
Total burden (hours)	44,350

In addition, the FAA also notes that the rule does not require an owner of a small UAS to keep records, although it should be prudent for the small UAS owner to keep a copy of the registration certificate with them in case of a law enforcement request. The registration certificate copy could be stored on their cell phone therefore any storage costs are de-minimus.

To estimate the affected owner’s personal value of time costs to register and de-register their small unmanned aircraft, we multiply the annual number of affected owners’ registrations and de-registrations by the time it will take to complete each session and then by the hourly value for personal time. We then calculate the average, by year, over the 3-year period of analysis. The FAA estimated these burden costs by using the affected small UAS new sales forecast discussed above.

The following table shows the estimate of the total paperwork costs to recreational, commercial, and public small UAS owners. In total, nominal costs are $4.9 million over the three-year period.

Commercial Register

Summary (Annual numbers)
# of Respondents	276,000
# of Responses per respondent	1
Hourly Rate	$25.40
Time per Response	7 minutes
Labor Cost per respondent	$2.96
Total # of responses	276,000
Total burden (hours)	32,200
Total labor cost burden	$817,880

Commercial De-Register

Summary (Annual numbers)
# of Respondents	237,000
# of Responses per respondent	1
Hourly Rate	$25.40
Time per Response	3 minutes
Labor Cost per respondent	$1.27
Total # of responses	237,000
Total burden (hours)	11,850
Total labor cost burden	$300,990

Recreational Register

Summary (Annual numbers)
# of Respondents	895,000
# of Responses per respondent	1
Hourly Rate	$25.40
Time per Response	7 minutes
Labor Cost per respondent	$2.963300990
Total # of responses	895,000
Total burden (hours)	104,416.67
Total labor cost burden	$2,652,183

Recreational De-Register

Summary (Annual numbers)
# of Respondents	887,000
# of Responses per respondent	1
Hourly Rate	$25.40
Time per Response	3 minutes
Labor Cost per respondent	$1.27
Total # of responses	887,000
Total burden (hours)	44,350
Total labor cost burden	$1,126,490

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information.

There are no additional costs to small UAS owners.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

The FAA will incur business operation, IT program management, and other costs. IT program management costs include costs to manage and maintain the web-based system. The costs for the initial build were included in the IFR that is published in the docket,^[1] therefore in this analysis we only report the operation and support costs of the web-based registration system. 

FAA cost information for the part 48 web-based registration system was developed based on cost models and FAA data. Costs for the web-based system include costs to provide interfaces for retailers and manufacturers, the cost of providing a public search function based on the unique identifier, the cost of providing for law enforcement access, maintenance costs and the cost to update and maintain the web based system.

Since the IFR, the web-based registration system has had other functions programmed into the system.  These functions require labor and travel for their incorporation and maintenance.  Also, a help desk now supports the system along with security monitoring, cloud protection, and accident reporting.

The FAA estimates the average annual cost burden to the FAA to operate and maintain the updated web-based system is about $1.45 million.  The FAA notes the current operation and maintenance costs are about three times what they were since the IFR was published in 2015.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.

The Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft final rule, RIN 2120-AL31, finalizes certain registration requirements necessary to implement remote identification requirements. Those changes are found in newly redesignated 14 CFR 48.110.

Specifically, the FAA is adding the following information to the list of information collected upon registration or registration renewal of small unmanned aircraft:

(1) Applicant’s telephone number(s) and, for an applicant other than an individual, the telephone number(s) of the authorized representative.

(2) For any standard remote identification unmanned aircraft, the serial number issued by the manufacturer of the unmanned aircraft in accordance with the design and production requirements of 14 CFR part 89. The serial number provided in this application must not be listed on more than one Certificate of Aircraft Registration at the same time.

(3) For any unmanned aircraft equipped with a remote identification broadcast module, the serial number issued by the manufacturer of the remote identification broadcast module in accordance with the design and production requirements of 14 CFR part 89. An applicant may submit the serial number of more than one remote identification broadcast module as part of the application for aircraft registration under § 48.105. The serial number of a remote identification broadcast module provided in this application must not be listed on more than one Certificate of Aircraft Registration at the same time.

The FAA received comments to the notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the policy requirements associated with the information to be collected. Those comments, and the FAA responses, are found in the final rule.

The FAA did not receive any comments specific to the proposed revisions of this information collection, which were discussed as a potential new collection in the notice of proposed rulemaking.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

There is no plan for tabulation or publication.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.

No such approval is being sought.

18. Explain each exception to the topics of the certification statement identified in "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions."

There are no exceptions.

1 For more information on the forecast, see https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation/ and the Unmanned Aircraft Systems section. The FAA forecast uses “model” and “non-model” to refer to small unmanned aircraft. These correspond to “recreational” or “model” and “commercial/public” (non-model) aircraft references used in this analysis and the final rule preamble. The FAA notes that our forecast includes sUAS new sales from owners who renew their part 48 registration.

2 https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/circulars/A4/a-4.pdf

3 https://www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/2015-12-13_2120-AK82_RIA.pdf. See Page 13 of the Regulatory Impact Analysis of the Interim Final Rule Regulatory Evaluation for the Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft. RIN 2120-AK82.

4 RIN 2120–AL31 Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft.

5 The hourly opportunity cost is estimated as the median gross compensation, which is the sum of median hourly wage and an estimate of hourly benefits. This estimate is reported in DOT guidance titled Revised Departmental Guidance on Valuation of Travel Time in Economic Analysis (Washington DC, 2016). A similar estimate was used as the proxy hourly opportunity cost in the regulatory evaluation of the IFR.

[1]^[1] https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FAA-2015-7396-0002

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