46 CFR 515- Licensing, Financial Responsibility Requirements, and General Duties for Ocean Transportation Intermediaries and Related Forms.

Forms and Documents

Forms and supporting documents for this ICR

Document	Type	Status	Availability
Form FMC-18 OTI Licensing	Form and Instruction	Modified	Available
Form FMC-18 Application for a License as an Ocean Transportation Intermediary	Form and Instruction	Modified	Available
Form FMC-65 Foreign-based Unlicensed NVOCC Registration/Renewal	Form	New	Available
Form FMC-65 Foreign-Based Unlicensed NVOCC Registration	Form	Modified	Available
Form FMC-69A Optional Rider for Additional NVOCC Financial Responsibility for Group Bonds	Form	Modified	Available
Form FMC-48A Optional Rider for Additional NVOCC Financial Responsibility	Form	Modified	Available
Form FMC-69 Ocean Transportation Intermediary Group Supplemental Coverage Bond Form	Form	Modified	Available
Form FMC-68 Guaranty in Respect of Ocean Transportation Intermediary Liability for Damages, Reparations or Penalties	Form	Modified	Available
Form FMC-67 Ocean Transportation Intermediary Insurance Form Furnished as Evidence of Financial Responsibility	Form	Modified	Available
Form FMC-48 Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) Bond	Form	Modified	Available
2026 Supporting statement Part 515.docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2026-11-02	Available
3072-0018 Comment_Response from 60 day.docx	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-11-02	Available
30 day FR notice 91 68955.pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-11-02	Available
60 day FR notice 3072-0018 91_51707.pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-09-16	Available
46 U.S.C. 40901(a) and 40902(a).docx	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-09-16	Available
46 CFR Part 515.pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-09-16	Available

IC Document Collections

Information collection document groups

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
32181	OTI Licensing	Form and Instruction	Modified	OTI Licensing
32181	OTI Licensing	Form and Instruction	Modified	Application for a License as an Ocean Transportation Intermediary
283500	Recordkeeping		New
283499	Organizational Changes of Foreign-Based Unlicensed NVOCCs		New
283498	Registration Renewal of Foreign-Based Unlicensed NVOCCs	Form	New	Foreign-based Unlicensed NVOCC Registration/Renewal
283497	Change in Organization		New
213447	OTI License Renewal		Modified
206263	Foreign-Based Unlicensed NVOCCs - Registration	Form	Modified	Foreign-Based Unlicensed NVOCC Registration
180149	Proof of Financial Responsibility - Optional Rider	Form	Modified	Optional Rider for Additional NVOCC Financial Responsibility for Group Bonds
180149	Proof of Financial Responsibility - Optional Rider	Form	Modified	Optional Rider for Additional NVOCC Financial Responsibility
180137	Proof of Financial Responsibility	Form	Modified	Ocean Transportation Intermediary Group Supplemental Coverage Bond Form
180137	Proof of Financial Responsibility	Form	Modified	Guaranty in Respect of Ocean Transportation Intermediary Liability for Damages, Reparations or Penalties
180137	Proof of Financial Responsibility	Form	Modified	Ocean Transportation Intermediary Insurance Form Furnished as Evidence of Financial Responsibility
180137	Proof of Financial Responsibility	Form	Modified	Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) Bond

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 3072-0018	ICR Reference No: 202512-3072-001
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202309-3072-002
Agency/Subagency: FMC	Agency Tracking No:
Title: 46 CFR 515- Licensing, Financial Responsibility Requirements, and General Duties for Ocean Transportation Intermediaries and Related Forms.
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 11/02/2026

table that charts list comparision

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	11/30/2026
Responses	21,186	10,132
Time Burden (Hours)	6,287	4,134
Cost Burden (Dollars)	626,780	0

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Abstract: Information obtained under 46 CFR 515 and through Form FMC-18 is used to determine the qualifications of ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs) and their compliance with shipping statutes and regulations and to enable the FMC to discharge its duties under the Shipping Act of 1984, as amended, by ensuring that OTIs maintain acceptable evidence of financial responsibility. The types of respondents are persons desiring to obtain a license to act as an OTI; under the Act, OTIs may be either an ocean freight forwarder, a non-vessel-operating common carrier, or both.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 46 USC 40101-41309 Name of Law: Shipping Act of 1984
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 51707	08/11/2026
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 68955	11/02/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 9

table that charts list of burden

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Change in Organization
Foreign-Based Unlicensed NVOCCs - Registration	FMC-65	Foreign-Based Unlicensed NVOCC Registration
OTI License Renewal
OTI Licensing	FMC-18, FMC-18	Application for a License as an Ocean Transportation Intermediary ,   OTI Licensing
Organizational Changes of Foreign-Based Unlicensed NVOCCs
Proof of Financial Responsibility	FMC-68, FMC-48, FMC-67, FMC-69	Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) Bond ,   Ocean Transportation Intermediary Insurance Form Furnished as Evidence of Financial Responsibility ,   Guaranty in Respect of Ocean Transportation Intermediary Liability for Damages, Reparations or Penalties ,   Ocean Transportation Intermediary Group Supplemental Coverage Bond Form
Proof of Financial Responsibility - Optional Rider	FMC-48A, FMC-69A	Optional Rider for Additional NVOCC Financial Responsibility ,   Optional Rider for Additional NVOCC Financial Responsibility for Group Bonds
Recordkeeping
Registration Renewal of Foreign-Based Unlicensed NVOCCs	FMC-65	Foreign-based Unlicensed NVOCC Registration/Renewal

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ICR Summary of Burden

table that charts list of burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	21,186	10,132	0	11,054	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	6,287	4,134	0	2,153	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	626,780	0	0	626,780	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Reduction Due to: Using Information Technology

Short Statement: The estimated burden hours for the collection has increased due to the increase in the number of OTIs. The Commission has updated the associated costs to respondents to reflect current salary information for the water transportation industry and the associated costs to the Federal Government to reflect 2026 pay scales. The cost to the Government was also updated to reflect all employees who spend time on this information collection. The Commission has been undergoing information technology modernization to update legacy systems. These new systems will streamline the submission of FMC-18, FMC-48, FMC-48A, FMC-65, FMC-67, FMC-68, FMC-69, and FMC-69A; reducing the overall time burden for each entity.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $438,413

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 11/02/2026

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