Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68 to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer Notes of Employers

Forms and Documents

Document	Type	Status	Availability
1210-0094 PTE 85-68 SS 6.03.26.docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2026-06-08	Available
03_DOL_Request_for_Hearing_DOL_2026-04-19.pdf	Public Comments	Uploaded 2026-04-19	Available

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
13422	Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 85-68 to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer Notes of Employers	Other-PTE 1985-68	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1210-0094	ICR Reference No: 202604-1210-003
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202303-1210-002
Agency/Subagency: DOL/EBSA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68 to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer Notes of Employers
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 06/18/2026

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	08/31/2026
Responses	3	1
Time Burden (Hours)	3	1
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

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Abstract: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 85-68 provides that the prohibitions of ERISA sections 406(a), 406(b)(1) and (2), and 407(a) and the taxes imposed by Code section 4975(a) and (b) by reason of Code section 4975(c)(1)(A) through (E) shall not apply to the acquisition of customer notes by a plan from an employer with respect to the plan, and holding of the customer notes by the plan, or the repurchase of those notes by the employer. For the purpose of this exemption, a customer note is a two-party instrument, executed along with a security agreement for tangible personal property, which is accepted in connection with, and in the normal course of, an employer's primary business activity as a seller of such property. The exemption does not apply to notes of an employer's affiliate. This exemption includes a recordkeeping provision, whereby plans are required to maintain all records, information, and data which relate to plan investments in customer notes covered by this exemption. The class exemption requires that those records be made unconditionally available to certain persons on request.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 29 USC 1108 Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act
  

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 7528	02/18/2026
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 36881	06/18/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 85-68 to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer Notes of Employers

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ICR Summary 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	3	1	0	0	2	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	3	1	0	0	2	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: To account for the slight, but unlikely, additional burden, the Department has estimated an additional annual burden of one hour for the fiduciary acknowledgement and one hour for the employer’s written guarantee. Therefore, the number of responses has increased by two responses and the number of hours has increased by two hours.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

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.     No

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.     No

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: 06/18/2026

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