Practices of Household Goods Brokers

This ICR requires reinstatement because it expired on July 31, 2017 before the ICR renewal request could be submitted to OMB for approval. The collection of information is mandatory and is for recordkeeping purposes. The Brokers of Household Goods Final Rule (75 FR 72987) requires brokers to obtain a signed and dated receipt from the individual shippers for the “Ready to Move” brochure and the “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” pamphlet. Brokers that arrange the transportation of HHG in interstate or foreign commerce for consumers must provide: their U.S. DOT number on their advertisements and Internet Web sites; estimates of expected moving charges and brokerage fees; FMCSA pamphlets containing tips for successful moves and the consumer’s rights and responsibilities; and the broker’s policies concerning deposits, cancellations, and refunds. Brokers must either provide a hyperlink on their Internet website to the FMCSA website containing the brochure and pamphlet in FMCSA’s publications, or brokers must distribute to each shipper and potential shipper at the time they provide an estimate, copies of FMCSA’s publications. If an individual shipper elects to waive physical receipt of the Federal consumer protection information and elects to access the same information via the hyperlink on the Internet then the broker must include a clear and concise statement on the written estimate that the individual shipper expressly agreed to access the Federal consumer protection information on the Internet. The broker must obtain a signed, dated, electronic or paper receipt showing the individual shipper has received both booklets which includes, if applicable, verification of the shipper’s agreement to access the Federal consumer protection information on the Internet. The broker must maintain the signed receipt for three years from the date the individual shipper signs the receipt. The collected information assists shippers in their commercial dealings with interstate brokers. The collection of information is used by prospective shippers to make informed decisions about contracts and services to be ordered, executed, and settled within the interstate motor carrier industry. These actions are intended to help ensure the individual shippers who arrange for transportation of HHG through brokers receive necessary information regarding their rights and responsibilities in connection with interstate HHG moves, to educate shippers and prepare them for a successful move. The information in this final rule will be collected when a shipper requests that a broker provide an estimate and when a shipper arranges for a broker to have a particular mover transport household goods.Therefore, frequency is based on the number of moves arranged and is not a factor that FMCSA or the broker can control. The frequency of information collection is done more often than quarterly as it is done as services are requested by the shipper. This will help enforcement personnel determine whether the individual shipper actually received the information. A change in the number of responses, burden hours, and costs are due to an updated estimate of 543 HHG brokers as opposed to 690 brokers. The ICR does not have PII, consist of a form that requires a Privacy Impact Statement, nor is affiliated with a System of Records Notice. The ICR is not an EO 13771 deregulatory action. A correction to the 30-day FR was issued to provide clarification to the 30-day Federal Register for the reinstatement of the ICR. The correction states that with this renewal, FMCSA makes a change to the annual burden hours associated with this ICR. There is a reduction of 19,522 annual burden hours due to the removal of 1,000 burden-hours associated with new entrant household goods brokers setting up a separate accounting system to comply with 49 C.F.R 371.13.

The latest form for Practices of Household Goods Brokers expires 2021-01-31 and can be found here.