Reporting of Information and Documents About Potential Defects

This information collection request (ICR) is for an extension without change of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) currently approved information collection for reporting of information and documents about potential defects. Under 49 CFR part 579, manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment must report information and communications to NHTSA with respect to possible safety-related defects and non-compliances in their products, including the reporting of safety recalls and other safety campaigns the manufacturer conducts outside the United States. Under part 579, there are three categories of reporting requirements: (1) requirements at § 579.5 to submit notices, bulletins, customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, and other communications (found in subpart A of part 579); (2) requirements at § 579.11 to submit information related to safety recalls and other safety campaigns in foreign countries (found in subpart B of Part 579); and (3) requirements at §§ 579.21-28 to submit Early Warning Information (found in subpart C of part 579). The Early Warning Reporting (EWR) requirements (49 U.S.C. 30166(m); 49 CFR part 579, subpart C) specify that manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment must submit to NHTSA information, periodically (quarterly or monthly) or upon NHTSA’s request, that includes claims for deaths and serious injuries, property damage data, communications from customers and others, information on incidents resulting in fatalities or serious injuries from possible defects in vehicles or equipment in the United States or in identical or substantially similar vehicles or equipment in a foreign country, and other information that assist NHTSA in identifying potential safety-related defects. In addition to requiring submissions periodically and upon request, this ICR includes a requirement to submit information within 5 days of information becoming available regarding foreign safety campaigns. The purpose of this information collection is to provide early warning of potential safety-related defects to NHTSA. The estimated burden for this information collection is 51,327 hours annually. This is 2,483 hours less than when NHTSA last received approval for this information collection (from 53,810 hours to 51,327 annually).

The latest form for Reporting of Information and Documents About Potential Defects expires 2028-04-30 and can be found here.

Subpart A: Manufacturer Communications 579.5

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Transportation - Ground Transportation