Waiver and Exemption Requirements

This is a request for renewal of an approved collection of information covering non-medical waivers and exemptions. The ICR estimates the burden an individual, motor carrier, State, or SDLA incurs to comply with the mandatory reporting tasks required for requesting waivers and exemptions in 49 CFR part 381. The FMCSRs require a motor carrier or individual seeking relief from one or more regulations to submit their request for a waiver or an exemption in writing. Section 4007 of TEA-21 requires that the terms and conditions for all waivers and exemptions likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than what would be achieved by complying with the safety regulations. To satisfy this statutory test, persons requesting waivers or applying for exemptions must present a credible alternative to the regulation and explain how that alternative would likely achieve an equivalent or greater level of safety. If the waiver or exemption request were less effective than the applicable regulation, it would be difficult to demonstrate compliance with the statutory test. If there is insufficient information or data for FMCSA to conclude that the waiver or exemption would satisfy the statutory test, the agency must not grant the waiver or exemption. FMCSA requires an individual, motor carrier, State, or SDLA to comply with certain terms and conditions if they are granted an exemption under § 381.330. FMCSA applies to waivers the same terms and conditions for reporting accidents as it does for exemptions. Each applicant covered by a waiver must notify FMCSA, via email at [email protected], within 5 business days of any accident (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5), involving its drivers or CMVs operating under the terms of the waiver. Exemptions may be renewed upon request for subsequent 5-year periods. Exemption holders requesting a renewal must provide the same information as described in § 381.310. Each individual, motor carrier, State, or SDLA covered by an exemption must notify FMCSA via email at [email protected] within 5 business days of any accident (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5), involving the individual, motor carrier, or CMV operating under the terms of the exemption. IC-1 consists of three reporting and recordkeeping tasks an individual, motor carrier, State, or State Drivers Licensing Agency (SDLA) performs regarding the waiver application process required by § 381.210. IC-2 consists of three reporting and recordkeeping tasks an individual, motor carrier, State, or SDLA performs regarding the exemption application process required by § 381.310. IC-3 consists of the same three reporting and recordkeeping tasks an individual, motor carrier, State, or SDLA performs to renew an exemption regarding the exemption application process required by § 381.310. This ICR revision increases the estimated burden hours based on the number of applications received between 2022 and 2024.

The latest form for Waiver and Exemption Requirements expires 2028-07-31 and can be found here.

IC-1.1: The individual, motor carrier, State, or SDLA submits a waiver application to FMCSA providing all of the information in § 381.210.

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