[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 2 (Friday, January 3, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 213-215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31555]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 3
[Docket No. FAA-2023-1194; Amt. 3-3A]
RIN 2120-AL85
Extension of Compliance Date To Designate a U.S. Agent for
Service for Individuals With Foreign Addresses Who Apply for Certain
Certificates, Ratings, or Authorizations
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective date.
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SUMMARY: On October 8, 2024, the FAA published a final rule that will
require individuals with foreign addresses and no U.S. physical address
on file with the FAA who apply for certain certificates, ratings, or
authorizations to designate a U.S. agent for service. This final rule
extends the deadline for those individuals to designate a U.S. agent
for service from January 6, 2025, to April 2, 2025. This final rule
does not apply to individuals with foreign addresses who currently hold
certain certificates, ratings, or authorizations, as the compliance
date for those individuals continues to be July 7, 2025.
DATES:
Effective date: As of January 3, 2025, the effective date of
amendatory 3 in the final rule published on October 8, 2024 (89 FR
81305), is delayed from January 6, 2025, to April 2, 2025. This final
rule is effective January 3, 2025, except for amendatory instruction 3
which is effective April 2, 2025.
Compliance date: The compliance date for this final rule is April
2, 2025, for applicants of any certificate, rating, or authorization
issued under 14 CFR part 47, 61, 63, 65, 67, or 107.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Kabaz-Gomez, Office of the
Chief Counsel, AVS Deputy Division Counsel, Federal Aviation
Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; (202)
267-7395; email Jessica.Kabaz-Gomez@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Executive Summary
On October 8, 2024, the FAA published a final rule, U.S. Agents for
[[Page 214]]
Service on Individuals With Foreign Addresses Who Hold or Apply for
Certain Certificates, Ratings, or Authorizations,\1\ that will require
individuals with foreign addresses and no U.S. physical address on file
with the FAA who either hold or apply for certain certificates,
ratings, or authorizations to designate a U.S. agent for service. This
final rule revises Sec. 3.303(d)(2) of title 14 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (14 CFR) to extend the compliance date for individuals who
have a foreign address and no U.S. physical address of record on file
with the FAA to designate a U.S. agent for service if they apply for a
certificate, rating, or authorization issued under 14 CFR part 47, 61,
63, 65, 67, or 107 from January 6, 2025, to April 2, 2025. The U.S.
agent for service designation will be required to be in writing in a
form and manner prescribed by the Administrator, as described in
Advisory Circular 3-1, through an online system: U.S. Agent for Service
System (USAS). This final rule provides additional time to establish
and launch USAS to facilitate the FAA's means of accepting U.S. agent
for service designations.
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\1\ 89 FR 81305.
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II. Authority for the Rulemaking
The FAA's authority to issue rules on aviation safety, such as the
rules governing service that are referred to in this preamble and
substantively promulgated in 88 FR 38001, is found in title 49 of the
United States Code. Subtitle I, section 106 describes the authority of
the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, describes in
more detail the scope of the agency's authority, including the
authority to issue regulations. The final rule this rulemaking amends
was issued under the authority described in 49 U.S.C. 44701(a)(5),
which establishes the authority of the Administrator to prescribe
regulations and minimum standards for other practices, methods, and
procedures the Administrator finds necessary for safety in air commerce
and national security. The amended regulations herein are within the
scope of that authority and are consistent with 49 U.S.C. 46103, which
governs the FAA's service and provides that the FAA may effectuate
service on a designated agent.
III. Good Cause for Immediate Adoption
The Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B)) requires an
agency to conduct notice and comment rulemaking except when the agency
for good cause finds (and incorporates the finding and a brief
statement of reasons therefor in the rules issued) that notice and
public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to
the public interest. Additionally, section 553(d) permits agencies,
upon a finding of good cause, to issue rules with an effective date
less than 30 days from the date of publication. The FAA finds good
cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to forgo notice and opportunity for
comment and the 30-day notice requirement to implement this final rule
as unnecessary.
First, as discussed herein, applicants will be unable to submit
information to USAS by the January 6, 2025, deadline due to development
delays associated with the USAS online portal, which were circumstances
ultimately beyond the FAA's general control, and which were not fully
understood until well after publication of the U.S. Agent final rule in
October of 2024. When FAA became aware of a development delay, it was
too late to develop an alternate means of compliance in advance of
January 6, 2025, as further discussed in section IV. of this preamble
below. Absent a means of compliance, FAA would be unable to issue
certain certificates, ratings, and authorizations. Accordingly, the FAA
finds notice and the opportunity to comment unnecessary, as public
comment would not impact USAS online portal development and the FAA's
preparedness to accept U.S. agent designations.
For similar reasons, the FAA finds good cause to forgo the 30 days
delay of effective date requirement under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) as
unnecessary. If the FAA does not effectuate this final rule before
January 6, 2025, which is less than 30 days after its publication,
applicants would be required to meet certain regulations without an
available means of compliance and FAA would have to institute a
moratorium on the issuance of certain certificates, authorizations, and
ratings. Accordingly, the compliance date must be immediately extended
to avoid this moratorium and inconsistency between the FAA's
regulations and the practical means of compliance.
IV. Discussion
On October 8, 2024, the FAA published a final rule requiring
individuals with a foreign address and no U.S. physical address of
record on file with the FAA who apply or hold certificates, ratings, or
authorizations under 14 CFR part 47, 61, 63, 65, 67, or 107 to
designate a U.S. agent for service.\2\ That final rule adopted current
Sec. 3.303(a), requiring these individuals to designate a U.S. agent
for service in a form and manner prescribed by the Administrator. The
FAA concurrently published Advisory Circular 3-1 prescribing the form
and manner for compliance.\3\ Advisory Circular 3-1 provides in Chapter
3, Paragraph 2 that individuals designating a U.S. agent for service
under Sec. 3.303 will utilize a new FAA online system, the U.S. Agent
for Service System (USAS). Currently, USAS is the only form and manner
of compliance prescribed by the Administrator to meet the requirement
in Sec. 3.303(a) to designate a U.S. agent for service. The final rule
also adopted Sec. 3.303(d), which provided a compliance date of
January 6, 2025, for applicants of certain certificates, ratings, or
authorizations and a different compliance date of July 7, 2025, for
individuals who already hold certain certificates, ratings, or
authorizations. However, the FAA has determined that it will not be
ready to accept U.S. agent designations in USAS by January 6, 2025.
Despite early and regular USAS development engagement, unforeseen and
recent issues with USAS development and integration with existing FAA
systems have left the agency with insufficient time to develop an
alternate means to comply with Sec. 3.303(d)(2). An alternate means of
compliance would necessitate development of new guidance to the public,
processing procedures for Agency employees, and a separate system to
temporarily store U.S. agent designations the agency receives from
applicants pending implementation of USAS. Additionally, the agency
would be unable to comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act and Privacy
Act requirements associated with developing an alternative means of
compliance.
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\2\ U.S. Agents for Service on Individuals With Foreign
Addresses Who Hold or Apply for Certain Certificates, Ratings, or
Authorizations final rule, 89 FR 81305 (Oct. 8, 2024).
\3\ See Advisory Circular 3-1, U.S. Agents for Service on
Individuals with Foreign Addresses Who Hold or Apply for Certain
Certificates, Ratings, or Authorizations https://www.faa.gov/
regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/
document.information/documentID/
1042728#:~:text=This%20AC%20explains%20an%20acceptable%20means%20to%2
0designate,information%2C%20and%20submit%20a%20new%20U.S.%20agent%20d
esignation.
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To avoid a moratorium on the issuance of certain certificates,
authorizations, and ratings, and to ensure FAA preparedness for the
collection of U.S. agent designations in USAS, it is necessary to
extend the
[[Page 215]]
deadline for applicants to designate a U.S. agent for service in
compliance with Sec. 3.303(a). This final rule revises the compliance
date in Sec. 3.303(d)(2) from January 6, 2025, to April 2, 2025, for
applicants of certain certificates, ratings, or authorizations with
foreign addresses and no U.S. physical addresses to designate a U.S.
agent for service. The FAA emphasizes that the compliance date to
designate a U.S. agent for service in Sec. 3.303(d)(1) for holders of
any certificate, rating, or authorization with foreign addresses and no
U.S. physical addresses will remain as July 7, 2025. The FAA is
retaining staggered compliance dates to ensure that USAS and the Agency
is not overwhelmed by submissions.
V. Regulatory Notices and Analyses
This final rule is a non-significant rule for the purposes of
section 3(f) of Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, as amended by E.O. 13563
and E.O. 14094. Any impacts caused by the three-month delay will be
minimal as this rule will not impose any significant costs or have
impacts beyond those analyzed in the October 8, 2024, final rule.
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. The FAA submitted a report for the substantive October,
2024, final rule (89 FR 81305) and other required information to the
U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller
General of the United States. This rule does not constitute a major
rule as defined in 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980, (Pub. L. 96-354, 94
Stat. 1164 (5 U.S.C. 601-612)), as amended by the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121, 110 Stat.
857, Mar. 29, 1996) and the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Pub. L.
111-240, 124 Stat. 2504 Sept. 27, 2010), requires Federal agencies to
consider the effects of the regulatory action on small business and
other small entities and to minimize any significant economic impact.
The term ``small entities'' comprises small businesses and not-for-
profit organizations that are independently owned and operated and are
not dominant in their fields, as well as governmental jurisdictions
with populations of less than 50,000.
Section 604 of the RFA requires an agency to prepare a final
regulatory flexibility analysis when an agency issues a final rule
under 5 U.S.C. 553 after being required to publish a general notice of
proposed rulemaking. RFA analysis requirements are limited to
rulemakings for which the agency ``is required by section 553 or any
other law, to publish a general notice of proposed rulemaking for any
proposed rule.'' As prior notice and comment under 5 U.S.C. 553 are not
required for this final rule, the analyses in 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 are
also not required.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 3
Aircraft, Aviation safety, U.S. agent for service.
The Amendment
In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation
Administration amends title 14, Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 3--GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
0
1. The authority citation for part 3 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40113, 44701, 44704,
46111, and 46103.
Sec. 3.303 [Amended]
0
2. Amend Sec. 3.303(d)(2) by removing the date ``January 6, 2025'' and
adding in its place ``April 2, 2025''.
0
3. Effective April 2, 2025, further amend Sec. 3.303 by revising
paragraphs (d) and (e) to read as follows:
Sec. 3.303 Designation of a U.S. agent for service.
* * * * *
(d) Individuals holding any certificate, rating, or authorization
issued under part 47, 61, 63, 65, 67, or 107 of this chapter must
comply with the requirements listed in this subpart no later than July
7, 2025. These individuals who fail to timely designate a U.S. agent
for service and comply with the requirements under this subpart may not
exercise the privileges of any certificate, rating, or authorization
issued under part 47, 61, 63, 65, 67, or 107, and an individual
aircraft owner's aircraft registration certificate will be considered
ineffective.
(e) No individual shall be issued a certificate, rating, or
authorization under part 47, 61, 63, 65, 67, or 107 of this chapter
unless the individual has designated a U.S. agent as required under
this subpart.
Issued under authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 44701(a),
and 44703 in Washington, DC.
Michael Gordon Whitaker,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2024-31555 Filed 12-30-24; 4:15 pm]
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