Notice2026-02992
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Request for Comment; Motorcycle Helmets (Labeling)
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 17, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Abstract
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) summarized below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. This document request for comments on the reinstatement of a previously-approved information collection on Motorcycle Helmets Labeling. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information collection was published on June 4, 2025. NHTSA received one comment on the collection.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7365-7366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02992]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2025-0457]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Request for
Comment; Motorcycle Helmets (Labeling)
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments on the reinstatement of a
previously-approved information collection.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR)
summarized below will be submitted to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR describes the nature of
the information collection and its expected burden. This document
request for comments on the reinstatement of a previously-approved
information collection on Motorcycle Helmets Labeling. A Federal
Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the
following information collection was published on June 4, 2025. NHTSA
received one comment on the collection.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 19, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection, including suggestions for reducing burden,
should be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget at
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. To find this particular information
collection, select ``Currently under Review--Open for Public Comment''
or use the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or access
to background documents, contact Mrs. Cristina Echemendia, U.S.
Department of Transportation, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West
Building Room W43-491, NRM-130, Washington, DC 20590. Mrs. Cristina
Echemendia's telephone number is 202-366-1810. Please identify the
relevant collection of information by referring to its OMB Control
Number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a
Federal agency must receive approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) before it collects certain information from the public,
and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information
by a Federal agency unless the collection displays a valid OMB control
number. In compliance with those requirements, this notice announces
that the following information collection request is being submitted to
OMB.
Title: ``Motorcycle Helmets (Labeling).''
OMB Control Number: 2127-0518.
Form Number: N/A.
Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously-approved information
collection.
Type of Review Requested: Regular.
Length of Approval Requested: Three years from date of approval.
Summary of the Collection of Information
The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act authorizes the
Secretary of Transportation (NHTSA by delegation), at 49 U.S.C. 30111,
to issue Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) that set
performance standards for motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle
equipment. Vehicle and equipment manufacturers must certify that their
vehicles and equipment comply with the safety standards. Moreover,
under 49 U.S.C. 30117, the
[[Page 7366]]
Secretary (NHTSA by delegation) is also authorized to require
manufacturers to provide information to first purchasers of motor
vehicles or motor vehicle equipment when the vehicle equipment is
purchased, in the form of printed matter placed in the vehicle or
attached to the motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment.
Using this authority, NHTSA issued the initial FMVSS No. 218,
``Motorcycle helmets,'' in 1974. Motorcycle helmets are devices used to
protect motorcyclists from head injury in motor vehicle crashes. The
standard requires the manufacturer to label every helmet it produces to
indicate compliance with the requirements of the Standard. The
certification label consists of the symbol ``DOT,'' the term ``FMVSS
No. 218,'' the word ``CERTIFIED,'' the precise model designation, and
the manufacturer's name and/or brand on the outer shell of the helmet
towards the posterior bottom edge. Manufacturers are also required to
label every helmet to provide helmet owners with important safety
information including manufacturer's name, discrete size, month and
year of manufacture, and specific instructions. FMVSS No. 218 S5.6
requires that each helmet shall be labeled permanently and legibly in a
manner such that the label(s) can be read easily without removing
padding or any other permanent part.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the
Information
The labeling requirement in the Standard supports the Department of
Transportation's strategic goal in safety, by ensuring that motorcycle
helmets are manufactured and certified to the performance requirements
of the Standard. NHTSA uses this information for enforcement purposes
to ensure that manufacturers certify compliance with the Standard.
State and local law enforcement use this information to enforce helmet-
use laws, and consumers use the information to make decisions when
purchasing motorcycle helmets.
60-Day Notice
A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting
public comments on the following information collection was published
on June 4, 2025 (90 FR 23762). The closing date for comments was August
4, 2025. The agency received one comment from the National Association
of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). The commenter agreed the
collection was necessary but questioned whether providing the
information on the advertising and packaging of the helmet would
provide the same benefits with less cost to the manufacturers. The
commenter also mentioned that it was not clear why the sticker was
required. In the 60-day notice the agency explained that NHTSA uses the
sticker information to ensure manufacturers certify the helmet
compliance with the Standard. NHTSA also explained that State and local
law enforcement use this information to enforce helmet-use laws, and
consumers use the information to make decisions when purchasing
motorcycle helmets.
The reason the label is on the helmet instead of on advertising and
product packaging is that those items are disposable. The sticker on
the helmet is permanent and a law enforcement officer would need to see
whether the helmet is certified to the standard by looking at the
sticker. Most likely consumers would not carry the advertising or
product packaging that state the helmet is certified to the Standard.
Helmet manufacturers can add voluntarily any other advertising or
certification statements on the packaging if in fact they certified the
product to the Standard.
Affected Public: Motorcycle helmet manufacturers.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 45.
Frequency: On occasion.
Estimated Number of Responses: 3,600,000.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 10,900 hours.
The 45 respondents (helmet manufacturers) produce a total of
3,600,000 annual responses (3,600,000 motorcycle helmets are
manufactured annually). A manufacturer spends approximately 10 seconds
per response for labeling. The estimated total annual burden hours for
helmet manufacturers to label motorcycle helmets as required in FMVSS
No. 218 is 10,900 burden hours (3,600,000 x 10 seconds, rounded).
Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: $1,512,000.
NHTSA estimates that the printing and material cost per helmet is
$0.42. Therefore, the estimated total annual burden cost is $1,512,000
(3,600,000 helmets produced per year x $0.42). The total estimated
annual burden costs are detailed in the table below:
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Estimated total
Number of respondents (helmet Number of helmets produced Printing and Annual printing and Total number of annual printing
manufacturers) annually per respondent material cost material cost per helmets produced and material
per helmet manufacturer annually costs
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45...................................... 80,000 (Rounded)........... $0.42 $33,600 (Rounded).......... 3,600,000 $1,512,000
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Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspects of
this information collection, including: (a) whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of
the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected;
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, including the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29A.
Jane Doherty,
Acting Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2026-02992 Filed 2-13-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 17, 2026.
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