Video Relay Service Improvements; Incarcerated People's Communication Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services; Access to Video Conferencing

Issuing agencies

Abstract

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget has approved new information collection requirements under OMB Control Number 3060-1089, as adopted in the Commission's Report and Orders, FCC 23-116, FCC 24-75 and FCC 24-95.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 213 (Thursday, November 5, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 213 (Thursday, November 5, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 69726-69729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22601]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[CG Docket Nos. 03-123, 10-51, 10-213, 23-161 and WC Docket Nos. 12-
375, 23-62; FCC 23-116, FCC 24-75 and FCC 24-95; FR ID 374967]


Video Relay Service Improvements; Incarcerated People's 
Communication Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; 
Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services; Access to Video 
Conferencing

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget has 
approved new information collection requirements under OMB Control 
Number 3060-1089, as adopted in the Commission's Report and Orders, FCC 
23-116, FCC 24-75 and FCC 24-95.

DATES: Amendatory instruction 3 (47 CFR 64.604(c)(5)(iii)(D)(8), 
(d)(1)(iii)(C),

[[Page 69727]]

(d)(2)(iv), and (d)(6)), published at 89 FR 20125, March 21, 2024; 
amendatory instruction 6 (47 CFR 64.606(g)(6)), published at 89 FR 
100878, December 13, 2024; and amendatory instruction 7 (47 CFR 
64.611(l)(2), (l)(3), (l)(5), (l)(6)), and amendatory instruction 15 
(47 CFR 64.6040(f)), published at 89 FR 77244, September 20, 2024, are 
effective November 5, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathy Williams, Office of the Managing 
Director, Federal Communications Commission, at (202) 418-2918 or 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5a193b2e3223740d333636333b37291a3c3939743d352c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f3b092879b8adda49a9f9f9a929e80b3959090dd949c85">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection 
requirements in 47 CFR 64.604(c)(5)(iii)(D)(8), (d)(1)(iii)(C), 
(d)(2)(iv) and (d)(6), 64.606(g)(6), 64.611(l)(2), (l)(3), (l)(5), and 
(l)(6), and 64.6040(f), on August 17, 2026. The Commission publishes 
this document as an announcement of the effective date for these 
amended rules.

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received final 
OMB approval on August 17, 2026, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 64.604(c)(5)(iii)(D)(8), 
(d)(1)(iii)(C), (d)(2)(iv) and (d)(6), 64.606(g)(6), 64.611(l)(2), 
(l)(3), (l)(5), and (l)(6), and 64.6040(f). Under 5 CFR part 1320, an 
agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it 
displays a current, valid OMB Control Number.
    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 
Control Number for this information collections is 3060-1089. The 
foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1089.
    Title: Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; 
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 10-51 
& 03-123.
    OMB Approval Date: August 17, 2026.
    OMB Expiration Date: August 31, 2029.
    Form Numbers: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Individuals or 
households; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 165,408 respondents; 1,764,771 
responses.
    Estimated Hours per Response: 0.05 hours (3 minutes) to 300 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual, monthly, on occasion, on-going, one-
time, and quarterly reporting requirements; Recordkeeping requirement; 
and Third-Party Disclosure requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for the collection is contained in section 225 of 
the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 225. The law was enacted on July 26, 
1990, as Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 
Public Law 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, 366-69, and amended by the Twenty-
First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, 
Public Law 111-260, 103(a), 124 Stat. 2751, 2755 (2010) (CVAA); Public 
Law 111-265 (technical amendments to CVAA).
    Total Annual Burden: 282,770 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $279,363.

Needs and Uses

    The Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) program enables access 
to the nation's telephone network by persons with hearing and speech 
disabilities. In 1991, as required by the Americans with Disabilities 
Act and codified at 47 U.S.C. 225, the Commission adopted rules 
governing the TRS program and procedures for each state TRS program to 
apply for initial Commission certification and renewal of Commission 
certification of each state program. Telecommunications Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, and the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990, Report and Order and Request for 
Comments, document FCC 91-213, published at 56 FR 36729, August 1, 1991 
(1991 TRS Implementation Order).
    Between 2008 and 2011, to integrate internet-based TRS into the 
North American Numbering plan and facilitate interoperability, 
universal calling, and 911 emergency services, the Commission adopted 
rules in three separate orders related to the telephone numbering 
system and enhanced 911 (E911) services for users of two forms of 
internet-based TRS: Video Relay Service (VRS) and internet Protocol 
Relay service (IP Relay). See document FCC 08-151, Report and Order and 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published at 73 FR 41286, July 
18, 2008 (First Numbering Order); document FCC 08-275, Second Report 
and Order and Order on Reconsideration, published at 73 FR 79683, 
December 30, 2008 (Second Numbering Order); and document FCC 11-123, 
Report and Order, published at 76 FR 59551, September 27, 2011 
(internet-based TRS Toll Free Order).
    The rules adopted in these three orders have information collection 
requirements that include requiring VRS and IP Relay providers to: 
register each user who selects the provider as his or her default 
provider, including obtaining a self-certification from each user; 
verify the accuracy of each user's registration information; provision 
and maintain their registered users' routing information to the TRS 
Numbering Directory; place their users' Registered Location and certain 
callback information in Automatic Location Information (ALI) databases 
across the country and provide a means for their users to update their 
Registered Locations; include advisories on their websites and in any 
promotional materials addressing numbering and E911 services for VRS or 
IP Relay; verify in the TRS Numbering Directory whether each dial-
around user is registered with another provider; and if they provide 
equipment to a consumer, make available to other VRS providers enough 
information about that equipment to enable another VRS provider 
selected as the consumer's default provider to perform all of the 
functions of a default provider.
    On July 28, 2011, the Commission released Structure and Practices 
of the Video Relay Service Program, document FCC 11-118, published at 
76 FR 47469, August 5, 2011, and at 76 FR 47476, August 5, 2011 (VRS 
Certification Order), adopting final and interim rules--designed to 
help prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensure quality service, in 
the provision of internet-based forms of TRS. On October 17, 2011, the 
Commission released Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service 
Program, Memorandum Opinion and Order, Order, and Further Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking, document FCC 11-155, published at 76 FR 67070, 
October 31, 2011 (VRS Certification Reconsideration Order), modifying 
two aspects of information collection requirements contained in the VRS 
Certification Order.
    On June 10, 2013, the Commission made permanent the interim rules 
adopted in the VRS Certification Order. Structure and Practices of the 
Video Relay Service Program;

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Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, Report and Order and 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, document FCC 13-82, published at 
78 FR 40582, July 5, 2013 (2013 VRS Reform Order).
    The VRS Certification Order as modified by the VRS Certification 
Reconsideration Order and, as applicable, made permanent by the 2013 
VRS Reform Order, amended the Commission's process for certifying 
internet-based TRS providers as eligible for payment from the 
Interstate TRS Fund (Fund) for their provision of internet-based TRS to 
ensure that internet-based TRS providers receiving certification are 
qualified to provide internet-based TRS in compliance with the 
Commission's rules and to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse through 
improved oversight of such providers. They contain information 
collection requirements including: submission of detailed information 
in an application for certification that shows the applicant's ability 
to comply with the Commission's rules; submission of annual reports 
that include updates to the provider's information on file with the 
Commission or a certification that there are no changes to the 
information; requirements for a senior executive of an applicant for 
internet-based TRS certification or an internet-based TRS provider, 
when submitting an annual compliance report, to certify under penalty 
of perjury to its accuracy and completeness; requirements for VRS 
providers to obtain prior authorization from the Commission for planned 
interruptions of service, to report to the Commission unforeseen 
interruptions of service, and to provide notification of temporary 
service outages, including updates, to consumers on their websites; and 
requirements for internet-based TRS providers that will no longer be 
providing service to give their customers at least 30-days notice.
    In the 2013 VRS Reform Order, the Commission adopted further 
measures to improve the structure, efficiency, and quality of the VRS 
program, reducing the noted inefficiencies in the program, as well as 
reducing the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensuring that the 
program makes full use of advances in commercially-available 
technology. The Commission required reporting of unauthorized and 
unnecessary us of VRS; established a central TRS user registration 
database (TRS-URD) for VRS, which incorporates a centralized 
eligibility verification requirement to ensure accurate registration 
and verification of users, as well as per-call validation, to achieve 
more effective prevention of waste, fraud, and abuse; established 
procedures to prevent unauthorized changes of a user's default TRS 
provider; and established procedures to protect TRS users' customer 
proprietary network information (CPNI) from disclosure.
    On March 23, 2017, the Commission released Structure and Practices 
of the Video Relay Services Program et al., FCC 17-26, published at 82 
FR 17754, April 13, 2017, (2017 VRS Improvements Order), which among 
other things, allows VRS providers to assign TRS Numbering Directory 
10-digit telephone numbers to hearing individuals for the limited 
purpose of making point-to-point video calls, and gives VRS providers 
the option to participate in an at-home call handling pilot program, 
subject to certain limitations, as well as recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements.
    On May 15, 2019, the Commission released Structure and Practices of 
the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and 
Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech 
Disabilities, FCC 19-39, published at 84 FR 26364, June 6, 2019 (2019 
VRS Program Management Order). The Commission further improved the 
structure, efficiency, and quality of the VRS program, reduced the risk 
of waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensured that the program makes full use 
of advances in commercially-available technology. These improvements 
include information collection requirements, including: the 
establishment of procedures to register enterprise and public 
videophones to the TRS-URD; and permitting Qualified Direct Video 
Calling (DVC) Entities to access the TRS Numbering Directory and 
establishing an application procedure to authorize such access, 
including rules governing DVC entities and entry of information in the 
TRS Numbering Directory and the TRS-URD.
    On August 2, 2019, the Commission released Implementing Kari's Law 
and Section 506 of RAY BAUM's Act; Inquiry Concerning 911 Access, 
Routing, and Location in Enterprise Communications Systems; Amending 
the Definition of Interconnected VoIP Service in Section 9.3 of the 
Commission's Rules, FCC 19-76, published at 84 FR 66716, December 5, 
2019 (MLTS 911 and Dispatchable Location Order). The Commission amended 
its rules to ensure that the dispatchable location is conveyed to a 
Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) with a 911 call, regardless of the 
technological platform used. Based on the directive in section 506 of 
RAY BAUM'S Act, the Commission adopted dispatchable location 
requirements that in effect modified the existing information 
collection requirements applicable to VRS, IP Relay and covered 
internet Protocol captioned telephone service (IP CTS) by improving the 
options for providing accurate location information to PSAPs as part of 
911 calls.
    Fixed internet-based TRS devices must provide automated 
dispatchable location. For non-fixed devices, when dispatchable 
location is not technically feasible, internet-based TRS providers may 
fall back to Registered Location or provide alternative location 
information. As a last resort, internet-based providers may route calls 
to Emergency Relay Calling Centers after making a good faith effort to 
obtain location data from all available alternative location sources. 
Dispatchable location means a location delivered to the PSAP with a 911 
call that consists of the validated street address of the calling 
party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment or similar 
information necessary to adequately identify the location of the 
calling party. Automated dispatchable location means automatic 
generation of dispatchable location. Alternative location information 
is location information (which may be coordinate-based) sufficient to 
identify the caller's civic address and approximate in-building 
location, including floor level, in large buildings.
    On January 31, 2020, the Commission released Structure and 
Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay 
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and 
Speech Disabilities, FCC 20-7, published at 85 FR 27309, May 8, 2020 
(VRS At-Home Call Handling Order). The Commission amended its rules to 
convert the VRS at-home call handling pilot program into a permanent 
one, thereby allowing CAs to work from home. To ensure user privacy and 
call confidentiality and to help prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, the 
modified information collections include requirements for VRS providers 
to apply for certification to allow their communications assistants to 
handle calls while working at home; monitoring and oversight 
requirements; and reporting requirements.
    On June 30, 2022, the Commission released Telecommunications Relay 
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and 
Speech Disabilities; Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service 
Program; Misuse of internet Protocol Captioned

[[Page 69729]]

Telephone Service, FCC 22-51, published at 87 FR 57645, September 21, 
2022 (Registration Grace Period Order). To offer more efficient service 
to VRS and IP CTS users without risk of waste, fraud, and abuse to the 
TRS Fund, the Commission amended its rules to allow VRS and IP CTS 
providers to provide compensable service to a new user for up to two 
weeks after submitting the user's information to the TRS URD if the 
user's identity is verified within that period.
    On September 30, 2022, the Commission released Rates for Interstate 
Inmate Calling Services, FCC 22-76, published at 87 FR 75496, December 
9, 2022 (Accessible Carceral Communications Order). To improve access 
to communications services for incarcerated people with communications 
disabilities, the Commission adopted modifications to the user 
registration and verification requirements for use of internet-based 
TRS in correctional facilities.
    On December 20, 2023, the Commission released Telecommunications 
Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with 
Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Structure and Practices of the Video 
Relay Service Program; Petition for Rulemaking and Limited Waiver of 
Convo Communications, LLC, FCC 23-116, published at 89 FR 20125, March 
21, 2024 (2023 VRS Improvements Order), To promote improvement in the 
efficacy and quality of relay services supported by the TRS Fund or 
Fund, the Commission modified several VRS rules relating to 
communications assistants (CAs) working at home, the use of contractors 
for VRS interpreting, and the use of VRS by registered users when 
traveling abroad.
    On July 18, 2024, the Commission released the Incarcerated People's 
Communications Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; 
Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, FCC 24-75, published at 
89 FR 77244, September 20, 2024 (2024 Accessible Carceral 
Communications Order). To ensure the accessibility of communications 
service for incarcerated people, the Commission amended the carceral 
facility enterprise registration rules to allow for IP CTS and IP Relay 
enterprise registration and align those new requirements with the 
requirement for VRS enterprise registration and combining the 
requirements into a single paragraph section of the rules. Enterprise 
registration helps ensure that only eligible users are making use of 
the service, prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, protect the integrity of 
the TRS Fund, and ensure the continued provision of TRS.
    On September 27, 2024, the Commission released Access to Video 
Conferencing; Implementation of Sections 716 and 717 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as enabled by the Twenty-First Century 
Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010; Telecommunications 
Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with 
Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Petition of Sorenson Communications, 
LLC for Limited Waiver of the Privacy Screen Rule, FCC 24-95, published 
at 89 FR 100878, December 13, 2024 (2024 IVCS Order). The Commission 
required VRS provider that integrate VRS in video conference to provide 
in its annual report, a detailed explanation of the instructions and 
training provided to CAs on implementation of the requirements for 
integrating VRS in video conferences and identifying the requesting VRS 
users.
    The records maintained by VRS providers and records submitted to 
FCC and the TRS Fund administrator by these providers are used to 
ensure that VRS providers have adopted and are adhering to the 
safeguards that are required to protect against waste, fraud, and 
abuse.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-22601 Filed 11-4-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P


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