NHTSA Seeks OMB Renewal for Qualitative Feedback Collection, Adding HVE Campaign Tracking

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has published a notice in the Federal Register inviting public comment on its intention to seek Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew, with changes, a currently approved information collection under OMB Control Number 2127-0682, titled "Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery." Written comments must be submitted by November 30, 2026.

What the Renewal Changes

The renewal request includes a substantive modification to the previously approved collection. Specifically, NHTSA is adding annual tracking studies for its high-visibility enforcement (HVE) campaigns — four per year — to report campaign metrics for evidence plans and additional customer satisfaction surveys. According to the notice, NHTSA added campaign performance metrics to the agency's annual Evidence Plan for OMB to measure the success of its HVE campaigns through its media buys. Because these HVE tracking studies were not included in the previously approved fast-track reinstatement package, their inclusion results in an increase in both total annual respondents and burden hours.

Background and Stated Rationale

The notice states that Executive Order 12862 directs Federal agencies to provide the highest quality service possible to the public, and that this information collection provides a means to garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's commitment to improving service delivery. The agency explains that feedback collected through this clearance will provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and expectations; provide early warning of issues with service; and focus attention on areas where communication, training, or changes in operations might improve delivery of products or services. The agency further states that the information will allow for ongoing, collaborative, and actionable communication between the agency and its customers and stakeholders, and will allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of program management.

How the Collection Works

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, NHTSA must publish a 60-day public comment period in the Federal Register before submitting a proposed collection to OMB for approval. OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320.8(d) require the agency to solicit public comment on four specific points: whether the collection is necessary for proper agency functions and will have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's burden estimates; how to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information; and how to minimize the burden on respondents, including through automated or electronic collection techniques.

The agency specifies that it will only submit a collection for approval under this generic clearance if it meets defined conditions: the collection must be voluntary; low-burden for respondents and low-cost for both respondents and the Federal Government; non-controversial and not raising issues of concern to other Federal agencies; targeted to respondents with experience with the program; limited in its collection of personally identifiable information, which must not be retained; intended solely for internal use for general service improvement and program management; not used to substantially inform influential policy decisions; and designed to yield qualitative rather than statistically reliable or generalizable results. The notice explicitly states that this type of generic clearance will not be used for quantitative information collections designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance, as such uses require more rigorous designs. The requested expiration date of approval is three years from the date of approval.

What to Watch

Public comments on the proposed renewal are due by November 30, 2026. Following the close of the comment period, NHTSA will seek formal OMB approval for the renewed collection under its regular review track.

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