Non-substantive change request

OMB Control No. 3060-0686

The Communications Act of 1934

Executive Order 10530

August 2024

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE REQUEST JUSTIFICATION

OMB Control No. 3060-0686

FCC Forms for International 214 Applications

The Commission’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) is requesting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for de minimis, non-substantive changes to the questions and instructions for this one-time information collection. First, on May 31, 2024, in OBM Control No. 3060-0686, OMB approved rules adopted in the Executive Branch Review Order and the Executive Branch Standard Questions Order. In the Executive Branch Review Order, the Commission created new requirements associated with certain applications, including international 214 applications with reportable foreign ownership, that will be reviewed by the relevant Executive Branch agencies for national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, and trade policy issues, as well as other changes. In the Executive Branch Standard Questions Order, the Commission adopted the Standard Questions – a baseline set of national security and law enforcement questions covering the five categories of information. The Standard Questions for international 214 applications consist of separate questionnaires for (a) new license applications; (b) transfer of control/assignment applications; and (c) a supplement for the provision of personally identifiable information (PII). Second, on May 31, 2024, in OBM Control No. 3060-0686 approved new electronic forms as part of the Commission’s modernization of its online, web-based electronic filing system – the International Communications filing system (ICFS).

In light of several technology issues that arose during creation of the online forms, the Commission has made de minimis, non-substantive, clarifying changes to the FCC Forms 214 questions and applicant instructions. The Executive Branch agencies made have made two non-substantive, organizational changes to the way they will collect responses to the Standard Questions. First, the Executive Branch agencies created subject matter worksheets (Submission Exemplars) for collection of information that is requested in the Standard Questions. The attached Submission Exemplars are Excel spreadsheet workbooks that have the data columns annotated to indicate how each one corresponds with specific questions in the OMB-approved ITC Standard Questions. Second, the Executive Branch agencies modified the PII supplement by splitting single data fields (such as “Date and Place of Birth”) into two data fields, re-ordering the data fields, and adding data fields derived from other questions in the OMB-approved Standard Questions. The attached revised PII supplement, which is a part of the Submission Exemplars, shows how each data field corresponds to the OMB-approved Standard Questions. The Submission Exemplars will improve the Executive Branch agencies’ ability to process and review applicant information in response to the Standard Questions, do not impose additional burdens, and instead will likely reduce burdens on applicants over time.

Once the rules are effective, the Commission will place the Standard Questions and the Submission Exemplars, which include the revised PII supplement on its website so that applicants will be able to view and download them. Instructions for the ITC application forms (FCC 214 and FCC 225 series) will be available for applicants within ICFS after OMB approves the non-substantive changes to the forms and instructions. The ITC forms include: ITC-214, ITC-AMD, ITC-ASG/TC, ITC-DSC, ITC-FCN, ITC-MOD, ITC-RPT, ITC-STA, ITC-WAV, RTL-NEW, RTL-MOD and RTL-WAV.

OIA includes the following: (1) screenshots of the ITC and RTL forms as they will appear for public use in a pdf (we note that some questions branch off into different sub-questions, and not all possibilities may be depicted in a single pdf); (2) the revised instructions; and (3) the Submission Exemplars, which include the revised PII supplement. We request that OMB treat this as a non-substantive change to Control No. 3060-0686 as the changes do not increase burdens on the applicants.

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