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 these requirements, this notice announces that the following information collection request will be submitted to OMB.

Title:49 CFR part 575.104; Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standard (UTQGS).

OMB Control Number: 2127-0519.

Form Number(s): N/A.

Type of Request: Request for reinstatement with modification of a previously approved information collection.

Type of Review Requested: Regular.

Length of Approval Requested: Three years from approval date.

Summary of the Collection of Information: Under 49 U.S.C. 30123(b) and 49 CFR 575.104, tire manufacturers and tire brand name owners are required to grade passenger car tire lines for treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance and to provide this information to consumers and to NHTSA. Respondents must:

1. Grade tires for treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance;

2. Mold the assigned grades into the tire sidewall;

3. Affix a paper tread label to new replacement tires that includes the grades and an explanation of the grading system;

4. Provide prospective purchasers, at each point of sale, access to grading information for each tire offered for sale;

5. Ensure that vehicle manufacturers include the applicable grade information in the owner's manual for vehicles equipped with graded tires; and

6. Submit grading information to NHTSA for public compilation and dissemination.

NHTSA compiles grading information for all manufacturers' tire lines and makes the information available to the public by publication on NHTSA's website. The information collection ensures that consumers can readily compare tire quality across brands and tire lines and supports NHTSA's program administration and enforcement activities.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: This collection supports NHTSA's work to ensure consumers receive clear, comparable information about tire performance. Mandatory requirements such as sidewall labeling, tread labels, brochures, and periodic reporting are ( printed page 57684) essential for ensuring that consumers have access to the information needed to make well-informed tire purchase decisions. NHTSA uses the submitted information to maintain public databases, ensure accuracy of consumer disclosures, and perform compliance and enforcement activities.

60-Day Notice: A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting public comments on the following information collection was published on April 8, 2026 (91 FR 17828). No comments were received.

Affected Public: Passenger car tire manufacturers and brand name owners offering passenger car tires for sale in the United States.

Estimated Number of Respondents: Approximately 160 tire brand names are subject to UTQGS requirements. However, due to industry consolidation, manufacturers typically submit required information on behalf of multiple brand names. NHTSA estimates that approximately 45 tire manufacturers serve as the actual respondents submitting information annually.

Frequency: Intermittent. Sidewall molding and paper labeling: Continuous/ongoing. Brochure preparation/updating: Annual. Annual Reporting to NHTSA: Annual, with electronic submissions accepted.

Estimated Number of Responses: 45.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 69,888 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: Approximately $35.1 million.

NHTSA estimates total annual non-labor respondent costs of approximately $35.1 million, primarily attributable to testing, printing of paper tread labels, and printing of consumer information brochures. The largest portion of the cost burden imposed by the UTQGS program arises from the testing necessary to determine the grades that should be assigned to the tires. The cost burden is broken into its components as follows.

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 appropriate 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.

91 FR 57683