23348 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 20, 2016 / Notices 

Authority: Pub. L. 91–575, 84 Stat. 1509 et 

seq., 18 CFR parts 806, 807, and 808. 

Dated: April 14, 2016. 

Stephanie L. Richardson, 

Secretary to the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2016–09054 Filed 4–19–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7040–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Notice of Policy Clarification for 

Acceptance of Documents With Digital 

Signatures by the Federal Aviation 

Administration Aircraft Registry 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of FAA policy 

clarification. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the 

FAA’s clarification of its policy 

regarding the acceptance of documents 

submitted to the FAA Aircraft Registry 

with digital signatures in support of 

aircraft registration under 14 CFR 47.13 

and conveyances or security documents 

submitted to the FAA Aircraft Registry 

regarding claims and interests under 14 

CFR 49.13. 

DATES: Effective Date: The policy 

described herein is effective May 1, 

2016. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ladeana G. Peden at 405–954–3296, 

Office of Aeronautical Center Counsel 

(AMC–7), Federal Aviation 

Administration, 6500 S. MacArthur 

Blvd., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73169. 

Background 

The FAA reviewed policies and 

practices regarding the acceptance of 

digital signatures on documents filed 

with the FAA Aircraft Registry. Based 

on that review we find that signatures, 

other than hand scribed signatures, are 

acceptable under State law. 

(Historically, the FAA has accepted 

instruments, for recording, based on 

their validity under state law. See 

generally 49 U.S.C. 44108(c)) Specific 

court cases have held that it is 

immaterial with what kind of 

instrument a signature is made. See 

Maricopa County v. Osborn, 60 Ariz 290 

(1943); and State of North Carolina v. 

David Leroy Watts, 222 SE. 2d 389 

(1976). Selected State statutes also 

provide that digitally signed 

communications are signed writings. 

See Ca. Gov’t Code 16.5 (West 1995); 

also the Illinois Financial Institutions 

Digital Signature Act, 205 Ill. Comp. 

Stat. 705/10 (West 1998). For a general 

discussion of Signatures, see Corpus 

Juris Secundum, 80 C.J.S. Signatures, § 7 

(2000). 

On October 21, 1998, Public Law 105– 

277, Government Paperwork 

Elimination Act, directed the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

develop procedures for the use and 

acceptance of electronic signatures by 

Federal agencies. The Act requires that, 

when practicable, Federal agencies 

should use electronic forms, electronic 

filing, and digital signatures to conduct 

official business with the public. 

The Electronic Signatures in Global 

and National Commerce Act, Public 

Law (Pub. L.) 106–229, enacted June 30, 

2000, provides that the use of electronic 

records and electronic signatures is an 

acceptable practice when conducting 

interstate and foreign commerce. 

On October 31, 2008, the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Federal 

Aviation Administration, published 

FAA Order 1370.104, Digital Signature 

Policy. This Order established the FAA 

policy for the use of digital signatures. 

The Order states ‘‘Electronic signatures 

describe digital markings used to bind a 

party or, to authenticate a record. It is 

considered the digital equivalent of the 

traditional handwritten signature used 

to sign a contract or document.’’ The 

policy defines a digital signature as: 

. . . a type of electronic signature that is 

legally acceptable and offers both signer and 

transaction authentication. The digital 

signature is the most secure and full-featured 

type of electronic signature. Digital 

signatures are federally acceptable types of 

electronic signatures for business 

transactions as specified in the National 

Institutes of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) guidelines. 

14 CFR 47.13(a) provides ‘‘Each 

person signing an Aircraft Registration 

Application, AC Form 8050–1, or a 

document submitted as supporting 

evidence under this part, must sign in 

ink or by other means acceptable to the 

FAA.’’ (emphasis added) 14 CFR 

49.13(a) provides ‘‘Each signature on a 

conveyance must be in ink.’’ 

Black’s Law Dictionary, 7th Edition 

(‘‘Black’s’’), defines a signature as ‘‘[a] 

person’s name or mark written by that 

person or at the person’s direction. 2. 

. . . Any name, mark or writing used 

with the intention of authenticating a 

document.’’ Black’s defines a digital 

signature as ‘‘[a] secure, digital code 

attached to an electronically transmitted 

message that uniquely identifies and 

authenticates the sender.’’ 

Based on the foregoing, the FAA Civil 

Aviation Registry, Aircraft Registration 

Branch determined that ink signatures 

and legible digital signatures, comply 

with the signature requirements of 14 

CFR parts 47 and 49. 

Policy Clarification 

Effective May 1, 2016 the FAA Civil 

Aircraft Registry, Aircraft Registration 

Branch (the ‘‘Aircraft Registry’’) will 

accept printed duplicates of electronic 

documents that display legible, digital 

signatures that are filed in compliance 

with Parts 47 and 49 of the FAA 

Regulations (14 CFR parts 47 & 49). 

These documents include but are not 

limited to the following: 

(i) Aircraft Registration Application, 

AC Form 8050–1; 

(ii) Aircraft Bill of Sale, AC Form 

8050–2, or equivalent transfer 

documents; 

(iii) Security documents; 

(iv) Conditional Sales Contracts; 

(v) Leases; and, 

(vi) Any supporting authorization 

documents such as Powers of Attorney, 

Trust Agreements, and supplements of 

related documents, and Limited 

Liability Company Statements, et-cetera. 

In order to accommodate applicants 

for aircraft registration, the Aircraft 

Registry will make available a 

downloadable Aircraft Registration 

Application, AC Form 8050–1. 

Applicants may sign the form using a 

legible digital signature. A printed 

duplicate of the digitally signed 

application may be submitted in 

support of aircraft registration and a 

second duplicate copy may be retained 

in the aircraft as temporary 47.31 

authority to operate the aircraft within 

the United States, in lieu of the pink 

copy of Form 8050–1 permitted under 

14 CFR 47.31(c), pending registration of 

the aircraft. 

Upon receipt of a document with a 

digital signature by the FAA Civil 

Aircraft Registry, Aircraft Registration 

Branch (the Aircraft Registry), FAA 

Legal Instrument Examiners will review 

each document and determine whether 

the document has a legible and 

acceptable digital signature. A legible 

and acceptable digital signature will 

have, at minimum, the following 

components: 

(1) Shows the name of the signer and 

is applied in a manner to execute or 

validate the document; 

(2) Includes the typed or printed 

name of the signer below or adjacent to 

the signature when the signature uses a 

digitized or scanned version of the 

signer’s hand scribed signature or the 

name is in a cursive font; 

(3) Shows the signer’s corporate, 

managerial, or partnership title as part 

of or adjacent to the digital signature 

when the signer is signing on behalf of 

an organization or legal entity; 


Lhorne on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 20, 2016 / Notices 23349 

(4) Shows evidence of authentication 

of the signer’s identity such as the text 

‘‘digitally signed by’’ along with the 

software provider’s seal/watermark, date 

and time of execution; or, have an 

authentication code or key identifying 

the software provider; and 

(5) Has a font, size and color density 

that is clearly legible and reproducible 

when reviewed, copied and scanned 

into a black on white format. 

Documents digitally signed in the 

forgoing manner will be considered 

facially valid and will be acceptable for 

review and consideration by the FAA 

Civil Aircraft Registry, Aircraft 

Registration Branch (the Aircraft 

Registry) for recordation and registration 

purposes. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 13, 

2016. 

John S. Duncan, 

Director, Flight Standards Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–09069 Filed 4–19–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0071] 

Hours of Service of Drivers: McKee 

Foods Transportation LLC, Exemption; 

FAST Act Extension of Expiration Date 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice; extension of exemption. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces the 

extension of the exemption granted to 

McKee Foods Transportation, LLC, 

(MFT) on March 27, 2015, for 

transportation by their team drivers 

utilizing the sleeper-berth (S/B). The 

Agency extends the expiration date from 

March 27, 2015, to March 27, 2020, in 

response to Section 5206(b)(2)(A) of the 

‘‘Fixing America’s Surface 

Transportation Act’’ (FAST Act). That 

section extends the expiration date of 

hours-of-service (HOS) exemptions in 

effect on the date of enactment of the 

FAST Act to 5 years from the date of 

issuance of the exemptions. The MFT 

exemption from the Agency’s S/B 

requirement is limited to team drivers 

employed by MFT to allow these drivers 

to split S/B time into two periods 

totaling at least 10 hours, provided 

neither of the two periods is less than 

3 hours in length. The Agency 

previously determined that the 

commercial motor vehicle operations of 

MFT drivers under this exemption 

would likely achieve a level of safety 

equivalent to or greater than the level of 

safety that would be obtained in the 

absence of the exemption. 

DATES: This limited exemption is 

effective from March 27, 2015, through 

March 27, 2020. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Legal Basis 

FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions 

from certain parts of the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations. FMCSA must 

publish a notice of each exemption 

request in the Federal Register [49 CFR 

381.315(a)]. 

Section 5206(b)(2)(A) of the FAST Act 

requires FMCSA to extend any 

exemption from any provision of the 

HOS regulations under 49 CFR part 395 

that was in effect on the date of 

enactment of the Act to a period of 5 

years from the date the exemption was 

granted. The exemption may be 

renewed. Because this action merely 

implements a statutory mandate that 

took effect on the date of enactment of 

the FAST Act, notice and comment are 

not required. 

MFT Exemption 

MFT, a private motor carrier, applied 

for an exemption to eliminate the 

requirement that S/B time include a 

period of at least 8 but less than 10 

consecutive hours in the S/B and a 

separate period of at least 2 but less than 

10 consecutive hours either in the S/B 

or off duty, or any combination thereof 

[49 CFR 395.1(g)(1)(ii)(A)(1)]. The 

exemption is limited to team drivers, 

and these team drivers are allowed to 

split S/B time into two periods totaling 

at least 10 hours, provided neither of the 

two periods is less than 3 hours in 

length. 

FMCSA reviewed MFT’s application 

and the public comments and 

concluded that granting the exemption 

would likely achieve a level of safety 

equivalent to, or greater than, the level 

that would be achieved by the current 

regulation. A Notice of Final 

Determination granting the MFT 

exemption was published on March 27, 

2015 [80 FR 16503]. 

The substance of the exemption is not 

affected by this extension. The 

exemption covers only the split S/B 

requirement [49 CFR 

395.1(g)(1)(ii)(A)(1–2)]. The exemption 

is restricted to MFT team drivers, who 

utilize electronic logging devices to 

track records of duty status; have a 

minimum 26-hour off-duty period, at 

home, from Friday night to Saturday 

night; and are limited to 10 hours of 

driving following their required 10 

consecutive hours off duty, or the S/B 

equivalent. 

The FMCSA does not believe the 

safety record of any driver operating 

under this exemption will deteriorate. 

However, should deterioration in safety 

occur, FMCSA will take all steps 

necessary to protect the public interest, 

including revocation of the exemption. 

The FMCSA has the authority to 

terminate the exemption at any time the 

Agency has the data/information to 

conclude that safety is being 

compromised. 

Issued on: April 13, 2016. 

T.F. Scott Darling, III, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2016–09112 Filed 4–19–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2016–0130] 

Commercial Driver’s License: Missouri 

Department of Revenue (DOR); 

Application for Exemption 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has 

received an application from the 

Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR), 

Driver’s License Bureau, for a limited 

exemption from the Agency’s 

commercial driver’s license (CDL) 

regulations. These regulations require a 

driver to pass the general knowledge 

test before being issued a Commercial 

Learner’s Permit (CLP). The Missouri 

DOR requests an exemption from 

knowledge test requirement for 

qualified veterans who participated in 

dedicated training in approved military 

programs. The Missouri DOR states that 

its goal is to assist qualified veterans in 

obtaining employment when returning 

to the civilian workforce, and that 

granting this exemption will assist 

veterans who have already been through 

extensive military training. FMCSA 

requests public comment on the 

exemption application. In addition, 

because the issue raised by the Missouri 

DOR is not unique to that State, FMCSA 

requests public comment whether the 

exemption, if granted, should cover all 

State Driver’s Licensing Agencies 

(SDLAs). 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 20, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System Number FMCSA– 


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