Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses and regulates the operation of U.S. commercial 

nuclear power plants. Currently operating nuclear power plants were licensed under a two-step process 

described in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) under Part 50. This process requires 

both a construction permit and an operating license.

The NRC worked to improve regulatory efficiency and add greater predictability to the process 

by establishing an alternative licensing process, 10 CFR Part 52, in 1989. Part 52 includes a combined 

license that provides a construction permit and an operating license with conditions for plant operation.

Other licensing options under Part 52 include Early Site 

Permits, where applicants can obtain approval for a reactor site 

without specifying the design of the reactor(s) that could be built 

there, and certified standard plant designs, which can be used as 

pre-approved designs.

In either Part 50 or 52, NRC approval is necessary before 

a nuclear power plant can be built and operated. The NRC 

maintains oversight of the construction and operation of a facility 

throughout its lifetime to ensure the plant complies with the 

agency’s regulations for the protection of public health and safety, 

the common defense and security, and the environment.

Two-Step Licensing Process (10 CFR Part 50)

All nuclear power plant applications must undergo an NRC safety review, environmental review 

and an antitrust review.

In order to construct or operate a nuclear power plant, an applicant must submit a Safety 

Analysis Report. This document contains the design information and criteria for the proposed reactor, 

and comprehensive data on the proposed site. It also discusses various hypothetical accident situations 

and the safety features of the plant that would prevent accidents or lessen their effects. In addition, the 

application must contain a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact of the proposed 

plant. A prospective licensee also must submit information for antitrust reviews of the proposed plant. 

When a company applies for permission to construct a nuclear plant, the NRC staff first 

determines whether the application contains enough information to accept it and begin a detailed review. 

h

Construction oversight
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If the NRC accepts the application, the agency holds a public meeting near the proposed site to 

familiarize the public with the safety and environmental aspects of the proposed application, including 

the planned location and type of plant, the regulatory process, and the terms for public participation in 

the licensing process. Several public meetings of this type are held during reactor licensing reviews.

All documents and correspondence related to the application are placed in the agency document 

database, ADAMS, and in the NRC Public Document Room located in Rockville, Md. The NRC uses 

press releases and social media to inform relevant federal, state, and local officials, as well as news 

outlets near the proposed plant, about receipt of the application. The agency also publishes a notice of 

receipt of the application in the Federal Register.

The NRC staff then reviews the application to determine whether the plant design meets all 

applicable regulations (10 CFR Parts 20, 50, 73, and 100). The review includes, in part:

• site characteristics, such as surrounding population, seismology, meteorology, geology and 

hydrology; 

• design of the nuclear plant;

• the plant’s anticipated response to hypothetical accidents;

• plant operations, including the applicant's technical qualifications to operate the plant;

• discharges from the plant into the environment (i.e., radiological effluents); and

• emergency plans.

The NRC summarizes its review in a Safety Evaluation Report on the proposed facility’s 

anticipated effect on public health and safety.

The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, an independent group that provides advice on 

reactor safety to the five-member Commission, reviews each application to construct or operate a 

nuclear power plant. The ACRS review begins early in the licensing process, and a series of meetings 

with the applicant and the NRC staff are held at appropriate times in the review process. When the 

ACRS has completed its review, it submits the results in a report to the Commission via a letter to the 

Chairman of the NRC.

The NRC follows the National Environmental Policy Act by reviewing and evaluating the 

potential environmental impacts and benefits of the proposed plant. The agency summarizes this review 

in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for comment by the appropriate federal, state, and local 

agencies as well as by the public. Afterwards, the agency issues a Final Environmental Impact Statement 

that addresses all comments received.

The Atomic Energy Act requires that a public hearing be held before a construction permit is 

issued for a nuclear power plant. This hearing is conducted by a three-member Atomic Safety and 

Licensing Board (one lawyer, who acts as chairperson, and two technically qualified persons). Members 

of the public may submit written or oral statements to the licensing board to be entered into the hearing 

record, or they may petition to intervene as full parties in the hearing.
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The NRC may authorize the licensee to do some activities at the site prior to the issuance of a 

construction permit. This Limited Work Authorization excludes any nuclear safety-related activities and 

the licensee would have to restore the site if the permit is rejected. This authorization may be granted 

only after the licensing board acknowledges all of the NEPA findings required by the Commission's 

regulations for authorizing construction. The board must also determine there is reasonable assurance 

that the proposed site is a suitable location, from a radiological health and safety standpoint, for a 

nuclear power reactor of the general size and type proposed.

The applicant must submit a Final Safety Analysis Report to support its application for an 

operating license. This report describes the final design of the facility, as well as its operational and 

emergency procedures. The NRC prepares a Final Safety Evaluation report for the operating license, and 

the ACRS makes an independent evaluation and presents its advice to the Commission.

A public hearing is not mandatory or automatic for operating license applications. However, the 

NRC’s publication of a Federal Register notice on accepting an application for an operating license 

provides the public an opportunity for those whose interests might be affected by the issuance of the 

license to request a hearing. If a public hearing is held it follows the process described earlier.

Combined License (10 CFR Part 52)

A combined license under 

Part 52 authorizes construction of 

the facility much like a 

construction permit would under 

Part 50’s two-step process. A 

combined license application must 

contain essentially the same 

information required in an 

application for an operating license 

issued under Part 50 and specify 

the inspections, tests, and analyses 

that the applicant must perform. It 

also specifies acceptance criteria 

necessary to provide reasonable 

assurance that the facility has been 

constructed and will be operated in agreement with the license and applicable regulations. If the 

application does not reference an early site permit or design certification (see below), then the NRC 

reviews the technical and environmental information as described for the two-step licensing process. 

There is also a mandatory hearing for a combined license.

After issuing a combined license, the Commission authorizes operation of the facility only after 

verifying that the licensee completed required inspections, tests, and analyses and that acceptance 

criteria were met. The NRC publishes notices of these completions in the Federal Register. At least 180 

days prior to the date scheduled for initial loading of fuel, the NRC will publish a notice of intended 

operation of the facility in the Federal Register. There is a limited opportunity for a hearing at this time, 

only for petitions that demonstrate the licensee has not met or will not meet the acceptance criteria. 
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Early Site Permits

An early site permit resolves site safety, environmental protection, and emergency preparedness 

issues independent of a specific nuclear plant design. The early site permit application must address the 

safety and environmental characteristics of the site and evaluate potential obstacles to developing an 

acceptable emergency plan. The application covers the following information:

• site boundaries;

• seismic, meteorologic, hydraulic and geologic data;

• existing and projected future population of the surrounding area;

• evaluation of alternative sites;

• proposed general location of each plant planned to be on the site;

• number, type and power level of the plants planned for the site;

• maximum discharges from the plant;

• type of plant cooling system to be used;

• radiation dose consequences of hypothetical accidents; and

• plans for coping with emergencies.

The NRC documents its findings on site safety characteristics and emergency planning in a 

Safety Evaluation Report and on environmental protection issues in Draft and Final Environmental 

Impact Statements.

An early site permit can also allow 

for a limited work authorization to 

perform non-safety site preparation 

activities before a combined license is 

issued. After the NRC staff and the ACRS 

complete their safety reviews, the NRC 

issues a Federal Register notice for a 

mandatory public hearing. The early site 

permit is initially valid for no less than 10 

and no more than 20 years and can be 

renewed for 10 to 20 years.

Design Certification

The NRC may approve and certify a standard nuclear plant design through a rulemaking, 

independent of a specific site. The design certification is valid for 15 years. A design certification 

application must contain proposed inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria for the standard 

design. The application must also demonstrate how the applicant complies with the Commission’s 

relevant regulations.

The NRC bases its safety review of the application primarily on the information submitted by the 

applicant. An application must contain enough design information for the Commission to reach a final 

Mandatory hearing conducted by the Commission
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conclusion on all safety questions associated with the design. In general terms, a design certification 

application should provide an essentially complete nuclear plant design, with the exception of some sitespecific design features.

The application presents the design basis, the limits on operation, and a safety analysis of 

structures, systems, and components of the facility as a whole. The scope and contents of the application 

are equivalent to the level of detail found in a Final Safety Analysis Report for a currently operating 

plant. The NRC’s Safety Evaluation Report summarizes its review of the plant design and how the 

design meets applicable regulations. 

The ACRS reviews each application for a standard design certification, together with the NRC 

staff’s safety evaluation report, in a public meeting. Upon determining that the application meets the 

relevant standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act and the Commission’s regulations, the 

Commission drafts a rule to issue the standard design certification as an appendix to the 10 CFR Part 52 

regulations. Members of the public may submit written or oral comments on the proposed design 

certification rule.

The issues resolved in a design certification rulemaking are more difficult to change than issues 

resolved under other licensing processes. The NRC cannot modify a certified design unless it finds that 

the design does not meet the applicable regulations in effect at the time of the design certification, or it is 

necessary to modify the design to assure adequate protection of the public health and safety.

An application for a combined license under 10 CFR Part 52 can incorporate by reference a 

design certification and/or an early site permit. The advantage of this approach is that the issues resolved 

during the design certification rulemaking and the early site permit hearing processes are precluded from 

reconsideration later at the combined license stage. 

More information about these licensing processes is available on the NRC website.

July 2020