Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 181 / Monday, September 19, 2016 / Proposed Rules 64085 

Airbus: Docket No. FAA–2016–9110; 

Directorate Identifier 2015–NM–196–AD. 

(a) Comments Due Date 

We must receive comments by November 

3, 2016. 

(b) Affected ADs 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to Airbus Model A319– 

115, A319–132, A320–214, A320–232, A321– 

211, A321–213, and A321–231 airplanes, 

certificated in any category, as identified in 

Airbus Service Bulletin A320–52–1167, 

dated August 6, 2015. 

(d) Subject 

Air Transport Association (ATA) of 

America Code 52, Doors. 

(e) Reason 

This AD was prompted by a report of 

certain tie rod assemblies installed on the 

hinged fairing assembly of the main landing 

gear (MLG) with no cadmium plating on the 

rod end threads. We are issuing this AD to 

detect and correct the absence of cadmium 

plating on the rod end threads of the tie rod 

assemblies. The absence of cadmium plating 

could lead to galvanic corrosion of the tie rod 

end threads, resulting in rod end failure, loss 

of a MLG door, and consequent damage to 

the airplane. 

(f) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the 

compliance times specified, unless already 

done. 

(g) Inspection and Corrective Action 

Within 80 months after the airplane’s first 

flight, do a detailed inspection of each tie rod 

assembly having a part number (P/N) 

D52840212000 or D52840212002 at the MLG 

hinged fairing for the presence of cadmium 

plating (gold colored threads), in accordance 

with the Accomplishment Instructions of 

Airbus Service Bulletin A320–52–1167, 

dated August 6, 2015. If during the 

inspection any tie rod assembly is found that 

does not have cadmium plating, before 

further flight, replace the tie rod assembly 

with a serviceable part having the same part 

number and cadmium plating, in accordance 

with the Accomplishment Instructions of 

Airbus Service Bulletin A320–52–1167, 

dated August 6, 2015. 

(h) Other FAA AD Provisions 

The following provisions also apply to this 

AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, International 

Branch, ANM–116, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, FAA, has the authority to 

approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your 

request to your principal inspector or local 

Flight Standards District Office, as 

appropriate. If sending information directly 

to the International Branch, send it to ATTN: 

Sanjay Ralhan, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, FAA, 1601 Lind 

Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057–3356; 

telephone 425–227–1405; fax 425–227–1149. 

Information may be emailed to: 9-ANM-116- 

AMOC-REQUESTS@faa.gov. Before using 

any approved AMOC, notify your appropriate 

principal inspector, or lacking a principal 

inspector, the manager of the local flight 

standards district office/certificate holding 

district office. The AMOC approval letter 

must specifically reference this AD. 

(2) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any 

requirement in this AD to obtain corrective 

actions from a manufacturer, the action must 

be accomplished using a method approved 

by the Manager, International Branch, ANM– 

116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA; or 

the European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA); or Airbus’s EASA Design 

Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by 

the DOA, the approval must include the 

DOA-authorized signature. 

(3) Required for Compliance (RC): If any 

service information contains procedures or 

tests that are identified as RC, those 

procedures and tests must be done to comply 

with this AD; any procedures or tests that are 

not identified as RC are recommended. Those 

procedures and tests that are not identified 

as RC may be deviated from using accepted 

methods in accordance with the operator’s 

maintenance or inspection program without 

obtaining approval of an AMOC, provided 

the procedures and tests identified as RC can 

be done and the airplane can be put back in 

an airworthy condition. Any substitutions or 

changes to procedures or tests identified as 

RC require approval of an AMOC. 

(i) Related Information 

(1) Refer to Mandatory Continuing 

Airworthiness Information (MCAI) EASA 

Airworthiness Directive 2015–0234, dated 

December 8, 2015, for related information. 

This MCAI may be found in the AD docket 

on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov 

by searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2016–9110. 

(2) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Airbus, Airworthiness 

Office—EIAS, 1 Rond Point Maurice 

Bellonte, 31707 Blagnac Cedex, France; 

telephone +33 5 61 93 36 96; fax +33 5 61 

93 44 51; email account.airworth-eas@

airbus.com; Internet http://www.airbus.com. 

You may view this referenced service 

information at the FAA, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, 

WA. For information on the availability of 

this material at the FAA, call 425–227–1221. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

September 12, 2016. 

Michael Kaszycki, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–22435 Filed 9–16–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 193 

[Docket No. FAA–2006–24855] 

Voluntary Disclosure Reporting 

Program 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed order 

designating information as protected 

from disclosure. 

SUMMARY: This notice describes a 

proposed order through which the 

Federal Aviation Administration plans 

to designate a certain category of 

information as protected from public 

disclosure pursuant to a Voluntary 

Disclosure Reporting Program. The 

Federal Aviation Administration is 

required to protect the information from 

disclosure to the public, including 

disclosure required by statute, such as 

the Freedom of Information Act, 

following issuance of an order 

designating the information as 

protected. The instant designation is 

intended to encourage participation in 

the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting 

Program. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 19, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by Docket Number FAA–2006–24855 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to Docket 

Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, West 

Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take 

comments to Docket Operations in 

Room W12–140 of the West Building 

Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: Fax comments to Docket 

Operations at 202–493–2251. 

Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 

553(c), DOT solicits comments from the 

public to better inform its rulemaking 

process. DOT posts these comments, 

without edit, including any personal 

information the commenter provides, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 

www.dot.gov/privacy. 


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64086 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 181 / Monday, September 19, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

Docket: Background documents or 

comments received may be read at 

http://www.regulations.gov at any time. 

Follow the online instructions for 

accessing the docket or go to the Docket 

Operations in Room W12–140 of the 

West Building Ground Floor at 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions concerning this action, 

contact Scott Crosier, ASI/Manager, 

Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program 

(VDRP), Air Carrier Training Systems 

and Voluntary Safety Programs Branch, 

AFS–280, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone: (703) 661–0278; email: 

scott.crosier@faa.gov. Or, Hillary 

Heintz, AIR Compliance and 

Enforcement Program Manager, Aircraft 

Certification Service, AIR–150, 950 

L’Enfant Plaza N SW., Washington, DC 

20024; telephone (202) 267–1446; email: 

hillary.heintz@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Authority for This Designation 

The FAA sets forth this designation 

pursuant to title 49 of the United States 

Code (49 U.S.C.) section 40123 and title 

14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 

CFR), part 193. 

II. Overview of Proposed Designation 

On August 17, 2006, the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) issued 

FAA Order 8000.89, Designation of 

Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program 

(VDRP) Information as Protected from 

Public Disclosure under part 193. The 

FAA published the Notice of Order in 

the Federal Register. 71 FR 54405 (Sept. 

15, 2006). 

This Proposed Order Designating 

Information as Protected from 

Disclosure will retain the current 

protection provided for disclosures 

under FAA Order 8000.89 while also 

designating disclosures to the agency by 

entities as provided in Advisory 

Circular (AC) 00–68 as protected from 

public disclosure in accordance with 

the provisions of part 193. The comment 

period for the contents of AC 00–68 

opened on June 12, 2015 and closed on 

August 7, 2015. 

III. Background 

Under 49 U.S.C. 40123, certain 

voluntarily provided safety and security 

information is protected from disclosure 

to encourage persons to provide the 

information to the FAA. The FAA must 

issue an order making certain findings 

before the information is protected from 

disclosure. The FAA’s rules 

implementing that section are in part 

193. If the Administrator issues an order 

designating information as protected 

under 49 U.S.C. 40123, that information 

will not be disclosed under the Freedom 

of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) or 

other laws except as provided in 49 

U.S.C. 40123, 14 CFR part 193, and the 

order designating the information as 

protected. This proposed order is issued 

under § 193.11, which sets out the 

notice procedure for designating 

information as protected. 

IV. Discussion of the Proposal 

Summary of the VDRP Voluntary 

Information Sharing Program 

A. Who may participate: Regulated 

entities as provided in AC 00–58, as 

amended, AC 00–68, and AC 121–37. 

B. What voluntarily provided 

information would be protected from 

disclosure under this proposed 

designation: The content of all 

submissions by a regulated entity that 

are accepted under the VDRP, 

including, but not limited to, all of the 

items listed under Proposed Findings, 

Paragraph IV D(2) below. 

C. How persons would participate: 

Regulated entities participate by 

notification of an apparent violation to 

the FAA by the regulated entity in 

accordance with the VDRP reporting 

procedures, and completion of 

corrective actions in accordance with 

AC 00–58, as amended, AC 00–68, and 

AC 121–37. 

D. Duration of this information 

sharing program: This information 

sharing program would continue in 

effect indefinitely, unless the FAA 

terminates the VDRP, or until the order 

of designation under part 193 for the 

VDRP is withdrawn by the FAA. 

Proposed Findings 

The FAA proposes to designate 

information received under the VDRP as 

protected under 49 U.S.C. 40123 and 14 

CFR 193.7 based on the following 

findings: 

(1) Summary of why the FAA finds 

that the information will be provided 

voluntarily. 

The FAA finds that the information 

will be provided voluntarily. No 

regulated entity is required to 

participate in the VDRP. Initiation of 

submissions under the VDRP are 

indicative of the willingness of 

regulated entities to identify and correct 

their own instances of regulatory 

noncompliance, develop long term 

comprehensive fixes or corrective action 

plans, and foster safe operating 

practices. 

(2) Description of the type of 

information that may be voluntarily 

provided under the program and a 

summary of why the FAA finds that the 

information is safety or security related. 

The information that would be 

voluntarily submitted under a VDRP is 

described in AC 00–58, as amended, AC 

00–68, and AC 121–37. Because the 

Federal Aviation Regulations specify the 

minimum requirements for safety, and 

VDRP submissions entail violations of 

those regulations, the information is 

inherently safety related. It would 

include the following: 

(a) Information contained in an initial 

notification to the FAA: 

—A brief description of the apparent 

violation, including an estimate of the 

duration of time that it remained 

undetected, as well as how and when 

it was discovered; 

—Verification that noncompliance 

ceased after it was identified; 

—A brief description of the immediate 

action taken after the apparent 

violation was identified, the 

immediate action taken to terminate 

the conduct that resulted in the 

apparent violation, and the person 

responsible for taking the immediate 

action; 

—Verification that an evaluation is 

underway to determine if there are 

any systemic problems; 

—Identification of the person 

responsible for preparing the 

comprehensive fix for disclosures 

under AC 00–58, as amended, and AC 

121–37, or the corrective action plan 

for disclosures under AC 00–68; and 

—Acknowledgment that a detailed 

written report will be provided to the 

designated FAA official within the 

timeframe specified in AC 00–58, as 

amended, AC 121–37, or AC 00–68, as 

amended. 

(b) Information contained in a 

detailed written report: 

—A list of the specific FAA regulations 

that may have been violated; 

—A description of the apparent 

violation, including the duration of 

time it remained undetected, as well 

as how and when it was detected; 

—A description of the immediate action 

taken to terminate the conduct that 

resulted in the apparent violation, 

including when it was taken, and who 

was responsible for taking the action; 

—An explanation that shows the 

apparent violation was inadvertent; 

—Evidence that demonstrates the 

seriousness of the apparent violation 

and the regulated entity’s analysis of 

that evidence; 

—A detailed description of the 

proposed comprehensive fix or 

corrective action plan, outlining the 

planned corrective steps, the 

responsibilities for implementing 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 181 / Monday, September 19, 2016 / Proposed Rules 64087 

those corrective steps, and a time 

schedule for completion of the fix; 

and 

—Identification of the company official 

responsible for monitoring the 

implementation and completion of 

the comprehensive fix. 

(c) FAA generated documentation and 

electronic information that is directly 

associated with an accepted VDRP 

submission, including, but not limited 

to: 

—Acknowledgment of receipt of a VDRP 

submission; 

—Notification of VDRP acceptance, 

request for modification, or rejection; 

—Routine correspondence directly 

associated with a VDRP submission; 

—FAA records directly associated with 

FAA monitoring of a comprehensive 

fix or corrective action plan; 

—FAA Letter of Correction in 

accordance with AC 121–37 or, 

written notification in accordance 

with AC 00–58, as amended, and AC 

00–68, as amended, for an accepted 

VDRP submission; and 

—All FAA electronic databases of VDRP 

submissions and FAA responses. 

(d) Information contained in a report 

submitted to the FAA under the 

informal voluntary disclosure reporting 

process described in AC 00–68, as 

amended, including, but not limited to: 

—A description of the apparent 

noncompliance; 

—A causal analysis of the apparent 

noncompliance; 

—The corrective action(s) taken or 

planned; and 

—The date by which the regulated 

entity will complete the corrective 

action(s). 

(3) Summary of why the FAA finds 

that the disclosure of the information 

would inhibit persons from voluntarily 

providing that type of information. 

The FAA finds that disclosure of the 

information would inhibit the voluntary 

provision of that type of information. 

Regulated entities are reluctant to 

voluntarily disclose instances of 

regulatory noncompliance if such 

submissions might be subject to public 

disclosure. A significant impediment to 

participation in the VDRP is concern 

over public disclosure of the 

information, and, if disclosed, the 

potential for it to be used for other than 

the system safety enhancement 

purposes for which the VDRP was 

created. Withholding such information 

from disclosure is consistent with the 

FAA’s safety and security 

responsibilities because, unless the FAA 

can provide assurance that it will not be 

disclosed, regulated entities will be 

reluctant to participate in the program. 

Information received under the VDRP 

will be identified as such in each FAA 

line of business’s central database used 

to track submissions. To encourage 

continued use of the VDRP, the FAA 

will not keep the identity of persons 

reporting, or detailed information about 

disclosures, under that program in any 

central database. 

The FAA finds that by virtue of 

designating information provided under 

the VDRP as protected under part 193, 

the reluctance of regulated entities to 

participate due to concerns about 

possible disclosure of the information 

will be mitigated. In addition, FAA will 

be able to retain more information about 

the disclosures, including the identity of 

the reporters, in an FAA database, 

without negatively impacting 

participation in the VDRP. Disclosures 

under the VDRP enable the FAA to 

become aware of many more instances 

of regulatory noncompliance than it 

otherwise would and, moreover, the 

VDRP permits the FAA to assure that 

appropriate corrective action is taken. If 

regulated entities do not participate, the 

FAA and the public will be deprived of 

the opportunity to make the system 

safety improvements that receipt of the 

information otherwise enables. 

(4) Summary of why the receipt of 

that type of information aids in fulfilling 

the FAA’s safety and security 

responsibilities. 

The FAA finds that receipt of VDRP 

information aids in fulfilling the FAA’s 

safety and security responsibilities. A 

primary purpose of FAA regulations is 

to assure public safety. Because the 

VDRP identifies and corrects instances 

of regulatory noncompliance of which 

the FAA may be otherwise unaware, the 

program offers significant potential for 

enhancement of public safety. Receipt of 

this otherwise unavailable information 

would also provide the FAA with an 

improved basis for modifying 

procedures, policies, and regulations to 

improve safety and efficiency. 

(5) Summary of why withholding 

such information from disclosure would 

be consistent with the FAA’s safety and 

security responsibilities, including a 

statement as to the circumstances under 

which, and a summary of why, 

withholding such information from 

disclosure would not be consistent with 

the FAA’s safety and security 

responsibilities, as described in § 193.9. 

The FAA finds that withholding 

VDRP information provided to the FAA 

is consistent with the FAA’s safety 

responsibilities. The VDRP specifically 

provides that appropriate corrective 

action must be taken by the regulated 

entity for all instances of regulatory 

noncompliance accepted under the 

program. To be accepted by the FAA, 

apparent violations disclosed under the 

program must be inadvertent, and, 

where applicable, must not indicate a 

lack, or reasonable question of a lack, of 

qualification of the regulated entity. 

Corrective action under the VDRP can 

be accomplished by the regulated entity 

and verified by the FAA without 

disclosure of the protected information. 

If the FAA determines that the steps 

taken by the entity are not those 

documented in the written report, the 

submission may be excluded from the 

VDRP, and appropriate legal 

enforcement action may be initiated. 

The FAA will release information 

submitted under a VDRP as specified in 

part 193 and this proposed order. The 

FAA may disclose de-identified 

summary information to explain the 

need for changes in FAA policies, 

procedures, and regulations. The term 

‘‘de-identified’’ means that the identity 

of the source of the information and the 

names of the regulated entity, 

employees, and other persons, as well as 

any other information that could be 

used to ascertain the identity of the 

submitter have been redacted. The FAA 

may disclose de-identified, summarized 

VDRP information that identifies a 

systemic problem in the aviation 

system, when other persons need to be 

advised of the problem so that they can 

take corrective action. The FAA may 

disclose de-identified aggregate 

statistical information concerning VDRP 

submissions. The FAA may disclose 

independently obtained information 

relating to any event disclosed in a 

VDRP report, unless the FAA 

determines that in the case of an 

accepted VDRP submission, release of 

such independently obtained 

information would be inconsistent with 

the provisions of this order, or would 

otherwise be prohibited by public law 

or regulation. The FAA also may 

disclose information concerning 

enforcement action taken for a 

regulatory violation initially identified 

in a VDRP submission, when that 

submission is not accepted by the FAA, 

or, if accepted, it is later excluded by 

the FAA because of the regulated 

entity’s failure to comply with the 

criteria of the VDRP. The FAA also may 

disclose any information about a 

disclosure initially submitted under the 

VDRP that is not accepted, or accepted 

but later excluded because of the 

regulated entity’s failure to comply with 

the criteria of the VDRP. 

(6) Summary of how the FAA will 

distinguish information protected under 

part 193 from information the FAA 

receives from other sources. 

In accordance with AC 00–58, as 

amended, AC 00–68, and AC 121–37, all 


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64088 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 181 / Monday, September 19, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

VRDP submissions must be clearly 

identified as such by the regulated 

entity making the submission. Any 

other information received by the FAA 

from the regulated entity concerning the 

content of a VDRP submission must be 

clearly labeled as follows to be eligible 

for protection under this designation: 

‘‘WARNING: The Information in this 

Document is Protected from Disclosure 

under 49 U.S.C. 40123 and 14 CFR part 

193.’’ If the information is submitted 

electronically, the warning notice must 

be appropriately embedded in the 

electronic submission in a fashion that 

assures the visibility of the warning to 

any viewer. 

Proposed Designation 

Accordingly, the FAA proposes to 

designate the above-described 

information submitted under a VDRP to 

be protected under 49 U.S.C. 40123 and 

part 193, when obtained by the FAA 

pursuant to an accepted VDRP 

submission. 

V. Additional information 

A. Comments Invited 

The FAA invites interested persons to 

participate in this rulemaking by 

submitting written comments, data, or 

views. The most helpful comments 

reference a specific portion of the 

proposal, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. Before acting on this 

proposal, we will consider all comments 

we receive on or before the closing date 

for comments. We will consider 

comments filed late if it is possible to 

do so without incurring expense or 

delay. We may change this proposal in 

light of the comments we receive. 

B. Availability of This Proposed 

Designation 

An electronic copy of rulemaking 

documents may be obtained from the 

Internet by— 

1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking 

Portal (http://www.regulations.gov); 

2. Visiting the FAA’s Regulations and 

Policies Web page at http://

www.faa.gov/regulations_policies or 

3. Accessing the Government Printing 

Office’s Web page at http://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/. 

Copies may also be obtained by 

sending a request to the Federal 

Aviation Administration, Aircraft 

Certification Office, AIR–1, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591, or by calling 

(202) 267–8235. Commenters must 

identify the docket or notice number of 

this rulemaking. 

All documents the FAA considered in 

developing this proposed rule may be 

accessed from the Internet through the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced 

in item (1) above. 

Issued under authority provided by 49 

U.S.C. 106(f) and 40123 in Washington, DC, 

on September 7, 2016. 

David W. Hempe, 

Deputy Director, Aircraft Certification 

Service, AIR–1. 

[FR Doc. 2016–21966 Filed 9–16–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

22 CFR Part 22 

[Public Notice: 9520] 

RIN 1400–AD81 

Schedule of Fees for Consular 

Services, Department of State and 

Overseas Embassies and 

Consulates—Passport Services Fee 

Changes 

AGENCY: Department of State. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of State 

proposes an adjustment to the Schedule 

of Fees for Consular Services of the 

Department of State’s Bureau of 

Consular Affairs (‘‘Schedule of Fees’’ or 

‘‘Schedule’’) for the execution fee for 

passport books and cards. The 

Department is adjusting this fee in light 

of the findings of the most recent annual 

update to the Cost of Service Model to 

better align the fees for consular services 

with the costs of providing those 

services. 

DATES: The Department of State will 

accept comments on this proposed rule 

until November 18, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may 

submit comments to the Department by 

any of the following methods: 

• Visit the Regulations.gov Web site 

at: http://www.regulations.gov and 

search for the Regulatory Information 

Number (RIN) 1400–AD81 or docket 

number DOS–2016–0029. 

• Mail paper document: U.S. 

Department of State, Office of the 

Comptroller, Bureau of Consular Affairs 

(CA/C), SA–17, 8th Floor, Washington, 

DC 20522–1707. 

• Email: fees@state.gov. You must 

include the RIN (1400–AD81) in the 

subject line of your message. 

• All comments should include the 

commenter’s name, the organization the 

commenter represents, if applicable, 

and the commenter’s address. If the 

Department is unable to read your 

comment for any reason, and cannot 

contact you for clarification, the 

Department may not be able to consider 

your comment. After the conclusion of 

the comment period, the Department 

will publish a Final Rule (in which it 

will address relevant comments) as 

expeditiously as possible. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James McDaniel, Management Analyst, 

Office of the Comptroller, Bureau of 

Consular Affairs, Department of State; 

phone: 202–485–6694, telefax: 202– 

485–6826; email: fees@state.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The proposed rule makes a change to 

the Schedule of Fees. The Department 

sets and collects its fees based on the 

concept of full cost recovery. The 

Department completed its most recent 

review of current consular fees and will 

implement a change to the Schedule of 

Fees based on the costs of services 

calculated by the Fiscal Year 2014 

update to the Cost of Service Model. 

What is the authority for this action? 

The Department of State derives the 

general authority to set fees based on the 

cost of the consular services it provides, 

and to charge those fees, from the 

general user charges statute, 31 U.S.C. 

9701. See, e.g., 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) 

(‘‘The head of each agency . . . may 

prescribe regulations establishing the 

charge for a service or thing of value 

provided by the agency . . . based on 

. . . the costs to the government.’’). As 

implemented through Executive Order 

10718 of June 27, 1957, 22 U.S.C. 4219 

further authorizes the Department to 

establish fees to be charged for official 

services provided by U.S. embassies and 

consulates. 

Several statutes address specific fees 

relating to passports. For instance, 22 

U.S.C. 214(a) authorizes the Secretary of 

State to set the passport execution fee by 

regulation, and to authorize state and 

local government officials and the U.S. 

Postal Service to collect and retain the 

execution fee for each application for a 

passport accepted by such officials or 

the U.S. Postal Service. 

Certain people are exempted by law 

or regulation from paying specific fees. 

They include, for instance, exemptions 

from the passport execution and 

application fees for officers or 

employees of the U.S. government 

proceeding abroad in the discharge of 

official duties and exemption from the 

passport execution fee if those officers 

or employees execute their application 

before a federal official. See 22 U.S.C. 

214(a); 22 CFR 22.1; 22 CFR 51.52(b). 

The Department last changed fees for 

passport services in an interim final rule 


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