FAA Seeks Public Comments on Renewal of Information Collection Under FAR Part 119 for Air Carriers and Commercial Operators

The Federal Aviation Administration has published a notice in the Federal Register inviting public comments on its intention to seek Office of Management and Budget approval to renew an information collection under Federal Aviation Regulation Part 119, which covers certification of air carriers and commercial operators. The notice was published on September 11, 2026, under document number 2026-18598, and written comments must be submitted by November 10, 2026.

The information collection reflects requirements under FAR Parts 121, 125, and 135, which govern air carrier and commercial operator certification. The FAA uses the collected information to ensure regulatory compliance and, where necessary, to take enforcement action against violators. The legal authority for the collection stems from 49 U.S.C. 44702, which grants the FAA general certificate-issuance authority, and 49 U.S.C. 44705, which governs the issuance of air carrier operating certificates. The estimated average burden per response is three hours.

Renewals of this kind belong to the routine administrative cycle that keeps federal data-collection programs authorized under the Paperwork Reduction Act, requiring periodic OMB re-approval and a public comment window rather than a one-time authorization. For certificated air carriers and commercial operators under Parts 121, 125, and 135, the underlying obligation to supply certification-related information to the FAA continues either way; what is up for renewal is the government's authority to keep collecting it, not the substance of what operators must report.

The three-hour average burden per response gives a sense of the scale of paperwork involved for each certificate holder responding to this particular collection. Whether any changes to the collection's scope or burden estimate emerge will depend on what comments, if any, are filed before the November 10, 2026 deadline.