[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78623-78624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26958]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration


Intent To Request Approval From OMB of One New Public Collection 
of Information: Certification of Identity Form (TSA Form 415)

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.

ACTION: 60-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) invites 
public comment on a new Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted 
below that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for approval in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The 
ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
burden. The collection involves an individual traveler providing his or 
her name and address and information about verifying identity documents 
that have been issued to the traveler but are not present with him or 
her at an airport security screening checkpoint.

DATES: Send your comments by January 9, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be emailed to [email protected] or delivered 
to the TSA PRA Officer, Office of Information Technology (OIT), TSA-11, 
Transportation Security Administration, 601 South 12th Street, 
Arlington, VA 20598-6011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina A. Walsh at the above 
address, or by telephone (571) 227-2062.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is 
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a valid OMB control number. The ICR documentation is available 
at http://www.reginfo.gov. Therefore, in preparation for OMB review and 
approval of the following information collection, TSA is soliciting 
comments to--
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.

Information Collection Requirement

Purpose and Description of Data Collection

    TSA requires individuals to provide an acceptable verifying 
identity document in order to proceed through security screening, enter 
the sterile area of the airport, or board a commercial aircraft. Under 
49 CFR 1560.3, acceptable verifying identity documents include 
federally-issued documents, such as U.S. passports and U.S. passport 
cards, passports issued by foreign governments, and state-issued 
driver's licenses and identification cards. The complete list of 
acceptable verifying identity documents is available at www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/resources/realid_factsheet_071516-508.pdf.
    Secure driver's licenses and identification documents are a vital 
component of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) national 
security strategy. In particular, preventing terrorists from obtaining 
state-issued identification documents is critical to securing the 
United States against terrorism. The 9/11 Commission noted ``[f]or 
terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons'' and 
recommended that the Federal

[[Page 78624]]

Government work with other levels of government to solidify the 
security of government-issued identification documents.\1\
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    \1\ Thomas H. Kean, Lee H. Hamilton, and the National Commission 
on Terrorist Attacks, ``The 9/11 Commission report: Final Report of 
the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 
(9/11 Report)'' (Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office, 
Official Government Edition, July 22, 2004), p. 384. Available at 
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/content-detail.html.
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    The REAL ID Act of 2005 (REAL ID Act) \2\ was enacted to further 
the goal of securing state-issued identification documents to address 
terrorism, identity fraud, and illegal immigration. Section 202 of the 
REAL ID Act prohibits Federal agencies from accepting state-issued \3\ 
driver's licenses or identification cards for specified official 
purposes, unless such documents are determined by the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to meet minimum security requirements, including the 
incorporation of specified data, a common machine-readable technology, 
and certain anti-fraud security features. The ``official purposes'' 
defined in the REAL ID Act include ``boarding federally regulated 
commercial aircraft.''
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    \2\ ``Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the 
Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005,'' Public Law 109-13, 
Div. B--REAL ID Act of 2005, 119 Stat. 231, 302-23 (May 11, 2005).
    \3\ The REAL ID Act defines the term ``State'' to mean ``a State 
of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the 
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, 
the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any other territory 
or possession of the United States.''
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    To implement the REAL ID Act, TSA may accept state-issued verifying 
identity documents only if they have been issued by a state that is in 
compliance with the minimum security requirements and standards set 
forth in the Act, or if the state has received an extension from DHS. 
In accordance with DHS policy, TSA will begin implementing the REAL ID 
Act at airport security screening checkpoints on January 22, 2018. 
Starting on that day, TSA will not accept state-issued driver's 
licenses and other state-issued identification cards from states that 
are not compliant with REAL ID Act requirements unless DHS has granted 
the state a temporary extension to achieve compliance.
    Concurrently with implementation of the REAL ID Act, TSA is 
updating the identity verification process for travelers who arrive at 
an airport security checkpoint without an acceptable verifying identity 
document. This process involves a traveler providing his or her name 
and address and answering questions to confirm his or her identity. If 
the traveler's identity is confirmed, he or she will be allowed to 
enter the screening checkpoint. Travelers using this process for 
identity verification may be subject to additional security screening. 
A traveler will not be permitted to fly if his or her identity cannot 
be confirmed. A traveler also will not be permitted to fly if he or she 
declines to cooperate with the identity verification process.
    To initiate the identity verification process, a traveler without 
an acceptable verifying identity document must complete a Certification 
of Identity (COI) form (TSA Form 415). The current TSA Form 415 
requests the traveler's name and address. After completing the form, 
the traveler is connected with TSA's Identity Verification Call Center 
(IVCC). The IVCC searches various commercial and government databases 
using the name and address on the TSA Form 415 as key search criteria 
to find other identifying information about the traveler. The IVCC then 
asks the traveler a series of questions based on information found in 
the databases to verify the individual's identity.
    To ensure that the identity verification process described above 
does not become a means for travelers to circumvent implementation of 
the REAL ID Act, TSA is updating the process so that it is generally 
only available to travelers who certify that they--
     Reside in or have been issued a driver's license or state 
identification card by a state that is compliant with the REAL ID Act 
or a state that has been granted an extension by DHS; or
     Have been issued another verifying identity document that 
TSA accepts.
    To enable travelers to make this certification, TSA is revising 
Form 415. The revised TSA Form 415 requests a traveler's name and 
address and asks for the following additional information:
    (1) Whether the traveler has been issued a driver's license or 
state identification card.
    (2) If yes, the state that issued the document.
    (3) Whether the traveler has been issued an acceptable verifying 
identity document other than a state-issued driver's license or 
identification card.

Use of Results

    TSA will use the information provided on revised TSA Form 415 to 
generate questions intended to verify the identity of a traveler who 
arrives at a security-screening checkpoint without an acceptable 
verifying identity document. A failure to collect this information 
would result in TSA being unable to verify the identity of travelers 
without an acceptable verifying identity document and these travelers 
being unable to proceed through the security checkpoint and board a 
commercial aircraft.
    The most likely respondents to this proposed information request 
are travelers who arrive at an airport security checkpoint without an 
acceptable verifying identity document because they lost or forgot 
their driver's license or other state-issued identification card. Other 
likely respondents are travelers who had their verifying identity 
document stolen and travelers carrying a form of identification that 
they incorrectly believed to be acceptable. TSA estimates that 
approximately 191,214 passengers will complete the TSA Form 415 
annually. TSA estimates each form will take approximately three minutes 
to complete. This collection would result in an annual reporting burden 
of 9,561 hours.

    Dated: November 3, 2016.
Christina A. Walsh,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Office of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2016-26958 Filed 11-7-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-05-P