[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31838-31839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10633]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2023-0016]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice 
includes one new information collection for OMB-approval.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the 
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following 
addresses or fax numbers.
    (OMB), Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, 
Comments: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Submit your 
comments online referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2023-0016].
    (SSA), Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports 
Clearance Director, 3100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., 
Baltimore, MD 21235, Fax: 833-410-1631, Email address: 
[email protected].
    Or you may submit your comments online through https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-
2023-0016].
    SSA submitted the information collection below to OMB for 
clearance. Your comments regarding this information collection would be 
most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of this 
publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them 
no later than June 20, 2023. Individuals can obtain copies of this OMB 
clearance package by writing to [email protected].

Upload Documents (eSubmit)--20 CFR 404.704; 404.1512, 416.912, and 
422.505--0960-NEW

Background

    From March 17, 2020, through April 7, 2022, because of the 
Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, SSA encouraged the 
public to use our online and automated telephone services while we 
offered limited in-person services in field offices. While we were able 
to complete forms with the public through our personal interview 
process via telephone or video conference, we still needed to request 
the submission of evidence and some paper forms for which we have no 
other process. The need to submit these forms to SSA via mail poses a 
significant burden on the members of the public doing business with us. 
In addition, the increased volume of documents sent to our field 
offices presented an enormous challenge to SSA, as we had limited staff 
on site to process the mail at that time. This limited the time the 
field office staff had to review and process those submissions or work 
directly with the public. To lessen the burden on front-line employees 
and managers, allow staff more time to work with the public and process 
the information we receive, and to modernize form submission and 
document intake, we are creating a new service called Upload Documents 
(eSubmit).

Upload Documents (eSubmit)

    SSA is introducing Upload Documents (eSubmit), a new way 
individuals can submit evidence and forms to SSA online. In the digital 
age, individuals expect to complete transactions online, including 
submission of documents and forms to government agencies. The agency 
already offers several self-service specific options for individuals to 
submit forms and other documents online, including the Electronic 
Protective Filing Tool, ePFT (OMB No. 0960-0826), internet Social 
Security Benefits Application, iClaim (OMB No. 0960-0618), and iAppeals 
(OMB No. 0960-0269 & 0960-0622).
    Upload Documents (eSubmit) is a secure upload portal which 
respondents will use to submit documents and forms to SSA. To ensure 
the success of Upload Documents (eSubmit), we will roll out the new 
application in several phases. The first phase will allow respondents 
to provide select documents (evidence that does not need to be 
certified or evidence which the agency does not require to be an 
original, also known collectively as ``non original documentation,'' 
and first-party forms that do not require a signature) to SSA 
electronically. Individuals must provide this information themselves 
since they will have to authenticate with their own information through 
one of several authentication methods (i.e., Login.gov, ID.me, or SSA's 
Public Credentialing and Authentication Process).
    During this initial release for Upload Documents (eSubmit), we will 
contact the respondent, via telephone or face-to-face interview with 
SSA, for a business matter (e.g., filing a claim, performing a 
redetermination, or updating their personal information). During the 
interaction, the SSA technician will inform the individual verbally 
that SSA requires additional information to support their request and 
will offer the opportunity to provide the information electronically 
via the Upload Documents (eSubmit) application. After the respondent 
grants consent to SSA, we will generate a one-time email containing a 
link to Upload Documents (eSubmit) with instructions on how to access 
Upload Documents (eSubmit). The system will only make the electronic 
submission process available within 30 days from the date of the email. 
Concurrently, the technician will print a paper notice containing more 
details about the request, including any applicable due process 
deadline for submission, and will send it through postal mail to the 
respondent. Once the respondent authenticates and arrives at the Upload 
Documents (eSubmit) dashboard, the system will present the respondent 
with information regarding the items SSA requested for submission 
(examples of the documentation SSA

[[Page 31839]]

may request include forms or non-standardized evidence to support the 
request [e.g., pay stubs, bank statements, pension award letters, tax 
documents, child support payment history, etc.]). From this screen, the 
individual will be able to upload the corresponding files from an 
electronic device. Once they finish uploading the documents, the 
respondents must select the Submit button to complete the action and 
the system will present them with an indicator of success or failure. 
The system will notify the technician through the Technician Experience 
Dashboard (TED) when the document is available for review and 
consideration.
    The second release of Upload Documents (eSubmit) will include an 
electronic signature functionality that will allow respondents to 
submit some forms requiring signature.
    Respondents are first-party individuals who choose to use the 
internet to conduct business with us. To ensure Upload Documents 
(eSubmit) will collect respondents' legally enforceable electronic 
signature, SSA developed an electronic signing process in consideration 
of the five requirements for a legally valid and binding electronic 
signature established by the General Services Administration, Federal 
Chief Information Officers Council guidance in Use of Electronic 
Signatures in Federal Organization Transactions: (1) Identification and 
Authentication of Signer; (2) Electronic Form of Signature; (3) Intent 
to Sign; (4) Signature Attached to or Associated with the Signed 
Electronic Record; and (5) Preservation of the Integrity of the Record. 
Our new Upload Documents (eSubmit) platform will incorporate these 
requirements for the second release, thereby allowing us to accept 
electronically signed forms and documents through the new Upload 
Documents (eSubmit) portal. To ensure our system is prepared to accept 
forms electronically signed in this manner, we will complete periodic 
future releases after the second release to allow Upload Documents 
(eSubmit) to accept more agency forms in the future.
    Respondents are first-party individuals who choose to use the 
internet to conduct business with us.
    Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.

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                                                                                                            Average      Average wait
                                                                        Average burden     Estimated      theoretical      time for       Total annual
        Modality of completion             Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual     hourly cost     teleservice   opportunity cost
                                          respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount          center        (dollars) **
                                                                                                          (dollars) *    (minutes) **
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Internet version Release #1...........         904,569               1               7         105,533        * $28.01           ** 19   *** $10,979,357
Internet Version Release #2...........         960,196               1               7         112,023         * 28.01           ** 19    *** 11,649,539
                                       -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals............................       1,864,765  ..............  ..............         217,556         * 28.01           ** 19    *** 22,628,896
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* We based these figures on average U.S. worker's hourly wages (based on BLS.gov data, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).
** We based this figure on average FY 2023 wait times for teleservice centers (approximately 19 minutes per respondent), based on SSA's current
  management information data.
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.


    Dated: May 15, 2023.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-10633 Filed 5-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P