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Petitions

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) regulations are codified in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The FAA derives its authority to create those regulations from Title 49 of the United States Code (specifically, 49 U.S.C. Subtitle VII). Congress also gave the FAA Administrator authority to grant exemptions from the regulations (49 U.S.C. §40109).

Any person who is affected by the FAA’s regulations may petition for either exemption from an existing rule or for the issuance, amendment or repeal of a rule. These are known as petitions for exemption and petitions for rulemaking. Furthermore, if either of these types of petition is denied, the petitioner may seek reconsideration. The process for submitting these petitions is outlined in 14 CFR part 11.

How do I submit a petition?

Petitions for Exemption

Petitions for exemption should be submitted at least 120 days prior to when the petitioner needs the exemption to take effect, it can be submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov, or by regular mail (14 CFR § 11.63). (See "How do I submit the petition to the FAA on regulations.gov?" below.)
You must include the following (14 CFR § 11.81):

  • Name and mailing address
  • Specific section(s) of 14 CFR from which you seek exemption
  • Extent of and reason for the requested relief
  • How the exemption benefits the public
  • Reasons the exemption would not adversely affect safety, or would provide a level of safety at least comparable to that provided by the rule
  • A summary to be published in the Federal Register stating the rule from which exemption is requested and a brief description of the sought after exemption
  • If the exemption is to be used outside the United States, the reason

You may include the following (14 CFR § 11.81):

  • Additional contact information such as telephone, fax, or email 
  • Addition information, views or arguments in support of the exemption request


Petitions for Rulemaking

Petitions for rulemaking may also be submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov, or by regular mail (14 CFR § 11.63).

  • You must include the following (14 CFR § 11.71):
  • Name and mailing address
  • Explanation of proposed action and purpose
  • Proposed language for a new or amended rule, or language to be removed from a current rule
  • Explanation of why the action would be in the public interest
  • Information and arguments that support your proposed action, including relevant technical and scientific data available to you
  • Any specific facts or circumstances that support or demonstrate the need for the action you propose

The FAA may ask about (14 CFR § 11.71): 

  • The costs and benefits of your proposed action to society in general and specific groups within society
  • The regulatory burden of your proposed action on small businesses, small organizations, small governmental jurisdictions, and Indian tribes
  • The recordkeeping and reporting burdens of your proposed action and whom the burdens would affect
  • The effect of your proposed action on the quality of the natural and social environments

How do I submit the petition to the FAA on regulations.gov?

  1. Go to FAA shell docket: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2007-0001-0001.
  2. Click on “Comment” button.
  3. In the “Comment” field, leave a brief description of your document.
  4. Attach the document you wish to submit.
  5. To preview your submission, ensure all required information is entered, then select “Continue.”
  6. If you approve, select “Submit” to send your petition. Once the confirmation page appears with your comment tracking number, print the page or record your comment tracking number to locate your petition after submission.

What happens next?

The FAA will notify you in writing about its decision on your petition. If your petition is denied, you have 60 days to submit a petition for reconsideration. That petition must be sent to the same address the original petition was sent, and should do one of the following:

  • Provide a significant additional fact, and an explanation for why that fact was not included in the original petition
  • Show that the agency made an important factual error in denying the original petition; or 
  • Show that the agency did not correctly interpret a law, regulation, or precedent

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