Text

OMB 3150-0204, Final Supporting Statement for NRC Form 754 Armed Security Personnel Firearms Background Check
	ML26056A330
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Issue date:	03/18/2026
From:	; NRC/NSIR/DPCP/MSB
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	OMB 3150-0204
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1 FINAL SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR NRC FORM 754 ARMED SECURITY PERSONNEL FIREARMS BACKGROUND CHECK (31500204)

EXTENSION Description of the Information Collection The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 73.17, Firearms background checks for armed security personnel, prescribes requirements for the conduct of firearms background checks pursuant to Section 161A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA). These regulations apply to licensees of nuclear power reactor facilities, independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs), shipments of spent nuclear fuel, and Category I strategic special nuclear material (SSNM) facilities.

NRC regulations permit NRC licensees to voluntarily apply for either stand-alone preemption authority or combined preemption authority and enhanced weapons authority under Section 161A of the AEA. 10 CFR 73.17 implements the Commissions authority under Section 161A of the AEA to conduct firearms background checks.

Section 161A requires background checks be conducted for security personnel of licensees who have applied for either stand-alone preemption authority or combined preemption authority and enhanced weapons authority. The firearms background check uses the persons fingerprints, other personal identifying information (PII), and duty station location to determine if an individual is prohibited under Federal or State law from possessing or receiving firearms or ammunition.

To meet this requirement, licensees who have applied to the NRC for Section 161A authority and whose security personnel have official duties requiring access to covered weapons would complete NRC Form 754, Armed Security Personnel Firearms Background Check. The licensee would then submit the completed forms to the NRC, and the NRC would forward this information to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBIs), Criminal Justice Information Services Division, for examination against the FBIs National Instant Criminal Background Check Systems (NICS).

A.

JUSTIFICATION Requirements related to enhanced weapons and firearms background checks On August 8, 2005, President Bush signed into law the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), Pub.

L. 10958, 119 Stat. 594 (2005). Section 653 of the EPAct amended the AEA by adding Section 161A, Use of Firearms by Security Personnel (42 U.S.C. 2201a). Section 161A.d. of the AEA provides that the Commission shall, with the approval of the U.S. Attorney General (AG), develop and promulgate guidelines for the implementation of this statute. On September 11, 2009, the NRC, with the approval of the AG, published Firearms Guidelines in the Federal Register (74 FR 46800). These guidelines allow licensees to voluntarily apply for stand-alone preemption authority only or combined preemption authority and enhanced weapons authority. The Commission, with the approval of the AG, published Revision 1 to the

2 Firearms Guidelines in the Federal Register (79 FR 36100) on June 25, 2014. Subsequently, the NRC, with the approval of the AG, revised the Firearms Guidelines again (Revision 2) and published them in the Federal Register on March 8, 2019 (84 FR 8546).

Section 161A requires that security personnel receiving, possessing, transporting, importing, or using a covered weapon (i.e., a weapon, ammunition, or a device otherwise prohibited by State, local, or certain Federal laws, including regulations) or an enhanced weapon (i.e., machine guns, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns) shall be subject to a background check by the AG.

Affected regulated entities Under the renewal, only those licensees who apply for Section 161A authority are required to submit information about their security personnel for firearms background checks using NRC Form 754.

The NRC expects only a fraction of licensees designated by the Commission as eligible to apply for Section 161A authority will do so. In this supporting statement, the estimate assumes that only six of eight eligible licensee sites, will submit NRC Forms 754 under Section 161A authority. This number of licensees is consistent with the number of licensee sites that previously applied for stand-alone preemption authority via confirmatory orders. No other licensees have formally notified the NRC of any intention, or of any potential interest, in applying for Section 161A authority. Consequently, this estimate only assumes these six licensee sites will use NRC Form 754.

1.

Need for and Practical Utility of the Collection of Information Information provided to the NRC, via Form 754, on the identity of security personnel assigned to armed duties is needed to conduct checks against FBI databases (i.e.,

NICS) and resolve discrepancies in order to determine that these individuals are not prohibited from receiving, possessing, transporting, importing, or using covered weapons. This information must be provided to the NRC to implement the mandate of Section 161A of the AEA to verify that security personnel who will have access to covered weapons have been subject to a background check by the AG and to verify that an individual is not prohibited under Federal or State law from possessing or receiving firearms or ammunition.

Section 73.17 of 10 CFR Part 73 provides the specific requirements for reports and records related to the use of the NRC Form 754.

Paragraph 73.17(b)(57) allows regulated entities that submitted applications for Section 161A authority to conduct firearms background checks once the NRC has accepted their application for review.

Paragraph 73.17(b)(9) requires licensees to complete a new satisfactory firearms background check if they have security personnel who have satisfactorily completed a firearms background check, but had a break-in-service with the licensee or their security contractor of greater than 1 week subsequent to their most recent firearms background check, or who have transferred from a different licensee. An exception is provided in the

3 renewal for personnel who are engaged in active-duty service with the U.S. military reserves or National Guard.

Paragraph 73.17(d) requires firearms background checks on security personnel to include a check of an individuals fingerprints against the FBIs fingerprint system and against the FBIs NICS system.

Paragraph 73.17(e)(1) requires firearms background check submittals in accordance with 10 CFR 73.4. These submittals include a set of fingerprints and a completed NRC Form 754 for each individual.

Paragraphs 73.17(e)(2-3) permits licensees to consolidate the information from multiple NRC Forms 754 for multiple individuals into a single transmittal to reduce burden; and to transmit this information electronically. However, any PII must be protected during such electronic transmission in accordance with 10 CFR2.390.

Paragraph 73.17(e)(4) requires licensees to retain copies of Form 754 submittals while the individual is authorized access to covered weapons.

Paragraph 73.17(f) requires periodic firearms background checks for security personnel whose duties require access to covered weapons at least once every 5 years.

Paragraph 73.17(k)(1) requires licensees to submit to the NRC one completed, legible standard fingerprint card for each individual requiring a firearms background check.

Paragraph 73.17(k)(2) requires licensees to indicate on the fingerprint card or other fingerprint record that the purpose for this fingerprint check is the accomplishment of a firearms background check. Licensees may indicate that the fingerprints are being submitted to accomplish a firearms background check, by itself, or to accomplish both a firearms background check and an access authorization check.

Paragraph 73.17(k)(4) states that the NRC will review the fingerprint cards for completeness. Licensees will re-submit fingerprint cards that are illegible or contain omissions or evident errors.

2.

Agency Use of the Information The information included in NRC Form 754 is forwarded to the FBI to determine if an individual is prohibited under Federal or State law from possessing or receiving covered weapons.

3.

Reduction of Burden Through Information Technology The NRC has issued Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC which provides direction for the electronic transmission and submittal of documents. Unsecure electronic transmission and submittal of documents can be accomplished via the following avenues: the Electronic Information Exchange process, which is available from the NRC's Electronic Submittals Web page, by Optical Storage Media (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD), by e-mail, by special Web-based interface, or by other means. It is estimated that

4 approximately 100 percent of the potential responses are filed electronically. However, because the NRC Form 754 contains PII, any such electronic submittals must be made by secure electronic transmission.

10 CFR 73.17(e) permits licensees to consolidate information from multiple NRC Forms 754 into a single transmittal document and to use electronic transmission methods.

Additionally, the requirement 10 CFR73.17(b)(9) to conduct a break-in-service firearms background check, if the individual has a break-in-service of greater than 1 week, provides licensees an exception from conducting a new firearms background check provided the licensee can verify, via an industry-wide information sharing database, that the individual has completed a satisfactory firearms background check within the previous 12 months. However, the exception requires that the previous firearms background check must include a duty station location where the licensee (who would otherwise be performing the firearms background check) is located.

4.

Effort to Identify Duplication and Use Similar Information No sources of similar information are available. There is no duplication of requirements.

NRC Form 754 records maintained by licensees are not duplicated by other Federal information collection requirements, since they are applicable only to the provisions of Section 161A; and therefore, would not be available from any other source.

Paragraph 73.17(b)(12) reduces duplication by stating that the licensees that conducted firearms background checks pursuant to a confirmatory order do not need to repeat the initial firearms background checks subsequent to the withdrawal of the order and the transition of the six licensee sites to the renewal requirements.

Paragraph 73.17(k)(2)(ii) reduces duplication by stating that licensees may submit a single set of fingerprints to accomplish both a firearms background check and an access authorization check.

5.

Effort to Reduce Small Business Burden The NRC has determined that the companies that would submit an NRC Form 754 do not fall within the scope of the definition of small entities set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the size standards established by the NRC (10 CFR 2.810).

6.

Consequences to Federal Program or Policy Activities if the Collection is Not Conducted or is Conducted Less Frequently Without this information collection, firearms background checks of armed security personnel could not be conducted as required pursuant to Section 161A of the AEA.

However, completion of firearms background checks is not required unless the licensee voluntarily applies for Section 161A authority.

7.

Circumstances Which Justify Variation from Office of Management and Budget Guidelines

5 The provisions of 10 CFR Part 73 vary from the OMB Guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d) by requiring licensees to retain a copy of all NRC Forms 754 submitted to the NRC for more than 3 years. Paragraph 73.17(e)(4) requires licensees to retain completed NRC Forms 754 for a period of up to one year from the individuals termination from access to covered weapons or from receipt of a denied NICS response from the FBI.

8.

Consultations Outside the NRC Opportunity for public comment on the information collection requirements for this clearance package was published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2025. Five potential respondents were contacted as part of the public consultation process by email for this clearance package. Each respondent was under employment of an NRC licensed entity that has had information collected from it for this package. No comments were received.

9.

Payment or Gift to Respondents Not Applicable.

10.

Confidentiality of Information Paragraphs 73.17(e) and 73.17(q) address confidentiality and protection of information regarding firearms background checks, including: electronic transmission and records.

Section 73.17(q) requires that:

The licensee may not disclose these records or PII to persons other than the subject individual, his/her representative, or to those with a need to have access to the information in performing assigned duties in the process of granting access to covered weapons. No individual authorized to have access to this information may disseminate the information to any other individual who does not have a need-to-know.

The information submitted on Form 754 is maintained in a Privacy Act system of records designated as NRC39, described in the Federal Register (89 FR 58792; July 19, 2024).

This information will be used to determine eligibility to receive, possess, transport, or import covered weapons. The information may also be disclosed to an appropriate Federal or State agency in the event the information indicates a violation or potential violation of law and in the course of an administrative or judicial proceeding. In addition, this information may be transferred to an appropriate Federal or State agency to the extent relevant and necessary for it to carry out its responsibilities under Section 161A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or 18 U.S.C. §922. Information may also be disclosed, in the course of discovery under a protective order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, and in presenting evidence, to a Congressional office to respond to their inquiry made at your request, or to NRC-paid experts, consultants, and others under contract with the NRC, on a need-to-know basis.

6 The NRCs regulations under 10 CFR 9.301 require that social security account numbers shall not be visible on the outside of any package sent to the NRC by mail. Licensees submitting NRC Form 754 must ensure that a social security number is not visible on the outside of any mailing package containing these forms. Consistent with the Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act of 2017, Public Law 11559, the Chairman of the NRC, as the head of the agency, has determined that the criteria specified in 10 CFR 9.301(c)(2) have been met because the inclusion of an individuals full SSN on NRC Form 754 is necessary to identify a specific individual, and no substitute is available.

11.

Justification for Sensitive Questions NRC Form 754 collects information that is used to verify that the individual is not prohibited under Federal or State law from receiving, possessing, transporting, importing, or using covered weapons pursuant to Section 161A of the AEA. Based upon the NRCs discussions with the FBI, the information collected on NRC Form 754 is required to properly determine the individuals identity, and contains information on the individuals name, address, date and place of birth, social security number, gender, ethnicity, citizenship, and criminal history.

12.

Estimated Burden and Burden Hour Cost Eight licensees are eligible to apply for Section 161A authority through the requirements of 10 CFR Section 73.17. Currently six licensee sites have obtained Section 161A authority and no other licensees have formally indicated to the NRC an intent or applied for Section 161A authority. The six licensee sites are the following types of licensees:

Regulated Entities that May Apply for Section 161A Authority Category Number of Sites Number of sites that have received stand-alone preemption authority Power reactor sites (operating

& under construction) abd 56 4

Decommissioning power reactor sitesbcd 20 2

Away-from-reactor ISFSIsd 13 0

Category I SSNM facilities 2

0 Total 91 6

a Power reactor sites include those sites with units under construction or in operating status. Licensees that have not begun construction are not included.

b Onsite ISFSIs (at-reactor ISFSIs) are included in these categories.

c All units on a decommissioning power reactor site are in decommissioning or have been decommissioned.

d Same entity can apply for a facility or transportation activity. Each entity is only counted once.

The NRC estimates that it will require 2 hours2.314815e-5 days 5.555556e-4 hours 3.306878e-6 weeks 7.61e-7 months for a licensee to prepare and process the NRC Form 754. Burden estimates are based on ongoing annual burdens for submission of the NRC Form 754.

Based on the wide range of data gathered from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) sent to the NRC over an eight year period and an

7 estimated number of personnel at each type of site, the NRC has estimated that an average of 360 forms will be submitted annually: This includes 280 periodic firearms background checks plus 80 break-in-service and new employee background checks.

The data of NICS received by the NRC is displayed:

National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Totals by Month Year Month 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 January 15 16 4

43 3

28 22 20 10 February 1

100 17 10 5

51 17 26 March 7

112 22 8

12 62 101 23 13 April 1

5 17 17 79 37 33 May 10 141 26 12 28 9

12 7

6 June 161 4

1 6

17 232 8

13 July 3

435 17 11 27 41 45 5

20 August 41 68 4

14 2

39 8

2 September 14 29 116 14 28 5

1 3

October 24 25 5

3 2

14 10 14 November 11 28 4

16 2

37 4

14 December 9

13 3

26 23 5

30 Grand Total 136 1,133 239 175 133 257 570 180 121 At 2 hours2.314815e-5 days 5.555556e-4 hours 3.306878e-6 weeks 7.61e-7 months per form, the estimated annual reporting burden is 1,100 hours0.00116 days 0.0278 hours 1.653439e-4 weeks 3.805e-5 months (360 forms x 2 hours2.314815e-5 days 5.555556e-4 hours 3.306878e-6 weeks 7.61e-7 months per form = 720 hours0.00833 days 0.2 hours 0.00119 weeks 2.7396e-4 months ). The estimated annual recordkeeping burden is 20 hours2.314815e-4 days 0.00556 hours 3.306878e-5 weeks 7.61e-6 months per site, for a total of 120 hours0.00139 days 0.0333 hours 1.984127e-4 weeks 4.566e-5 months of recordkeeping burden (20 hours2.314815e-4 days 0.00556 hours 3.306878e-5 weeks 7.61e-6 months x 6 sites = 120 hours0.00139 days 0.0333 hours 1.984127e-4 weeks 4.566e-5 months ). The total estimated annual burden for NRC Form 754 is 840 (720 reporting hours

+ 120 recordkeeping hours).

Responses Burden hours Cost at

$317/hour Reporting 360 720

$228.240 Recordkeeping 6

120

$38,040 TOTAL 366 840

$266,280 The $317 hourly rate used in the burden estimates is based on the NRCs fee for hourly rates as noted in 10 CFR 170.20 Average cost per professional staff-hour. For more information on the hourly rate, see the Fee Schedules, Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2024 final rule (89 FR 51789; June 20, 2024).

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13.

Estimate of Other Additional Costs The NRC has determined that the records storage cost is roughly proportional to the recordkeeping burden cost. Based on a typical clearance, the records storage cost has been determined to be equal to 0.04 percent of the recordkeeping burden cost.

Therefore, the records storage cost for this clearance is estimated to be $15 for NRC Form 754 (120 hours0.00139 days 0.0333 hours 1.984127e-4 weeks 4.566e-5 months x.0004 x $317 per hour).

The NRC charges a fee of $70 per firearms background check to process the NRC Form 754 and fingerprints. The cost to licensees for submission of 360 forms at $70 per form is $25,200.

The total estimated additional costs to respondents are $25,215 ($15 records storage +

$25,200 in background check fees.)

14.

Estimated Annualized Cost to the Federal Government The staff has developed estimates of annualized costs to the Federal Government related to the conduct of this collection of information. These estimates are based on staff experience and subject matter expertise and include the burden needed to review, analyze, and process the collected information and any relevant operational expenses.

The NRC staff estimates 15 minutes of staff time per form to process each submittal.

Annual submissions of 360 forms would take approximately 90 hours0.00104 days 0.025 hours 1.488095e-4 weeks 3.4245e-5 months of staff time (360 forms x 15 minutes per form = 90 hours0.00104 days 0.025 hours 1.488095e-4 weeks 3.4245e-5 months ) at cost of $28,530 (90 hours0.00104 days 0.025 hours 1.488095e-4 weeks 3.4245e-5 months x $317 per hour).

This cost is offset via a specific fee of $70 per check for processing the NRC Form 754 and associated fingerprints.

15.

Reasons for Change in Burden There was a decrease in burden hours from 1,240 hours0.00278 days 0.0667 hours 3.968254e-4 weeks 9.132e-5 months to 840 hours0.00972 days 0.233 hours 0.00139 weeks 3.1962e-4 months due to a decrease in the number of licensee sites with Section 161A authority from seven to six, which also reduced the recordkeeping burden from 140 hours0.00162 days 0.0389 hours 2.314815e-4 weeks 5.327e-5 months to 120 hours0.00139 days 0.0333 hours 1.984127e-4 weeks 4.566e-5 months . This change in burden was due to multiple factors.

A licensee was no longer in the possession of weapons that would require preemption authority at their site. The licensee has since then made a license amendment to terminate their preemptive authority at the site.

In addition, to ensure compliance with OMBs Statistical Policy Directive No. 15:

Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, the form has been revised to add the race ethnicity category Middle Eastern or North African.

Finally, the hourly rate has increased from $288 per hour to $317 per hour.

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16.

Publication for Statistical Use Not Applicable.

17.

Reasons for Not Displaying the Expiration Date The expiration date is displayed.

18.

Exceptions to the Certification Statement There are no exceptions.

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)