The process for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) approval can be lengthy, however, it provides a platform for public participation and Government transparency.
The overall process are in two parts. The first part is the publication of a 60 day Federal Register Notice published in the Federal Register. This Notice is notification to the public of the proposed information collection intentions and allows the public 60 days to make comments. Generally, the public make comments through REGULATIONS.GOV , but other options to comment are available through email, fax or mail.
Once the 60 day comment period is over, any Notice that received comments, the State Department will incorporate responses into supporting documentation to OIRA when the 30 day Federal Register Notice publishes, which is the second part of the process.
The second part of the process requires another publication in the Federal Register for a 30 day Notice. This Notice allows the public to make comments for 30 days and those comments are sent directly to the Department’s desk officer at OIRA. Also, this Notice is notification that the collection has been submitted to OIRA for review and approval.
When OIRA approve collections, they may be used by the Department for three years.
For more information
Contact us at eReg@state.gov to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.