Review - TSA Sends HMI Threat Assessment ICR to OMB

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received an extension without change of a currently approved collection from the DHS’ Transportation Security Administration for their “Security Threat Assessment for Individuals Applying for a Hazardous Materials Endorsement for a Commercial Driver's License” information collection request (ICR). The 30-day ICR notice was published earlier this week in the Federal Register (91 FR 53889-53890). The 60-day ICR notice was published on May 6th, 2026. 

The OMB reports that the following burden estimate data was provided to them by the TSA: 

Public Comments  

TSA and OIRA are soliciting public comments on the data being provided in the 30-day ICR notice that is currently being reviewed by OIRA. Comments may be submitted by going to OIRA’s Agency Submission page for this ICR and clicking on the “COMMENT” button near the top of the page. Comments should be submitted by September 21st, 2026. 

Commentary  

While not a function of the information collection process, the generally declining number of applicants and renewal requests reported by TSA for these security threat assessments for CDL hazardous materials indorsements presages an increasing problem for the chemical industry. The chemical industry can ill afford to deal with a declining number of truck drivers that are legally qualified to haul hazardous material loads. Industry is going to have to become more actively involved in recruiting truck drivers in general and HMI qualified drivers in particular.