The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published an amended Final Rule and Preamble in the May 18, 2026 Federal Register (F.R. Vol. 91, No. 95; NHTSA–2025-0050). This regulatory action addresses petitions submitted for earlier rulemaking and includes proposals to revise 49 CFR Parts 585 and 563 Event Data Recorders.
Updates/clarifications for vehicle certification information for Part 563 are provided - §563.4 Certification for Phase-in: (a) At any time during the production years, each manufacturer shall, upon request from the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, provide information identifying the vehicles (by make, model and vehicle identification number) that have been equipped with EDRs meeting the requirements of §563.7(a) and (b). The manufacturer's designation of a vehicle as equipped with an EDR meeting these requirements is irrevocable. (b) Vehicles produced by more than one manufacturer for the purpose of calculating average annual production of vehicles for each manufacturer and the number of vehicles manufactured by each manufacturer under §563.4(a); a vehicle produced by more than one manufacturer shall be attributed to a single manufacturer as follows: (1) A vehicle which is imported shall be attributed to the importer. (2) A vehicle manufactured in the United States by more than one manufacturer, one of which also markets the vehicle, shall be attributed to the manufacturer which markets the vehicle, (c) Attributability by express written contract of vehicles produced by more than one manufacturer. A vehicle produced by more than one manufacturer shall be attributed to any one of the vehicle's manufacturers specified by an express written contract, reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under 49 CFR Part 585, between the manufacturer so specified and the manufacturer to which the vehicle would otherwise be attributed under §563.4(b). (d) Average annual production.
This FR amends NHTSA's regulation governing Event Data Recorders (EDRs) to delay the implementation schedule for expanded pre-crash data capture requirements. Responding to Petitions for Reconsideration of a FR published on December 18, 2024 (issued pursuant to a mandate under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act), which required that all vehicles equipped with EDRs and manufactured on or after September 1, 2027 comply with the updated pre-crash data capture requirements. The NHTSA is adopting a four-year phase-in compliance schedule that begins September 1, 2028. This action ensures the increased pre-crash data capture requirements are integrated into the vehicle fleet in a manner that aligns with manufacturer production cycles and technical feasibility.
With this action, NHTSA adopts the amendments proposed in the November 28, 2025 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which was issued in response to Petitions for Reconsideration of the 2024 FR submitted by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators), SAE International (SAE), and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles U.S. LLC (FCA).
This rulemaking is a deregulatory action under E.O. 14192 because it would reduce the implementation burden associated with the December 2024 FR, which increased the pre-crash data recording duration and sample rate required under 49 CFR Part 563. Though the substantive requirements adopted in the December 2024 FR remain unchanged, the agency is modifying the compliance schedule in response to Petitions for Reconsideration that identified implementation challenges and risk of unintended consequences.
This Final Rule (FR) is effective June 17, 2026. The four-year phase-in compliance plan begins September 1, 2028 to comply with Part 563, as amended by the December 18, 2024 FR. Under the four-year phase-in, 25% of a manufacturer's applicable vehicles produced from September 1, 2028 to August 31, 2029 must comply with Part 563 as amended by the Final Rule published on December 18, 2024, "Event Data Recorders," followed by 50% from September 1, 2029 to August 31, 2030, 75% from September 1, 2030 to August 31, 2031, and 100% on and after September 1, 2031. Applicable vehicles produced by small-volume and limited-line manufacturers are required to comply beginning September 1, 2032. Applicable vehicles manufactured in two or more stages or that are altered are not required to comply with the rule until on or after September 1, 2033.
Voluntary early compliance is permitted.If you wish to Petition for Reconsideration of this rule, your petition must be received by July 2, 2026.
The Final Rule is available on InterRegs.NET for our US Federal subscribers and is also available on SelectRegs.