FAA ISSUES NPRM ON THE DESIGNATION OF U.S. AGENTS FOR SERVICE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH FOREIGN ADDRESSES
July 6, 2023
On June 12, 2023, the FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) to require that individuals with foreign addresses and no U.S. physical address of record on file with the FAA designate a U.S. agent for service of receipt of FAA documents. More specifically, the rule would apply to individuals with foreign addresses and no physical U.S. address of record who hold or wish to apply for certain certificates, ratings, or authorizations from the FAA. The designated U.S. agent for service would then receive service of official FAA documents on behalf of the certificate holder or applicant. The reason behind the NPRM is to ensure that FAA can provide “prompt and cost-effective service of process and service of other safety-critical or time-sensitive documents” to individuals with no physical presence in the U.S. To clarify, the NPRM would only be applicable to individuals, not entities, as U.S. and foreign air carriers are already required to designate a U.S. agent for service of FAA documents in their operations specifications.
The FAA is currently accepting comments on the NPRM until August 11, 2023, in the applicable docket available here. The FAA has also specifically requested comments on the following issues: (1) how many individuals impacted by this rule are likely to have contacts within the United States that they could designate as their U.S. agent for service at no cost; and (2) apart from publishing the rulemaking in the Federal Register for notice and comment, what other methods of outreach could the agency undertake to inform individuals impacted by this rule?
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665.
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