The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a direct final rule changing several rulemaking, information-withholding, advisory-committee and security-eligibility procedures.
The rule is scheduled to take effect Oct. 26, 2026. If NRC receives significant adverse comments by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 10, the agency says it will publish a withdrawal notice for the affected provisions before that date.
One change removes a requirement that an affidavit supporting the withholding of proprietary information describe the harm that disclosure would cause. Other affidavit and substantiation requirements remain in the regulation.
The rule also revises the commission's self-imposed process for comments received after a rule has been promulgated. NRC describes the change as eliminating a procedure that goes beyond Administrative Procedure Act requirements.
Advisory-committee terminology, charters, appointments and reporting provisions are updated to align with General Services Administration rules issued under the Federal Advisory Committee Act in December 2025.
A fourth set of provisions codifies national-security eligibility criteria from Security Executive Agent Directive 4. NRC says it already uses those criteria internally, so the codification does not establish a new external screening program.
The agency says the rule creates no new obligations for licensees or other external stakeholders and has no cost effect on licensees or the public. Those are NRC's regulatory findings rather than independently measured outcomes.
A direct final rule is used when an agency expects no significant adverse comment. The paired comment process still permits the public to challenge the rule, and qualifying comments can stop the specified provisions from taking effect through this route.
The changes concern process rather than reactor operating standards or a particular license. The codified text and any later withdrawal notice control what becomes effective.