Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996 requires Federal Agencies to comply with small entity requests for information or advice about compliance with statutes and regulations within our jurisdiction, including interpretation and application of the law to specific sets of facts supplied.

The Rights of Small Entities To Enforcement Fairness and Policy Against Retaliation

General

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has a policy regarding the rights of small entities to regulatory enforcement fairness and an explicit policy against retaliation for exercising these rights. Its operating administrations, to include the FAA, have circulated this information to their regulated entities through several means, which may include their Internet websites, rulemaking documents, inspection handouts, guidance materials, pamphlets, and information materials disseminated to trade associations.

DOT’s policies on enforcement fairness and prohibition on retaliation are available at https://www.transportation.gov/regulations/rights-small-entities-enforcement-fairness-and-policy-against-retaliation.

Your Rights to Enforcement Fairness

Our objective is to ensure a fair regulatory enforcement environment. If you feel you have been treated unfairly or unprofessionally, you may contact the FAA’s regulatory contact.

You also have a right to contact the Small Business Administration's National Ombudsman at 1-888-REGFAIR or https://www.sba.gov/ombudsman regarding the fairness of the compliance and enforcement activities of the FAA.

Policy Against Retaliation

DOT strictly forbids retaliatory acts by its employees. As such, you should feel confident that you will not be penalized for expressing your concerns about compliance and enforcement activities.

List of Published Rules and Associated Small Entity Compliance Guides

The table on this page lists the following:

Published final rules that have been considered to have an impact on small entities according to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), including their publication dates, Federal Register citations, rulemaking identification numbers (RIN No.), and the 14 CFR part or parts affected by each rule.
Issued guidance for small entities to aid in complying with each rule.
- The advisory circulars (AC) and FAA web pages listed in the table provide small entities with methods and acceptable means of compliance for each rule.

Rule Title	Federal Register Publication Date and Citation	RIN No.	14 CFR Part(s) Affected	Document Title(s)
Drug and Alcohol Testing of Certificated Repair Station Employees Located Outside of the United States	12/28/2024; 89 FR 103416	2120-AK09	120	AC 120-126, “Guidelines to Establish, Implement, and Maintain a DOT/FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing Program”
Safety Management Systems	4/26/2024; 89 FR 33068	2120-AL60	5; 21; 91; 119	AC 120-92D, “Safety Management Systems for Aviation Service Providers”
Safety Management Systems	4/26/2024; 89 FR 33068	2120-AL60	5; 21; 91; 119	AC 21-58, “Safety Management Systems for Part 21 Type and production Certificate Holders”
Medical Certification Standards for Commercial Balloon Operations	11/22/2022; 87 FR 71218	2120-AL51	61; 68	Medical Certification FAA Webpage
Flight Attendant Duty Period Limitations and Rest Requirements	10/12/2022; 87 FR 61452	2120-AL41	121	Advisory Circulars & Guides Associated with 14 CFR Part 117 \| Federal Aviation Administration
Pilot Records Database	6/10/2021; 86 FR 31006	2120-AK31	11; 91; 111	AC 120-68J - Pilot Records Database and Pilot Improvement Act
Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft	01/15/2021; 86 FR 4390	2120-AL31	1; 11; 47; 48; 89; 91; 107	AC 89-1, “Means of Compliance Process for Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft” AC 89-2, “Declaration of Compliance Process for Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft” AC 89-3, “FAA-Recognized Identification Areas” AC 107-2A, “Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Small UAS)”
Streamlined Launch and Reentry License Requirements	12/10/2020; 85 FR 79566	2120-AL17	401; 404; 413; 414; 415; 417; 420; 431; 433; 435; 437; 440; 450; 460	AC 450.108-1, “Flight Abort Rule Development” AC 450.107-1, “Hazard Control Strategies Determination” AC 450.109-1, “Flight Hazard Analysis” AC 450.173-1, “Part 450 Mishap Plan - Reporting, Response, and Investigation Requirements” AC 450.141-1A, “Computing System Safety” AC 450.117-1, ”Trajectory Analysis for Normal Flight” AC 450.103-1, “System Safety Program” AC 450.179-1, “Ground Safety” AC 450.110-1, “Physical Containment as a Hazard Control Strategy” AC 450.167-1, “Tracking for Launch and Reentry Safety Analysis” AC 450.3-1, “Definition of Launch and Scope of a Vehicle Operator License” AC 450.123-1, “Population Exposure Analysis” AC 450.161-1, “Control of Hazard Areas” AC 450.31-1, “Applying for FAA Determination on Policy or Payload Reviews” AC 450.169-1, “Launch and Reentry Collision Avoidance Analysis” AC 450.45-1, “Launch and Reentry of Space Nuclear Systems” AC 413.13-1, “Guidance on Submitting a Complete Enough and Complete Application for a Vehicle Operator License” AC 450.101-1B, “High Consequence Event Protection” AC 450.139-1, “Toxic Hazards” AC 450.115-1B, “High Fidelity Flight Safety Analysis” AC 460.15-1, “Human Factors Considerations in Commercial Human Space Flight” AC 450.137-1, “De Minimis Far-Field Overpressure Blast Effects Analysis” AC 440.17-1, “Reciprocal Waiver of Claims Requirements” AC 450.115-2, “Describing Flight Safety Analysis Methods” AC 450.45-2, “Compliance when Contracting with a Federal Entity”
Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems	6/28/2016; 81 FR 42064	2120-AJ60	21; 43; 61; 91; 101; 107; 119; 133; 183	AC 107-2A, "Small Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)"
Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum Airspace: Application Requirements for Authorization to Operate	7/20/2016; 81 FR 47009	2120-AK54	91	AC 91-85B, "Authorization of Aircraft and Operators for Flight in Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) Airspace"

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Last updated: Tuesday, July 15, 2025

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