PART 171—ANNUAL FEES FOR REACTOR LICENSES AND FUEL CYCLE LICENSES AND MATERIALS LICENSES, INCLUDING HOLDERS OF CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE, REGISTRATIONS, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM APPROVALS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY THE NRC

Part Index

Sec.

171.1 Purpose.

171.3 Scope.

171.5 Definitions.

171.7 Interpretations.

171.8 Information collection requirements: OMB approval.

171.9 Communications.

171.11 Exemptions.

171.13 Notice.

171.15 Annual fees: Non-power production or utilization licenses, reactor licenses, and independent spent fuel storage licenses.

171.16 Annual fees: Materials licensees, holders of certificates of compliance, holders of sealed source and device registrations, holders of quality assurance program approvals, and government agencies licensed by the NRC.

171.17 Proration.

171.19 Payment.

171.21 [Reserved]

171.23 Enforcement.

171.25 Collection, interest, penalties, and administrative costs.

171.26 Right to dispute assessed fees.

Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 11, 161(w), 223, 234 (42 U.S.C. 2014, 2201(w), 2273, 2282); Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); 42 U.S.C. 2215; 44 U.S.C. 3504 note.

Source: 51 FR 33230, Sept. 17, 1986, unless otherwise noted.

[72 FR 55936 Oct. 1, 2007; 77 FR 39911, Jul. 6, 2012; 77 FR 39387, Jul. 3, 2012; 77 FR 72200, Dec. 5, 2012; 80 FR 54236, Sep. 9, 2015; 86 FR 32176, 32183 Jun. 16, 2021]

§ 171.1 Purpose.

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The regulations in this part set out the annual fees charged to persons who hold licenses, Certificates of Compliance, sealed source and device registrations, and quality assurance program approvals issued by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including licenses, registrations, approvals, and certificates issued to a Government agency.

[56 FR 31504, July 10, 1991]

§ 171.3 Scope.

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The regulations in this part apply to any person holding an operating license for a non-power production or utilization facility issued under 10 CFR part 50 that has provided notification to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that the licensee has successfully completed startup testing, and to any person holding an operating license for a power reactor or small modular reactor licensed under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52 that has provided notification to the NRC that the licensee has successfully completed power ascension testing. The regulations in this part also apply to any person holding a materials license as defined in this part, a certificate of compliance, a sealed source or device registration, a quality assurance program approval, and to a Government agency as defined in this part. Notwithstanding the other provisions in this section, the regulations in this part do not apply to uranium recovery and fuel facility licensees until after the Commission verifies through inspection that the facility has been constructed in accordance with the requirements of the license.

[67 FR 42634, June 24, 2002; 72 FR 31426, June 6, 2007; 83 FR 29652, Jun. 25, 2018; 85 FR 37276, Jun. 19, 2020; 86 FR 32176, Jun. 16, 2021]

§ 171.5 Definitions.

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Budget means the funds appropriated by Congress for the NRC for each fiscal year, and if that appropriation is not passed on or before September 1 for that fiscal year, the funds most recently appropriated by Congress for the most recent fiscal year.

Budget authority means the authority, in the form of an appropriation, provided by law and becoming available during the year, to enter into obligations that will result in immediate or future outlays involving Federal Government funds. The appropriation is an authorization by an Act of Congress that permits the NRC to incur obligations and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. Fees assessed pursuant to Public Law 115–439 are based on the NRC's budget authority.

Bundled unit means multiple SMRs on a single site that are considered a single unit for the purpose of assessing an annual fee. A bundled unit is assessed an annual fee based on the cumulative licensed thermal power rating of all licensed SMRs on the same site. The maximum capacity of a bundled unit is a cumulative licensed thermal power rating of 4,500 MWt. A single SMR can be part of two bundled units if it completes the capacity of one unit and begins the capacity of an additional unit. For a given site, the use of the bundled unit concept is independent of the number of SMR plants, the number of SMR licenses issued, or the sequencing of the SMR licenses that have been issued. Bundled units with capacities greater than 2,000 MWt and less than or equal to 4,500 MWt are assessed a maximum fee that is equivalent to the annual fee paid by the current reactor fleet. Above 4,500 MWt establishes an additional bundled unit.

Byproduct Material means–

(1) Any radioactive material (except special nuclear material) yielded in, or made radioactive by, exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or using special nuclear material;

(2)(i) Any discrete source of radium–226 that is produced, extracted, or converted after extraction, before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity; or

(ii) Any material that—

(A) Has been made radioactive by use of a particle accelerator; and

(B) Is produced, extracted, or converted after extraction, before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity; and

(3) Any discrete source of naturally occurring radioactive material, other than source material, that—

(i) The Commission, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the head of any other appropriate Federal agency, determines would pose a threat similar to the threat posed by a discrete source of radium–226 to the public health and safety or the common defense and security; and

(ii) Before, on, or after August 8, 2005, is extracted or converted after extraction for use in a commercial, medical, or research activity.

Certificate Holder means a person who holds a certificate of compliance, or other package approval issued by the Commission.

Commission means the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or its duly authorized representatives.

Federal fiscal year means a year that begins on October 1 of each calendar year and ends on September 30 of the following calendar year. Federal fiscal years are identified by the year in which they end (e.g., fiscal year 1987 begins in 1986 and ends in 1987).

Government Agency means any executive department, commission, independent establishment, corporation, wholly or partly owned by the United States of America which is an instrumentality of the United States, or any board, bureau, division, service, office, officer, authority, administration, or other establishment in the executive branch of the government.

Greater than Class C Waste or GTCC Waste means low-level radioactive waste that exceeds the concentration limits of radionuclides established for Class C waste in 10 CFR 61.55.

High Enriched Uranium Fuel means uranium enriched to 20 percent or greater in the isotope uranium-235.

Low Enriched Uranium Fuel means uranium enriched below 20 percent in the isotope uranium-235.

Materials License means a license, certificate, approval, registration or other form of permission issued or granted by the NRC under the regulations in 10 CFR parts 30, 31 through 36, 39, 40, 61, 70, 71, 72, and 76.

Maximum fee is the highest fee paid by a single bundled unit. It is applied to all bundled units on an SMR site with a licensed thermal power rating greater than 2,000 MWt and less than or equal to 4,500 MWt and is equal to the flat annual fee paid by existing fleet power reactors.

Minimum fee means the lowest annual fee assessed for an SMR or a bundled unit in a thermal power rating fee assessment tier.

Non-power production or utilization facility means a production or utilization facility licensed under 10 CFR 50.21(a) or (c), or 10 CFR 50.22, as applicable, that is not a nuclear power reactor or production facility as defined under paragraphs (1) and (2) of the definition of "production facility" in 10 CFR 50.2.

Nonprofit educational institution means a public or nonprofit educational institution whose primary function is education, whose programs are accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association, who is legally authorized to provide a program of organized instruction or study, who provides an educational program for which it awards academic degrees, and whose educational programs are available to the public.

Nuclear reactor means an apparatus, other than an atomic weapon, used to sustain fission in a self-supporting chain reaction.

Operating license means having a license issued pursuant to § 50.57 of this chapter. It does not include licenses that only authorize possession of special nuclear material after the Commission has received a request from the licensee to amend its licensee to permanently withdraw its authority to operate or the Commission has permanently revoked such authority.

Person means: (1) Any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, Government agency other than the Commission; any state or any political subdivision of, or any political entity within, a state; any foreign Government or nation or any political subdivision of any such government or nation; or other entity; and (2) any legal successor, representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing.

Power reactor means a nuclear reactor designed to produce electrical or heat energy and licensed by the Commission under the authority of section 103 or subsection 104b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and pursuant to the provisions of § 50.21(b) or § 50.22 of this chapter.

Quality Assurance Program Approval is the document issued by the NRC to approve the quality assurance program submitted to the NRC as meeting the requirements of § 71.101 of this chapter. Activities covered by the quality assurance program may be divided into two major groups: those activities including design, fabrication and use of packaging and those activities for use only of packaging.

Registration Holder as used in this part means any manufacturer or initial distributor of a sealed source or device containing a sealed source that holds a certificate of registration issued by the NRC or a holder of a registration for a sealed source or device manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant.

Research Reactor means a nuclear reactor licensed by the Commission under the authority of subsection 104c of the Act and pursuant to the provisions of § 50.21(c) of this chapter for operation at a thermal power level of 10 megawatts or less, and which is not a testing facility as defined in this section.

Small modular reactor (SMR) for the purposes of calculating fees means the class of power reactors having a licensed thermal power rating less than or equal to 1,000 MWt per module. This rating is based on the thermal power equivalent of an SMR with an electrical power generating capacity of 300 MWe or less per module.

Small modular reactor site (SMR site) is the geographically bounded location of one or more SMRs and a basis on which SMR fees are calculated.

Source Material means:

(1) Uranium or thorium, or any combination thereof, in any physical or chemical form; or

(2) Ores which contain by weight one-twentieth of one percent (0.05%) or more of

(i) Uranium,

(ii) Thorium, or

(iii) Any combination thereof.

Source material does not include special nuclear material.

Special Nuclear Material means:

(1) Plutonium, uranium-233, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or in the isotope 235, and any other material which the Commission, pursuant to the provisions of section 51 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, determines to be special nuclear material, but does not include source material; or

(2) Any material artificially enriched by any of the foregoing, but does not include source material.

Testing Facility means a nuclear reactor licensed by the Commission under the authority of subsection 104c of the Act and pursuant to the provisions of § 50.21(c) of this chapter for operation at:

(1) A thermal power level in excess of 10 megawatts; or

(2) A thermal power level in excess of 1 megawatt, if the reactor is to contain:

(i) A circulating loop through the core in which the applicant proposes to conduct fuel experiments; or

(ii) A liquid fuel loading; or

(iii) An experimental facility in the core in excess of 16 square inches in cross-section.

Variable fee means an annual fee component that is added to the minimum fee. The variable fee is designed to gradually increase as licensed thermal power capacity is added within the bundled unit fee assessment tier. The variable fee is calculated as the product of the incremental increase in the thermal power rating multiplied by the variable rate.

Variable rate means the factor used to calculate the variable fee component of the annual fee. To determine the total annual fee, the incremental increase in the licensed thermal power rating within the fee assessment tier is multiplied by the variable rate resulting in a variable fee that is added to the minimum fee. There is a different factor for each SMR or bundled unit fee assessment tier. Each factor represents the difference between the lower licensed thermal power rating within each tier and the actual thermal power rating for the unit or site.

[51 FR 33230, Sept. 18, 1986, as amended at 53 FR 52652, Dec. 29, 1988; 56 FR 31505, July 10, 1991; 57 FR 32714, July 23, 1992; 58 FR 38695, July 20, 1993; 65 FR 36964, June 12, 2000; 66 FR 32474, June 14, 2001; 67 FR 42634, June 24, 2002; 71 FR 30752, May 30, 2006; 72 FR 55936 Oct. 1, 2007; 81 FR 32627 May 24, 2016; 81 FR 45964 July 15, 2016; 83 FR 29652, Jun. 25, 2018; 86 FR 32177, Jun. 16, 2021; 88 FR 39145, Jun. 15, 2023]

§ 171.7 Interpretations.

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Except as specifically authorized by the Commission in writing, no interpretation of the regulations in this part by an officer or employee of the Commission, other than a written interpretation by the General Counsel, will be recognized as binding on the Commission.

§ 171.8 Information collection requirements: OMB approval

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This part contains no information collection requirements and therefore is not subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

[62 FR 52191, Oct. 6, 1997]

§ 171.9 Communications.

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All communications concerning the regulations in this part should be addressed to the NRC's Chief Financial Officer, either by mail to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; by hand delivery to the NRC's offices at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland; or, where practicable, by electronic submission, for example, via Electronic Information Exchange, or CD-ROM. Electronic submissions must be made in a manner that enables the NRC to receive, read, authenticate, distribute, and archive the submission, and process and retrieve it a single page at a time. Detailed guidance on making electronic submissions can be obtained by visiting the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html; by e-mail to MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov; or by writing the Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. The guidance discusses, among other topics, the formats the NRC can accept, the use of electronic signatures, and the treatment of nonpublic information.

[64 FR 31475, June 10, 1999 as amended at 68 FR 58826, Oct. 10, 2003; 70 FR 69421, Nov. 16, 2005; 72 FR 33386, Jun. 18, 2007; 74 FR 62687, Dec. 1, 2009; 80 FR 74982, Dec. 1, 2015]

§ 171.11 Exemptions.

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(a) All requests for exemptions must be filed with the NRC within 90 days from the effective date of the final rule establishing the annual fees for which the exemption is sought in order to be considered. Absent extraordinary circumstances, any exemption requests filed beyond that date will not be considered. The filing of an exemption request does not extend the date on which the bill is payable. Only timely payment in full ensures avoidance of interest and penalty charges. If a partial or full exemption is granted, any overpayment will be refunded. Requests for clarification of or questions relating to an annual fee bill must also be filed within 90 days from the date of the initial invoice to be considered.

(b) An annual fee is not required for:

(1) A construction permit or license applied for by, or issued to, a nonprofit educational institution for a production or utilization facility, other than a power reactor, or for the possession and use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material. This exemption does not apply to those byproduct, source, or special nuclear material licenses which authorize:

(i) Human use;

(ii) Remunerated services to other persons;

(iii) Distribution of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material or products containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material; or

(iv) Activities performed under a Government contract.

(2) Federally-owned and State-owned research reactors used primarily for educational training and academic research purposes. For purposes of this exemption, the term research reactor means a nuclear reactor that—

(i) Is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under section 104c. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2134(c)) for operation at a thermal power level of 10 megawatts or less; and

(ii) If so licensed for operation at a thermal power level of more than 1 megawatt, does not contain—

(A) A circulating loop through the core in which the licensee conducts fuel experiments;

(B) A liquid fuel loading; or

(C) An experimental facility in the core in excess of 16 square inches in cross-section.

(c) The Commission may, upon application by an interested person or on its own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of this part that it determines is authorized by law and otherwise in the public interest.

(d) An exemption for reactors licensed to operate may be granted by the Commission taking into consideration each of the following factors:

(1) Age of the reactor;

(2) Number of customers in rate base;

(3) Net increase in KWh cost for each customer directly related to the annual fee assessed under this part; and

(4) Any other relevant matter which the licensee believes justifies the reduction of the annual fee.

(e) The Commission may grant a materials licensee an exemption from the annual fee if it determines that the annual fee is not based on a fair and equitable allocation of the NRC costs. The following factors must be fulfilled as determined by the Commission for an exemption to be granted:

(1) There are data specifically indicating that the assessment of the annual fee will result in a significantly disproportionate allocation of costs to the licensee, or class of licensees; or

(2) There is clear and convincing evidence that the budgeted generic costs attributable to the class of licensees are neither directly or indirectly related to the specific class of licensee nor explicitly allocated to the licensee by Commission policy decisions; or

(3) Any other relevant matter that the licensee believes shows that the annual fee was not based on a fair and equitable allocation of NRC costs.

[56 FR 31505, July 10, 1991, as amended at 57 FR 32714, July 23, 1992; 58 FR 38695, July 20, 1993; 59 FR 12543, Mar. 17, 1994; 59 FR 36924, July 20, 1994; 67 FR 42634, June 24, 2002; 70 FR 30548, May 26, 2005; 79 FR 37150 Jun. 30, 2014; 86 FR 32177, Jun. 16, 2021]

§ 171.13 Notice.

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The annual fees applicable to any NRC licensee subject to this part and calculated in accordance with §§ 171.15 and 171.16, will be published as a notice in the Federal Register as soon as possible but no later than the third quarter of the fiscal year. The annual fees will become due and payable to the NRC as indicated in § 171.19. Quarterly payments of the annual fee of $100,000 or more will continue during the fiscal year and be based on the applicable annual fees as shown in §§ 171.15 and 171.16 until a notice concerning the revised amount of the fees for the fiscal year is published by the NRC. If the NRC is unable to publish a final fee rule that becomes effective during the current fiscal year, fees would be assessed based on the rates in effect for the previous fiscal year.

[64 FR 31475, June 10, 1999]

§ 171.15 Annual fees: Non-power production or utilization licenses, reactor licenses, and independent spent fuel storage licenses.

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(a) Each person holding an operating license for one or more non-power production or utilization facilities under 10 CFR part 50 that has provided notification to the NRC of the successful completion of startup testing; each person holding an operating license for a power reactor licensed under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license under 10 CFR part 52 that has provided notification to the NRC of the successful completion of power ascension testing; each person holding a 10 CFR part 50 or 52 power reactor license that is in decommissioning or possession only status, except those that have no spent fuel onsite; and each person holding a 10 CFR part 72 license who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50 or 52 license and provides notification in accordance with 10 CFR 72.80(g), shall pay the annual fee for each license held during the Federal fiscal year in which the fee is due. This paragraph (a) does not apply to test or research reactors exempted under § 171.11(b).

(b)(1) The FY 2024 annual fee for each operating power reactor that must be collected by September 30, 2024, is $5,336,000.

(2) The FY 2024 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee for power reactors licensed to operate, a base spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee and associated additional charges. The activities comprising the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning base annual fee are shown in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section. The activities comprising the FY 2024 base annual fee for operating power reactors are as follows:

(i) Power reactor safety and safeguards regulation except licensing and inspection activities recovered under part 170 of this chapter and generic reactor decommissioning activities.

(ii) Research activities directly related to the regulation of power reactors, except those activities specifically related to reactor decommissioning.

(iii) Generic activities required largely for NRC to regulate power reactors (e.g., updating part 50 or 52 of this chapter, operating the Incident Response Center, new reactor regulatory infrastructure). The base annual fee for operating power reactors does not include generic activities specifically related to reactor decommissioning.

(c)(1) The FY 2024 annual fee for each power reactor holding a 10 CFR part 50 license or combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52 that is in a decommissioning or possession-only status and has spent fuel onsite, and for each independent spent fuel storage 10 CFR part 72 licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license or a 10 CFR part 52 combined license, is $326,000.

(2) The FY 2024 annual fee is comprised of a base spent fuel storage/ reactor decommissioning annual fee (which is also included in the operating power reactor annual fee shown in paragraph (b) of this section). The activities comprising the FY 2024 spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning rebaselined annual fee are:

(i) Generic and other research activities directly related to reactor decommissioning and spent fuel storage; and

(ii) Other safety, environmental, and safeguards activities related to reactor decommissioning and spent fuel storage, except costs for licensing and inspection activities that are recovered under part 170 of this chapter.

(d)(1) Each person holding an operating license for an SMR issued under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52 that has provided notification to the NRC of the successful completion startup testing, shall pay the annual fee for all licenses held for an SMR site. The annual fee will be determined using the cumulative licensed thermal power rating of all SMR units and the bundled unit concept, during the fiscal year in which the fee is due. For a given site, the use of the bundled unit concept is independent of the number of SMR plants, the number of SMR licenses issued, or the sequencing of the SMR licenses that have been issued.

(2) The annual fees for a small modular reactor(s) located on a single site to be collected by September 30 of each year, are as follows:

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (d)(2)

Bundled unit thermal power rating Minimum fee Variable fee Maximum fee
First Bundled Unit(s)—cumulative MWt:
  0 MWt ≤20 MWt TBDa N/A N/A.
  >20 MWt ≤250 MWt TBDa TBDd N/A.
  >250 MWt ≤2,000 MWt TBDb TBDe N/A.
  >2,000 MWt ≤4,500 MWt N/A N/A TBD.c
Additional Bundled Unit(s)—cumulative MWt (above the first bundled unit of 4,500 MWt):
  0 MWt ≤2,000 MWt N/A TBDf N/A.
  >2,000 MWt ≤4,500 MWt N/A N/A TBD.d

a Annual fee paid by the non-power production or utilization facilities fee class.
b Average of the annual fees for the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning and the non-power production or utilization facilities fee classes.
c Annual fee paid by the operating power reactors fee class.
d [((b) – (a))/230] × the difference between 20 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the actual cumulative licensed thermal power rating up to 250 MWt.
e [((c) – (b))/1,750] × the difference between 250 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the actual cumulative licensed thermal power rating up to 2,000 MWt.
f [((c) – (b))/2,000] × the difference between 4,500 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the total actual cumulative licensed thermal power rating up to 2,000 MWt.

(3) The annual fee for an SMR collected under this paragraph (d) is in lieu of any fee otherwise required under paragraph (b) of this section. The annual fee under this paragraph (d) covers the same activities listed for the power reactor base annual fee and the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning reactor fee.

(e) The FY 2024 annual fee for licensees authorized to operate one or more non-power production or utilization facilities under a single 10 CFR part 50 license, unless the reactor is exempted from fees under § 171.11(b), is $97,200.

[67 FR 42634, Jun. 24, 2002; 68 FR 36734, Jun. 18, 2003; 69 FR 22681, Apr. 26, 2004; 70 FR 30548, May 26, 2005; 71 FR 30752, May 30, 2006; 72 FR 31426, Jun. 6, 2007; 72 FR 49566, Aug. 28, 2007; 73 FR 32407, Jun. 6, 2008; 74 FR 27665, Jun. 10, 2009; 75 FR 34240, Jun. 16, 2010; 76 FR 36802, Jun. 22, 2011; 77 FR 35831, Jun. 15, 2012; 78 FR 39487, Jul. 1, 2013; 79 FR 37150 Jun. 30, 2014; 80 FR 37460, Jun. 30, 2015; 81 FR 32628 May 24, 2016; 81 FR 45964 July 15, 2016; 81 FR 41192, Jun. 24, 2016; 82 FR 30704, Jun. 30, 2017; 83 FR 29652, Jun. 25, 2018; 84 FR 22356, May 17, 2019; 85 FR 37277, Jun. 19, 2020; 86 FR 32177, Jun. 16, 2021; 87 FR 37221, Jun. 22, 2022; 88 FR 39146, Jun. 15, 2023; 89 FR 51816, Jun. 20, 2024]

§ 171.16 Annual fees: Materials licensees, holders of certificates of compliance, holders of sealed source and device registrations, holders of quality assurance program approvals, and government agencies licensed by the NRC.

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(a)(1) The provisions of this section apply to person(s) who are authorized to conduct activities under—

(i) 10 CFR part 30 for byproduct material;

(ii) 10 CFR part 40 for source material;

(iii) 10 CFR part 70 for special nuclear material;

(iv) 10 CFR part 71 for packaging and transportation of radioactive material; and

(v) 10 CFR part 76 for uranium enrichment.

(2) Notwithstanding the other provisions in this section, the regulations in this part do not apply to uranium recovery and fuel facility licensees until after the Commission verifies through inspection that the facility has been constructed in accordance with the requirements of the license.

(3) In accordance with § 171.17, each person identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall pay the applicable annual fee for each license the person holds during the FY. Annual fees will be prorated for new licenses issued and for licenses for which termination is requested and activities permanently ceased during the FY as provided in § 171.17. If a single license authorizes more than one activity (e.g., human use and irradiator activities), annual fees will be assessed for each fee category applicable to the license. If a person holds more than one license, the total annual fee assessed will be the cumulative total of the annual fees applicable to each license held.

(b) The FY 2024 annual fee is comprised of a base annual fee and associated additional charges. The base FY 2024 annual fee is the sum of budgeted costs for the following activities:

(1) Generic and other research activities directly related to the regulation of materials licenses as defined in this part; and

(2) Other safety, environmental, and safeguards activities for materials licenses, except costs for licensing and inspection activities that are recovered under Part 170 of this chapter.

(c) A licensee who is required to pay an annual fee under this section, in addition to 10 CFR part 72 licenses, may qualify as a small entity. If a licensee qualifies as a small entity and provides the Commission with the proper certification along with its annual fee payment, the licensee may pay reduced annual fees as shown in table 1 to this paragraph (c). Failure to file a small entity certification in a timely manner could result in the receipt of a delinquent invoice requesting the outstanding balance due and/or denial of any refund that might otherwise be due. The small entity fees are as follows:

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (c)

NRC small entity classification Maximum annual fee per licensed category
Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing (Average gross receipts over the last 5 completed fiscal years):  
  $555,000 to $8 million $5,200
Less than $555,000 1,000
Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross Receipts):  
  $555,000 to $8 million 5,200
Less than $555,000 1,000
Manufacturing Entities that Have An Average of 500 Employees or Fewer:  
  35 to 500 employees 5,200
Fewer than 35 employees 1,000
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly supported educational institutions) (Population):  
  20,000 to 49,999 5,200
Fewer than 20,000 1,000
Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer:  
  35 to 500 employees 5,200
Fewer than 35 employees 1,000

(d) The FY 2024 annual fees for materials licensees and holders of certificates, registrations, or approvals subject to fees under this section are shown in table 2 to this paragraph (d):

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (d)—Schedule of Materials Annual Fees and Fees for Government Agencies Licensed By NRC
[See footnotes at end of table]

Category of materials licenses Annual fees1 2 3
1. Special nuclear material:
  A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of U–235 or plutonium for fuel fabrication activities.  
  (a) Strategic Special Nuclear Material (High Enriched Uranium) 15 [Program Code(s): 21213] $6,412,000
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel 15 [Program Code(s): 21210] 2,173,000
(2) All other special nuclear materials licenses not included in Category 1.A.(1) which are licensed for fuel cycle activities.  
  (a) Facilities with limited operations 15 [Program Code(s): 21310, 21320] 1,791,000
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration facility 15 [Program Code(s): 21205] N/A
  (c) Others, including hot cell facility 15 [Program Code(s): 21130, 21131, 21133] N/A
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel and reactor-related Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste at an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) 11 15 [Program Code(s): 23200] N/A
C. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear material of less than a critical mass, as defined in § 70.4 of this chapter, in sealed sources contained in devices used in industrial measuring systems, including x-ray fluorescence analyzers. [Program Code(s): 22140] 3,400
D. All other special nuclear material licenses, except licenses authorizing special nuclear material in sealed or unsealed form in combination that would constitute a critical mass, as defined in § 70.4 of this chapter, for which the licensee shall pay the same fees as those under Category 1.A. [Program Code(s): 22110, 22111, 22120, 22131, 22136, 22150, 22151, 22161, 22170, 23100, 23300, 23310] 9,500
E. Licenses or certificates for the operation of a uranium enrichment facility 15 [Program Code(s): 21200] 2,794,000
F. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear materials greater than critical mass, as defined in § 70.4 of this chapter, for development and testing of commercial products, and other non-fuel cycle activities.4 [Program Code: 22155] 5,900
2. Source material:
  A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source material for refining uranium mill concentrates to uranium hexafluoride or for deconverting uranium hexafluoride in the production of uranium oxides for disposal.15 [Program Code: 11400] 1,361,000
  (2) Licenses for possession and use of source material in recovery operations such as milling, in-situ recovery, heapleaching, ore buying stations, ion-exchange facilities and in-processing of ores containing source material for extraction of metals other than uranium or thorium, including licenses authorizing the possession of byproduct waste material (tailings) from source material recovery operations, as well as licenses authorizing the possession and maintenance of a facility in a standby mode.  
  (a) Conventional and Heap Leach facilities. 15 [Program Code(s): 11100] N/A
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities. 15 [Program Code(s): 11500] 52,200
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities 15 [Program Code(s): 11510] N/A
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities. 15 [Program Code(s): 11550] 5N/A
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities. 15 [Program Code(s): 11555] 5N/A
(f) Other facilities 6 [Program Code(s): 11700] 5N/A
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for possession and disposal, except those licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) or Category 2.A.(4). 15 [Program Code(s): 11600, 12000] 5N/A
(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for possession and disposal incidental to the disposal of the uranium waste tailings generated by the licensee’s milling operations, except those licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) 15 [Program Code(s): 12010] N/A
B. Licenses which authorize the possession, use, and/or installation of source material for shielding. 16 17 Application [Program Code(s): 11210] 3,700
C. Licenses to distribute items containing source material to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 40 of this chapter. [Program Code: 11240] 14,000
D. Licenses to distribute source material to persons generally licensed under part 40 of this chapter. [Program Code(s): 11230 and 11231] 6,900
E. Licenses for possession and use of source material for processing or manufacturing of products or materials containing source material for commercial distribution. [Program Code: 11710] 8,800
F. All other source material licenses. [Program Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810, 11820] 11,800
3. Byproduct material:
  A. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution. Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program Code(s): 03211, 03212, 03213] 38,000
  (1). Licenses of broad scope for the possession and use of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution. Number of locations of use: 6–20. [Program Code(s): 04010, 04012, 04014] 50,500
  (2). Licenses of broad scope for the possession and use of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution. Number of locations of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04011, 04013, 04015] 63,000
B. Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 30 of this chapter for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution. Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program Code(s): 03214, 03215, 22135, 22162] 12,900
  (1). Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 30 of this chapter for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution. Number of locations of use: 6–20. [Program Code(s): 04110, 04112, 04114, 04116] 17,100
  (2). Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 30 of this chapter for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution. Number of locations of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04111, 04113, 04115, 04117] 21,400
C. Licenses issued under §§ 32.72 and/or 32.74 of this chapter that authorize the processing or manufacturing and distribution or redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits, and/or sources and devices containing byproduct material. This category does not apply to licenses issued to nonprofit educational institutions whose processing or manufacturing is exempt under § 170.11(a)(4) of this chapter. Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513] 12,900
  (1). Licenses issued under §§ 32.72 and/or 32.74 of this chapter that authorize the processing or manufacturing and distribution or redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits, and/or sources and devices containing byproduct material. This category does not apply to licenses issued to nonprofit educational institutions whose processing or manufacturing is exempt under § 170.11(a)(4). Number of locations of use: 6–20. [Program Code(s): 04210, 04212, 04214] 17,200
  (2). Licenses issued under §§ 32.72 and/or 32.74 of this chapter that authorize the processing or manufacturing and distribution or redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits, and/or sources and devices containing byproduct material. This category does not apply to licenses issued to nonprofit educational institutions whose processing or manufacturing is exempt under § 170.11(a)(4). Number of locations of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04211, 04213, 04215] 23,500
D. [Reserved] 5N/A
E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of materials in which the source is not removed from its shield (self-shielded units). [Program Code(s): 03510, 03520] 12,100
F. Licenses for possession and use of less than or equal to 10,000 curies of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of materials in which the source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This category also includes underwater irradiators for irradiation of materials in which the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes. [Program Code(s): 03511] 12,500
G. Licenses for possession and use of greater than 10,000 curies of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of materials in which the source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This category also includes underwater irradiators for irradiation of materials in which the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes. [Program Code(s): 03521] 105,800
H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material that require device review to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter, except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter. [Program Code(s): 03254, 03255, 03257] 13,000
I. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material or quantities of byproduct material that do not require device evaluation to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter, except for specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter. [Program Code(s): 03250, 03251, 03253, 03256]

19,200

J. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material that require sealed source and/or device review to persons generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter, except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter. [Program Code(s): 03240, 03241, 03243] 4,900
K. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material or quantities of byproduct material that do not require sealed source and/or device review to persons generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter, except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter. [Program Code(s): 03242, 03244] 3,700
L. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for research and development that do not authorize commercial distribution. Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program Code(s): 01100, 01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612, 03613] 17,600
 
(1) Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of product material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for research and development that do not authorize commercial distribution. Number of locations of use: 6– 20. [Program Code(s): 04610, 04612, 04614, 04616, 04618, 04620, 04622] 23,400
(2) Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for research and development that do not authorize commercial distribution. Number of locations of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04611, 04613, 04615, 04617, 04619, 04621, 04623] 29,200
M. Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 30 of this chapter for research and development that do not authorize commercial distribution. [Program Code(s): 03620] 18,400
N. Licenses that authorize services for other licensees, except: (1) Licenses that authorize only calibration and/or leak testing services are subject to the fees specified in fee Category 3.P.; and (2) Licenses that authorize waste disposal services are subject to the fees specified in fee categories 4.A., 4.B., and 4.C. 21 [Program Code(s): 03219, 03225, 03226] 20,100
O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 34 of this chapter for industrial radiography operations. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding authorized under part 40 of this chapter when authorized on the same license. Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program Code(s): 03310, 03320] 43,700
  (1). Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 34 of this chapter for industrial radiography operations. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding authorized under part 40 of this chapter when authorized on the same license. Number of locations of use: 6–20. [Program Code(s): 04310, 04312] 58,500
  (2). Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 34 of this chapter for industrial radiography operations. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding authorized under part 40 of this chapter when authorized on the same license. Number of locations of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04311, 04313] 73,100
P. All other specific byproduct material licenses, except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.18 Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program Code(s): 02400, 02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123, 03124, 03140, 03130, 03220, 03221, 03222, 03800, 03810, 22130] 14,600
  (1). All other specific byproduct material licenses, except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.18 Number of locations of use: 6–20. [Program Code(s): 04410, 04412, 04414, 04416, 04418, 04420, 04422, 04424, 04426, 04428, 04430, 04432, 04434, 04436, 04438] 19,500
  (2). All other specific byproduct material licenses, except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.18 Number of locations of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04411, 04413, 04415, 04417, 04419, 04421, 04423, 04425, 04427, 04429, 04431, 04433, 04435, 04437, 04439] 24,400
Q. Registration of devices generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter 13N/A
R. Possession of items or products containing radium–226 identified in § 31.12 of this chapter which exceed the number of items or limits specified in that section: 14.  
  (1). Possession of quantities exceeding the number of items or limits in § 31.12(a)(4), or (5) of this chapter but less than or equal to 10 times the number of items or limits specified [Program Code(s): 02700] 8,400
(2). Possession of quantities exceeding 10 times the number of items or limits specified in § 31.12(a)(4) or (5) of this chapter [Program Code(s): 02710] 8,700
S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced radionuclides [Program Code(s): 03210] 35,300
4. Waste disposal and processing:
  A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material from other persons for the purpose of contingency storage or commercial land disposal by the licensee; or licenses authorizing contingency storage of low-level radioactive waste at the site of nuclear power reactors; or licenses for receipt of waste from other persons for incineration or other treatment, packaging of resulting waste and residues, and transfer of packages to another person authorized to receive or dispose of waste material. [Program Code(s): 03231, 03233, 03236, 06100, 06101] 27,400
B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material from other persons for the purpose of packaging or repackaging the material. The licensee will dispose of the material by transfer to another person authorized to receive or dispose of the material. [Program Code(s): 03234] 20,400
C. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material from other persons. The licensee will dispose of the material by transfer to another person authorized to receive or dispose of the material. [Program Code(s): 03232] 12,100
5. Well logging:
  A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer studies other than field flooding tracer studies. [Program Code(s): 03110, 03111, 03112] 16,200
B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material for field flooding tracer studies. [Program Code(s): 03113] 5N/A
6. Nuclear laundries:
  A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of items contaminated with byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material. [Program Code(s): 03218] 39,600
7. Medical licenses:
  A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in gamma stereotactic radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices, or similar beam therapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license. 9 17 Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program Code(s): 02300, 02310] 37,600
  (1). Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in gamma stereotactic radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices, or similar beam therapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 17 Number of locations of use: 6–20. [Program Code(s): 04510, 04512] 50,000
  (2). Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in gamma stereotactic radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices, or similar beam therapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 17 Number of locations of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04511, 04513] 62,500
B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical institutions or two or more physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter authorizing research and development, including human use of byproduct material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 17 Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program Code(s): 02110] 53,000
  (1). Licenses of broad scope issued to medical institutions or two or more physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter authorizing research and development, including human use of byproduct material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 17 Number of locations of use: 6–20. [Program Code(s): 04710] 70,600
  (2). Licenses of broad scope issued to medical institutions or two or more physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter authorizing research and development, including human use of byproduct material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 17 Number of locations of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04711] 88,000
C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 17 19 Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program Code(s): 02120, 02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220, 02230, 02231, 02240, 22160] 21,400
  (1). Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 17 19 Number of locations of use: 6–20. [Program Code(s): 04810, 04812, 04814, 04816, 04818, 04820, 04822, 04824, 04826, 04828] 28,600
  (2). Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 17 19 Number of locations of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04811, 04813, 04815, 04817, 04819, 04821, 04823, 04825, 04827, 04829] 36,600
8. Civil defense:
  A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material for civil defense activities. [Program Code(s): 03710] 8,400
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety evaluation:
  A. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of devices or products containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material, except reactor fuel devices, for commercial distribution 29,800
B. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of devices or products containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant,
except reactor fuel devices
13,200
C. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material, except reactor fuel, for commercial distribution 7,700
D. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material, manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant,
except reactor fuel
1,500
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
  A. Certificates of Compliance or other package approvals issued for design of casks, packages, and shipping containers.  
  1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium air packages 6N/A
2. Other Casks 6N/A
B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under part 71 of this chapter.  
  1. Users and Fabricators 6N/A
2. Users 6N/A
C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals, route surveys, and transportation security devices (including immobilization devices) 6N/A
11. Standardized spent fuel facilities 6N/A
12. Special Projects [Program Code(s): 25110] 6N/A
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance 6N/A
  B. General licenses for storage of spent fuel under § 72.210 of this chapter 12N/A
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation:  
  A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material licenses and other approvals authorizing decommissioning, decontamination, reclamation, or site restoration activities under parts 30, 40, 70, 72, and 76 of this chapter, including master materials licenses (MMLs). The transition to this fee category occurs when a licensee has permanently ceased principal activities. [Program Code(s): 03900, 11900, 21135, 21215, 21325, 22200] 7 20N/A
B. Site-specific decommissioning activities associated with unlicensed sites, including MMLs, whether or not the sites have been previously licensed 7N/A
15. Import and Export licenses 8N/A
16. Reciprocity 8N/A
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to Government agencies.15 [Program Code(s): 03614]. 457,000
18. Department of Energy:  
  A. Certificates of Compliance 102,331,000
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) activities [Program Code(s): 03237, 03238] 261,000

1  Annual fees will be assessed based on whether a licensee held a valid license with the NRC authorizing possession and use of radioactive material during the current FY. The annual fee is waived for those materials licenses and holders of certificates, registrations, and approvals who either filed for termination of their licenses or approvals or filed for possession only/storage licenses before October 1 of the current FY, and permanently ceased licensed activities entirely before this date. Annual fees for licensees who filed for termination of a license, downgrade of a license, or for a possession-only license during the FY and for new licenses issued during the FY will be prorated in accordance with the provisions of § 171.17. If a person holds more than one license, certificate, registration, or approval, the annual fee(s) will be assessed for each license, certificate, registration, or approval held by that person. For licenses that authorize more than one activity on a single license (e.g., human use and irradiator activities), annual fees will be assessed for each category applicable to the license.
2  Payment of the prescribed annual fee does not automatically renew the license, certificate, registration, or approval for which the fee is paid. Renewal applications must be filed in accordance with the requirements of parts 30, 40, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of this chapter.
3  Each FY, fees for these materials licenses will be calculated and assessed in accordance with § 171.13 and will be published in the Federal Register for notice and comment
4  Other facilities include licenses for extraction of metals, heavy metals, and rare earths.
5  There are no existing NRC licenses in these fee categories. If NRC issues a license for these categories, the Commission will consider establishing an annual fee for this type of license.
6  Standardized spent fuel facilities, 10 CFR parts 71 and 72 Certificates of Compliance and related Quality Assurance program approvals, and special reviews, such as topical reports, are not assessed an annual fee because the generic costs of regulating these activities are primarily attributable to users of the designs, certificates, and topical reports.
7  Licensees in this category are not assessed an annual fee because they are charged an annual fee in other categories while they are licensed to operate.
8  No annual fee is charged because it is not practical to administer due to the relatively short life or temporary nature of the license.
9  Separate annual fees will not be assessed for pacemaker licenses issued to medical institutions that also hold nuclear medicine licenses under fee categories 7.A, 7.A.1, 7.A.2, 7.B., 7.B.1, 7.B.2, 7.C, 7.C.1, or 7.C.2.
10  This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to the DOE that are not funded from the Nuclear Waste Fund.
11  See § 171.15(c).
12  See § 171.15(c).
13  No annual fee is charged for this category because the cost of the general license registration program applicable to licenses in this category will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees.
14  Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources are possessed for storage only.)
15  Licensees subject to fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., 1.E., 2.A., and licensees paying fees under fee category 17 must pay the largest applicable fee and are not subject to additional fees listed in this table.
16  Licensees paying fees under 3.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B. for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
17  Licensees paying fees under 7.A, 7.A.1, 7.A.2, 7.B, 7.B.1, 7.B.2, 7.C, 7.C.1, or 7.C.2 are not subject to fees under 2.B. for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
18  Licensees paying fees under 3.N. are not subject to paying fees under 3.P., 3.P.1, or 3.P.2 for calibration or leak testing services authorized on the same license.
19  Licensees paying fees under 7.B., 7.B.1, or 7.B.2 are not subject to paying fees under 7.C., 7.C.1, or 7.C.2 for broad scope license licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices authorized on the same license.
20  No annual fee is charged for a materials license (or part of a materials license) that has transitioned to this fee category because the decommissioning costs will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees, but annual fees may be charged for other activities authorized under the license that are not in decommissioning status.
21  Licensees paying fees under 4.A., 4.B. or 4.C. are not subject to paying fees under 3.N. licenses that authorize services for other licensees authorized on the same license.

[64 FR 31476, Jun. 10, 1999; 64 FR 38816, Jul. 20, 1999; 65 FR 36965, Jun. 12, 2000; 65 FR 44573, Jul. 18, 2000; 66 FR 32474, Jun. 14, 2001; 67 FR 42635, Jun. 24, 2002; 68 FR 36734, Jun. 18, 2003; 68 FR 46439, Aug. 6, 2003; 69 FR 22682, Apr. 26, 2004; ; 70 FR 30548, May 26, 2005; 70 FR 33820, Jun. 10, 2005; 71 FR 30753, May 30, 2006; 71 FR 33190, Jun. 8, 2006, 72 FR 39733, Jul. 20, 2007; 72 FR 31427, Jun. 6, 2007; 72 FR 44954, Aug. 10, 2007; 72 FR 55936 Oct. 1, 2007; 73 FR 32408, Jun. 6, 2008; 74 FR 27666, Jun. 10, 2009; 75 FR 34241, Jun. 16, 2010; 76 FR 36802, Jun. 22, 2011; 76 FR 72087, Nov. 22, 2011; 77 FR 35832, Jun. 15, 2012; 77 FR 39387, Jul. 3, 2012; 78 FR 32342, May 29, 2013; 78 FR 39487, Jul. 1, 2013; 79 FR 37151 Jun. 30, 2014; 80 FR 37460, Jun. 30, 2015; 81 FR 41192, Jun. 24, 2016; 81 FR 61101, Sep. 6, 2016; 82 FR 30704, Jun. 30, 2017; 83 FR 29652, Jun. 25, 2018; 84 FR 22357, May 17, 2019; 85 FR 37277, Jun. 19, 2020; 86 FR 32178, Jun. 16, 2021; 87 FR 8946, Feb. 17, 2022; 87 FR 37221, Jun. 22, 2022; 88 FR 39146, Jun. 15 2023; 89 FR 51817, Jun. 20, 2024]

§ 171.17 Proration.

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Annual fees will be prorated for NRC licensees as follows:

(a) Reactors, 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do not hold 10 CFR part 50 or 10 CFR part 52 licenses, and materials licenses with annual fees of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category. The NRC will base the proration of annual fees for terminated and downgraded licenses on the fee rule in effect at the time the action is official. The NRC will base the determinations on the proration requirements under paragraphs (a)(2) and (3) of this section.

(1) New licenses. (i) The annual fees for new licenses for power reactors and small modular reactors that are subject to fees under this part, for which the licensee has notified the NRC on or after October 1 of a fiscal year (FY) that the licensee has successfully completed power ascension testing, are prorated on the basis of the number of days remaining in the FY. Thereafter, the full annual fee is due and payable each subsequent FY.

(ii) The annual fees for new licenses for non-power production or utilization facilities, 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do not hold 10 CFR part 50 or 52 licenses, and materials licenses with annual fees of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category for the current FY, that are subject to fees under this part and are granted a license to operate on or after October 1 of a FY, are prorated on the basis of the number of days remaining in the FY. Thereafter, the full annual fee is due and payable each subsequent FY.

(2) Terminations. The base operating power reactor annual fee for operating reactor licensees or the annual fee for small modular reactor licensees, who have requested amendment to withdraw operating authority permanently during the FY will be prorated based on the number of days during the FY the license was in effect before docketing of the certifications for permanent cessation of operations and permanent removal of fuel from the reactor vessel or when a final legally effective order to permanently cease operations has come into effect. The spent fuel storage/ reactor decommissioning annual fee for reactor licensees who permanently cease operations and have permanently removed fuel from the site during the FY will be prorated on the basis of the number of days remaining in the FY after docketing of both the certifications of permanent cessation of operations and permanent removal of fuel from the site. The spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee will be prorated for those 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 or 52 license who request termination of the 10 CFR part 72 license and permanently cease activities authorized by the license during the FY based on the number of days the license was in effect before receipt of the termination request. The annual fee for materials licenses with annual fees of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category for the current FY will be prorated based on the number of days remaining in the FY when a termination request or a request for a possession-only license is received by the NRC, provided the licensee permanently ceased licensed activities during the specified period. The annual fee for non-power production or utilization facilities will be prorated based on the number of days remaining in the FY when the authorization to operate the facility has been permanently removed from the license during the FY.

(3) Downgraded licenses. The annual fee for a materials license with an annual fee of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category for the current FY, that is subject to fees under this part and downgraded on or after October 1 of a FY, is automatically prorated by the agency on the basis of the number of days remaining in the FY when the application for downgrade is received and approved by the NRC, provided the licensee permanently ceased the stated activities during the specified period.

(b) Materials licenses (excluding 10 CFR part 72 licenses and materials license with annual fees of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category, included in § 171.17(a)).

(1) New licenses. The annual fee for a materials license that is subject to fees under this part and issued on or after October 1 of the FY is prorated on the basis of when the NRC issues the new license. New licenses issued during the period October 1 through March 31 of the FY will be assessed one-half the annual fee for that FY. New licenses issued on or after April 1 of the FY will not be assessed an annual fee for that FY. Thereafter, the full fee is due and payable each subsequent FY.

(2) Terminations. The annual fee will be prorated for licenses for which a termination request or a request for a POL has been received on or after October 1 of a FY on the basis of when the application for termination or POL is received by the NRC provided the licensee permanently ceased licensed activities during the specified period. Licenses for which applications for termination or POL are filed during the period October 1 through March 31 of the FY are assessed one-half the annual fee for the applicable category(ies) for that FY. Licenses for which applications for termination or POL are filed on or after April 1 of the FY are assessed the full annual fee for that FY. Materials licenses transferred to a new Agreement State during the FY are considered terminated by the NRC, for annual fee purposes, on the date that the Agreement with the State becomes effective; therefore, the same proration provisions will apply as if the licenses were terminated.

(3) Downgraded licenses. (i) The annual fee for a materials license that is subject to fees under this part and downgraded on or after October 1 of a FY is automatically prorated on the basis of the date when the application for downgrade is received and approved by the NRC, provided the licensee permanently ceased the stated activities during the specified period.

(ii) Annual fees for licenses for which applications to downgrade are filed during the period October 1 through March 31 of the FY will be prorated as follows:

(A) Licenses for which applications have been filed to reduce the scope of the license from a higher fee category(ies) to a lower fee category(ies) will be assessed one-half the annual fee for the higher fee category and one-half the annual fee for the lower fee category(ies), and, if applicable, the full annual fee for fee categories not affected by the downgrade; and

(B) Licenses with multiple fee categories for which applications have been filed to downgrade by deleting a fee category will be assessed one-half the annual fee for the fee category being deleted and the full annual fee for the remaining categories.

(iii) Licenses for which applications to downgrade are filed on or after April 1 of the FY are assessed the full fee for that FY.

[64 FR 31480, June 10, 1999; 72 FR 31431, June 6, 2007; 77 FR 35835, Jun. 15, 2012; 83 FR 29657, Jun. 25, 2018; 85 FR 37282, Jun. 19, 2020; 86 FR 32183, Jun. 16, 2021]

§ 171.19 Payment.

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(a) Method of payment. All annual fee payments under this part are to be made payable to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The payments are to be made in U.S. funds using the electronic payment methods accepted at www.Pay.gov. Federal agencies may also make payment by IntraGovernmental Payment and Collection (IPAC). Specific instructions for making payments may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Chief Financial Officer at 301–415– 7554. In accordance with Department of the Treasury requirements, refunds will only be made upon receipt of information on the payee’s financial institution and bank accounts.

(b) Annual fees in the amount of $100,000 or more and described in the Federal Register document issued under § 171.13, must be paid in quarterly installments of 25 percent as billed by the NRC. The quarters begin on October 1, January 1, April 1, and July 1 of each fiscal year. The NRC will adjust the fourth quarterly invoice to recover the full amount of the revised annual fee. If the amounts collected in the first three quarters exceed the amount of the revised annual fee, the overpayment will be refunded. Licensees whose annual fee for the previous fiscal year was less than $100,000 (billed on the anniversary date of the license), and whose revised annual fee for the current fiscal year is $100,000 or greater (subject to quarterly billing), will be issued a bill upon publication of the final rule for the full amount of the revised annual fee for the current fiscal year, less any payments received for the current fiscal year based on the anniversary date billing process.

(c) Annual fees that are less than $100,000 are billed on the anniversary date of the license. For annual fee purposes, the anniversary date of the license is considered to be the first day of the month in which the original license was issued by the NRC. Licensees that are billed on the license anniversary date will be assessed the annual fee in effect on the anniversary date of the license. Materials licenses subject to the annual fee that are terminated during the fiscal year but before the anniversary month of the license will be billed upon termination for the fee in effect at the time of the billing. New materials licenses subject to the annual fee will be billed in the month the license is issued or in the next available monthly billing for the fee in effect on the anniversary date of the license. Thereafter, annual fees for new licenses will be assessed in the anniversary month of the license.

(d) Annual Fees of less than $100,000 must be paid as billed by the NRC. Materials license annual fees that are less than $100,000 are billed on the anniversary date of the license. The materials licensees that are billed on the anniversary date of the license are those covered by fee categories 1.C., 1.D., 1.F., 2.A.(2) through 9.D.

(e) Payment is due on the invoice date and interest accrues from the date of the invoice. However, interest will be waived if payment is received within 30 days from the invoice date.

(f) The NRC is entitled to collect any underpayment of fees as a result of an error by the NRC.

[65 FR 36968, June 12, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 32478, June 14, 2001; 71 FR 30755, May 30, 2006; 71 FR 33190, June 8, 2006; 72 FR 31432, June 6, 2007; 78 FR 39491, Jul. 1, 2013; 79 FR 37154 Jun. 30, 2014; 82 FR 30708, Jun. 30, 2017]

§ 171.21 [Reserved]

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§ 171.23 Enforcement.

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If any person required to pay the annual fee fails to pay when the fee is due, or files a false certification with respect to qualifying as a small entity under the Regulatory Flexibility Criteria, the Commission may refuse to process any application submitted by or on behalf of the person with respect to any license issued to the person and may suspend or revoke any licenses held by the person. The filing of a false certification to qualify as a small entity under § 171.16(c) of this part may also result in punitive action pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1001.

[56 FR 31510, July 10, 1991]

§ 171.25 Collection, interest, penalties, and administrative costs.

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All annual fees in §§ 171.15 and 171.16 will be collected pursuant to the procedures of 10 CFR part 15. Interest, penalties and administrative costs for late payments will be assessed in accordance with 10 CFR part 15, of this chapter, 4 CFR part 102, and other relevant regulations of the United States Government, as appropriate. In the event a quarterly installment is not made by the appropriate due date specified in § 171.19, the full fee becomes due and payable, with interest, penalties, and administrative costs of collection calculated from the date that quarterly installment was due.

[56 FR 31511, July 10, 1991]

§ 171.26 Right to dispute assessed fees.

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All debtors' disputes of fees assessed must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 15.31

[86 FR 32183, Jun. 16, 2021]

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Wednesday, August 14, 2024