NHTSA gave the industry another month to comment on its AV exemption framework

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filed two notices for public inspection on August 28, both published on August 31, extending comment periods that were due to close that day. Comments on the agency’s autonomous-vehicle framework updates and interim guidance, and on its interim final rule covering temporary exemptions from federal motor vehicle safety and bumper standards, are now due by September 30.

Both extensions answer a request from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which NHTSA said it received on August 10 and placed in the docket. Writing to the framework docket, the association argued that the notice “presents numerous interconnected questions with potentially significant implications for future rulemaking and guidance.” Its request on the exemption docket said the proposal raises legal, technical and policy issues warranting careful evaluation. The agency found good cause to grant the additional time in both.

The underlying documents were published on July 31. One sets out interim guidance on the framework NHTSA intends to apply to automated driving systems; the other rewrites the Part 555 exemption process, which governs how a manufacturer may sell a limited number of vehicles that do not comply with a federal safety standard. The extension notice restated the framework’s three principles and the approach to exemption oversight the agency described in June 2025.

Both notices were signed by Administrator Jonathan Morrison. The extensions move only the deadline for responses. The exemption notice restated that although its amendments took effect immediately, the agency will publish a final rule after the comment period, responding to comments received and making any appropriate changes to the interim rule.