Brief

NOAA’s January 21, 2026 final rule modernizes Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act application regulations by (1) adding an optional consolidated application pathway for both an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit, and (2) updating administrative mechanics such as electronic submissions and clearer formatting expectations. The rule is intended to streamline and reduce duplication in application processing while leaving the substantive issuance standards unchanged. 

Scope

This final rule governs NOAA’s licensing and permitting framework for deep seabed mining by U.S. citizens and companies in areas beyond national jurisdiction under DSHMRA. The regulated resource category is limited to polymetallic nodules as defined in the statute, and the rule text explicitly states that DSHMRA does not extend to seafloor massive sulfides or cobalt rich crusts. This is distinct from the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf regime, which is administered under a separate statute by the Department of the Interior. 

Why NOAA Updated the Rules Now

NOAA explains that the original regulations, finalized in the 1980s, assumed a sequential pathway in which a developer would first obtain an exploration license and later apply for a commercial recovery permit. NOAA argues that technology advances and increased availability of seabed data have changed the practical baseline and justify activating the consolidated approach that NOAA had previously reserved in regulation. NOAA also ties the final rule’s objectives to Executive Order 14285 (April 24, 2025). 

The Consolidated Pathway

New 15 CFR 971.214 allows a qualified applicant to submit one consolidated application seeking both an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit. NOAA may consolidate public hearings and related proceedings where practicable and may prepare a single environmental impact statement evaluating both exploration and commercial recovery impacts rather than separate statements. Importantly, NOAA still proceeds with separate proposals to issue the license and the permit, each with its own proposed terms, conditions, and restrictions, and the consolidated option does not eliminate the traditional sequential approach for applicants that prefer it. 

For timing, the rule establishes that, to the maximum extent practicable, NOAA will certify a consolidated application that is in full compliance within 100 days. Certification is an application status milestone and not the same as final issuance of a license or permit. If certification or denial of certification is not completed within 100 days, NOAA must provide a written update identifying unresolved issues, ongoing efforts, and an estimated timeline to completion. 

Modernized Submission Mechanics

The rule updates both exploration license and commercial recovery permit applications to electronic submission, removes legacy hard copy mailing requirements, and instructs applicants to organize submissions by regulatory topics and sections to support more efficient review. It also clarifies how NOAA treats after hours submissions for response time calculations. 

Standard application fees remain $100,000 for exploration licenses and $100,000 for commercial recovery permits, while the consolidated license and permit application carries a $350,000 fee. NOAA retains authority to refund or collect the difference if actual administrative processing costs materially differ. The rule also reiterates that fee payment does not establish priority of right. 

NOAA emphasizes that it is not changing the core rule that priority of right is based on when an application in substantial compliance is received, rather than when a fee is paid. NOAA also states it is not changing the 30 day and 60 day time periods used for substantial and full compliance determinations. For certain license applicants with pending applications at the time the rule became final, the rule provides 60 days to elect the consolidated procedures and then submit an amended application that meets consolidated requirements, with prior NOAA work remaining applicable where still relevant. 

Economic Indicators

Two tables in the regulatory flexibility analysis provide the clearest quantified picture of how NOAA expects the rule to function in practice. Table 1 lists NAICS categories NOAA believes could be affected and indicates NOAA’s estimate that 7 U.S. businesses could be affected, with 4 of those classified as small businesses within the NAICS category that NOAA says best describes deep sea mining. This signals NOAA’s view that the applicant universe is limited and that specialized service providers could be indirectly touched by application activity. 

Table 2 presents NOAA’s monetized cost and cost savings estimates over 2026 to 2035, showing net positive benefits in each year and an undiscounted net benefit total of $23,523,304. NOAA attributes these monetized benefits to specific mechanisms such as the shift from paper to digital submission, the reduced burden of submitting one consolidated package instead of two sequential packages, fewer adjudicatory hearings in certain denial scenarios, and the monetized value of earlier process initiation under the consolidated approach. NOAA notes that other standardization benefits were not quantified, so the table should be read as a partial quantification of expected streamlining rather than a full valuation of all effects. 

Key takeaways

  • NOAA’s rule creates an optional consolidated application pathway while preserving the sequential approach and the substantive issuance standards. 
  • The headline timing provision is a 100 day certification target for fully compliant consolidated applications, which is not the same as license or permit issuance. 
  • The application process is now explicitly electronic and structured around clearer formatting expectations to support faster administrative review. 
  • NOAA’s quantified analysis (Tables 1 and 2) indicates a small expected applicant pool and projects positive net benefits over 2026 to 2035 based on specific, monetized streamlining mechanisms.