U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy today announced that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is accelerating the Part 555 exemption process, which allows manufacturers to deploy vehicles that lack steering wheels, brake pedals, or mirrors.
“The Part 555 exemption process has been rightly criticized for taking years — bogging developers down in unnecessary red tape that makes it impossible to keep pace with the latest technologies,” said Secretary Duffy in a recent statement. “We’ve streamlined this process to remove another barrier to transportation innovation in the United States, ensure American AV companies can out‑compete international rivals, and maintain safety.”
NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser added that this next step within the agency’s AV Framework “will advance innovation by supporting the commercial deployment of purpose‑built automated vehicles that can satisfy safety requirements.”
To speed up reviews, the agency will publish enhanced application instructions, adopt a “more dynamic and flexible approach to evaluating and overseeing exemptions,” and improve both internal processes and transparency. According to a letter to stakeholders, with these changes “NHTSA anticipates reaching decisions on most exemption requests within months rather than years.”
Under the revised policy, each manufacturer may seek exemptions for up to 2,500 vehicles per year, provided they demonstrate equivalent safety compared to compliant vehicles and meet public‑interest criteria.
