Documents › Agency rules › 2026-01044
Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Deep Seabed Mining: Revisions to Regulations for Exploration License and Commercial Recovery Permit Applications
Published January 21, 2026. Takes effect January 21, 2026. printed at 91 FR 2642. amending 15 CFR 970, 15 CFR 971.
Mining the deep sea floor needs a license. This changes the rules for it.
What the Rule Says It Does
The Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA or the Act) charges NOAA with the responsibility for issuing licenses for exploration and permits for commercial recovery of hard mineral resources, as defined in the Act, from the deep seabed in areas beyond national jurisdiction and promulgating regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act. Some provisions of the regulations require updating to reflect significant technological and information changes since promulgation of the initial regulations in the 1980s. NOAA has included a consolidated license and permit application process in a section of the regulations reserved for this purpose and has made other clarifying and conforming changes.
This is the rule's own summary, as the Federal Register prints it.
The Order It Names
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- The rule itself
Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Deep Seabed Mining: Revisions to Regulations for Exploration License and Commercial Recovery Permit Applications,” 91 FR 2642 (January 21, 2026). Effective January 21, 2026.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/01/21/2026-01044/deep-seabed-mining-revisions-to-regulations-for-exploration-license-and-commercial-recovery-permit - This page
“Deep Seabed Mining: Revisions to Regulations for Exploration License and Commercial Recovery Permit Applications,” a final rule naming an order indexed here. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/rules/rule-2026-01044/ (retrieved August 26, 2026).
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How This Rule Is Quoted
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