Policy and licensing / United States (federal)
10 CFR Part 53: risk-informed, technology-inclusive licensing framework
The NRC's Part 53 licensing framework took effect on 29 April 2026. It sets how applications may be reviewed; it approves no design, site or reactor.
- Category
- Laws, rules and executive directives
- Status
- In effect
- Instrument
- final rule · 91 FR 15696 (final rule, 30 March 2026); docket NRC-2019-0062
- Issued by
- U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Jurisdiction
- United States (federal)
- Affects
- NRC licensing
- In effect from
- 2026-04-29
- Expiry or completion
- None recorded
- Operative text
- Federal Register 91 FR 15696 (30 Mar 2026): Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors (final rule) (Final rule as corrected (91 FR 18772; 91 FR 47128))
- Last checked · next review
- 2026-10-03 · 2027-01-15
Legal and geographic scope
NRC regulation adding a risk-informed, performance-based and technology-inclusive licensing framework for commercial nuclear plants, issued in response to the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act.
Not approved or still pending
Which applicants will use Part 53 is not recorded; no application under Part 53 is recorded here.
Dated lifecycle
- 2024-10-31 · Proposed (Federal Register 89 FR 86918 (31 Oct 2024): Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors (proposed rule))
- 2026-03-30 · Published (Federal Register 91 FR 15696 (30 Mar 2026): Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors (final rule))
- 2026-04-29 · Took effect (Federal Register 91 FR 15696 (30 Mar 2026): Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors (final rule))
Related instruments
- ADVANCE Act of 2024 (related)
Projects or designs named by the source
- None. Location in this jurisdiction does not make a project eligible for, or approved under, this measure.
Sources
- Federal Register 91 FR 15696 (30 Mar 2026): Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors (final rule) (regulator_primary, accessed 2026-10-03)
- Federal Register 89 FR 86918 (31 Oct 2024): Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors (proposed rule) (regulator_primary, accessed 2026-10-03)