Information Necessary to Obtain
Federal Railroad Administration Movement Approval

[Collection of this information is authorized under OMB Control Nos. 2137-0557 and 2137-0559.]

Cover Letter    |    Electronic OTMA Application (Rel. v3.0)    |    Electronic Submissions Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF FRA MOVEMENT APPROVAL


Introduction
These instructions are intended to assist in properly completing and accurately submitting the electronic movement approval application to the Hazardous Materials Division within FRA. The movement approval application is a request to move a specification rail car (or other bulk package moving by rail) that may or may not contain a hazardous material, when that package no longer conforms to the Hazardous Materials Regulations.

Submissions Instructions
When completing the electronic application, please note the following:
  • A red asterik (*) denotes that these fields are required. The system will not allow you to submit the application without completing or providing all the necessary information.
  • To clear the form at any time, press the Reset Form button located at the bottom of the page.
  • You can view the Cover Letter at any time by clicking the Cover Letter link located directly above the form.
  • You can view this instructions at any time by clicking on the Electronic Submissions Instructions link located directly above the form.
  • Each file attachment must be 250 MB or less in order for the system to accept the file.
Submitting a New Application
When completing a new form, all fields marked with a red asterisk (*) indicates that the field requires a value. If any required fields are left blank, the form will not submit and an error message will display indicating the field(s) that requires a value to be entered. Upon completion of the form, press the Submit button. Upon successful submission, the system will return a confirmation message along with a Submission ID. Please reference this Submission ID as you can come back and update your application using this ID. The system will also allow you to save a PDF copy of your application after successfully submitting the application. Further explanation pertaining to certain fields on the form are indicated below.
  1. Action: Select the radio button for Submit a New Application(if not pre-selected).
  2. Date of Application: System will default to today's date. To change the date, click inside the textbox provided. A calendar will display directly below the textbox, allowing the user to select a date. Once a date is selected, the calendar will automatically close. To exit the calendar without selecting a date, press the Close link located at the bottom of the calendar.
  3. Approval Number: This number is automatically generated once the application has been reviewed and approved by FRA.
  4. Company Information
    • Check here if you have submitted an application in the past: Check this field if your agency has submitted an application in the past. The system will display a Select a Company drop-down list menu.
      • Select a Company: This is a drop-down list menu containing the names of all agencies that have submitted an application in the past. Once an agency has been selected, the system will pre-populate the Company Name, Mailing Address, City, State, Zip, and Foreign Country info (if foreign).
      • Check here if your company's name or address has changed: By checking this box, the system will clear the previously submitted company information.
    • State: This is a drop-down list menu to include the 50 U.S. States and the District of Columbia
      Note: Please contact FRA if your State or Country is missing from the list.
    • Zip: Acceptable values are 99999 or 99999-0000
    • Click here if foreign address: Select the checkbox if address is foreign. A Country field will be displayed allowing you to enter the name of the foreign country. If the Country entered is Canada, the name of the Province must be entered into the space provided.
      Note: The State field will be disabled and not required if foreign address is selected. The Zip field should accept foreign values to include alpha characters and not required it to be in the format of 99999 or 99999-0000.
    • Company Fax: This field is not required, but if a value is entered, please enter the 10 digit fax number. The system will automatically format the fax number to (999) 999-9999.
  5. Company Contact Information
    • Contact Telephone #: Please enter the 10 digit telephone number. The system will automatically format the telephone number to (999) 999-9999.
    • Email Address: Only valid email address will be accepted.
      Note: All correspondence from FRA will be sent to the email address listed in this field.
  6. Is the Tank Car Owner the same as the Company and Contact information entered in the previous section? Check this box if the Company and the Contact information is the same as the Tank Car Owner information. The system will auto-populate the Tank Car Owner, Contact Name, Contact Telephone #, and Email Address fields with the same data entered into the Company Name, Company Contact, Contact Telephone #, and Contact Email Address fields.
  7. Reporting Mark & Number: Enter the Reporting Mark in the first textbox and the Number into the second textbox provided.
    If this movement consists of more than 1 tank car, check the box for Check here if this movement applies to multiple tank car. The system will display additional fields allowing you to enter up to 4 more Reporting Mark & Numbers.
    Note: This application will only allow the movement of up to 5 tank cars. If this movement consists of more than 5 tank cars, please submit additional application(s) for the remainder of the tank cars involved in this movement.
  8. Special Permit Packaging? If this movement contains a special permit for packaging, check the box, then enter the Special Permit into the space provided.
  9. Complete Hazardous Materials Description: If Cleaned and Empty is selected, an attachment field will display requiring you to upload and attach a cleaning certificate. To attach a file, press the Browse button. A Choose File to Upload window will open. Navigate to the location on your computer where the cleaning certificate is saved. Once located, select the file, then press the Open button. If the file was successfully attached, the file path will display in the textbox provided. To attach additional cleaning certificates, press the Add Another Attachment button and follow the same steps as previously described.
  10. DOT Proper Shipping Name: Please enter the proper shipping name in this field. To view a list of DOT Proper Shipping Name, click on the field name. The system will open a new window with a list of the shipping names. You can copy the names and paste paste it into the textbox provided.
  11. Click here to enter a Non-Hazardous Materials description: To enter a non-hazardous materials, select the checkbox provided. By selecting the checkbox, the system will display a textbox allowing you to enter in a description. By also checking this box, the system will default DOT Hazard Class, UN/NA Identification #, and P.G. Number fields to N/A.
  12. DOT Hazard Class, UN/NA Identification #, P.G. Number: These drop-down lists will be pre-populated with a list of predefined values to select from.
  13. Present Location of Car
    • Check here if address and contact information is the same as shipment origination provided in the previous section:
      • Check this box if the address and contact information for the Present Location of Car is the same as the information entered into the Where did this shipment originate? fields. The system will auto-populate the fields in this section.
  14. Approximate total mileage of this movement: This field is auto-fill based on the values entered into Total mileage from present location to destination 1, Total mileage from destination 1 to destination 2, and Total mileage from destination 2 to destination 3. If Planned Destination 2 and Planned Destination 3 is left blank, the system will not include this fields in the calculation.
  15. What is the defective condition? There are three categories of OTMA. The categories are as follows:
    • OTMA-1 adheres to the traditional process.
    • OTMA-2 requires notification for FRA followed by acknowledgement from FRAin the form of an email authorizing or prohibiting continued movement.
    • OTMA-3 is a standing approval.To view a description of the defective condition, click on the appropriate type.

    To view the detail of each categories, click on any of the links below.
      |     |  
  16. Defective Conditions: This list box will allow you to select individual or multiple values.
    • Select a Single Value:
      Select an item in the Defective Conditions (left) list box. When ready, press the Add >> button to move that item over to the Selected Defective Conditions (right) box. To add another value, follow the same steps. To remove a selected value, select an item from the Selected Defective Conditions (right) box, and then press the << Remove button to the move item back over to the left box.
    • Selecting Multiple Values:
      Start by selecting a single value in the left box. Then to select another value, using your keyboard, press and hold down the CTRL key. While the CTRL key is down, using your mouse, select another value in the left box. Continue selecting other values in the left box and when you're ready, let go of the CTRL key. All the selected values should still be highlighted. Now press the Add >> button to move all the selected values in the Defective Conditions (left) box to the Selected Defective Conditions (right) box. You can remove multiple values from the Selected Defective Conditions (right) box by holding down the CTRL key and repeating the same steps noted.
  17. If OTMA-3 was selected as the defective condition, 3 additional fields will be displayed and you are required to complete these fields prior to submitting the application:
    • OTMA-3 Defect Category: Selecting a value from this list will auto-generate a predefined list of values for the OTMA-3 Criteria field
    • OTMA-3 Criteria: By selecting a value from this field, the system will populate the Applicability drop-down list with a predefined set of values.
    • OTMA-3 Applicability
  18. Original Shipping Paper & Other Supporting Documents: To attach the original shipping paper or any supporting documents related to this application, click on the Browse button for the appropriate field. A Choose File to Upload popup window will display. Navigate to the location where the file is stored, select the file, then press the Open button. If the file is successfully attached, the full file path will display in the textbox provided.
    Note: Each file attachment must be 250 MB or less in order for the system to accept the attachment.
  19. I acknowledge: In order for your application to be submitted to FRA for review, you must select the I acknowledge checkbox provided.
  20. reCaptcha: Before submitting an application, the system will require you to enter some characters based on an image shown in the box provided. This verification method verifies that the person submitting the application can attest that they are human and not an automated software engaging in abusive activities.
  21. Reset Form: At any point in time, you can press the Reset Form button to clear all values entered or selected in the form.
    Note: Once the Reset Form button is pressed, you will lose all data entered.
  22. Submit: This button will be disabled by default. In order to submit the application, you must select the I acknowledge checkbox in order for the button to be enabled.
  23. Save PDF Copy: At any point in time, you can save a copy of the data entered into this online application by clicking on the Save PDF Copy. It is recommended that you save a copy of your application prior to submitting it to FRA for review. If you have forgotten to save a copy of your submitted application, you can come back to this site, select the radio button for Update an Existing Application, then entering your Submission ID info the field provided. The system will retrieve and display the information you have submitted into the fields of the online form. From there, you can scroll down to the bottom of the form and press the Save PDF Copy. This will generate the application in Adobe PDF and prompting you to either Open or Save the application. If you choose to open the PDF application, you can still save a copy by going to the File menu, then selecting Save As menu item.
Updating an Existing Application
To update an existing Movement Approval application, next to the text Action, select the radio button for Update an Existing Application. A Submission ID field and Load Application button will be visible and displayed to the right. Using the Submission ID that was provided after a successful submission, enter this value into the textbox, and then pressing Load Application button. The system will populate all the data that was previously submitted. From here, you will have the ability to update any fields and attachments. Once you have made your changes and ready to resubmit your application, press the Submit button.
Note: You can only submit NEW attachments. Previously submitted attachments cannot be removed or deleted from the application.