State Notification to Consumers of Motor Vehicle Recall Status | 693JJ920R000060

Opportunity Information: Apply for 693JJ920R000060

The State Notification to Consumers of Motor Vehicle Recall Status grant is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), designed to help state governments (including U.S. territories) build and run systems that alert vehicle owners and lessees about open safety recalls when they interact with the state around vehicle registration. The core idea is simple: many vehicles on the road still have unresolved safety defects or noncompliance issues covered by federal recalls, and traditional manufacturer notification methods do not reach everyone or do not always lead to repairs. By adding recall checks and consumer notifications at the state level, especially during routine registration-related transactions, NHTSA aims to increase consumer awareness and boost recall repair (completion) rates, which in turn should reduce crash and injury risk tied to known vehicle defects.

Funding supports three main pieces of work. First, states must develop or enhance a reliable method for identifying whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, typically by using the vehicle identification number (VIN) to query recall status. Second, states must implement a process to inform owners and lessees about those open recalls at the time of registration or at other "touch points" where the consumer and the state intersect around the vehicle. NHTSA explicitly encourages states to think beyond a single moment of contact and propose frequent, practical notification opportunities, such as alerts during registration renewals, title transactions, or through emissions and safety inspection stations if the state has them. Third, states are expected to evaluate how well the notification program works by analyzing recall completion outcomes after notifications are issued, including developing ways to determine which vehicles were actually remedied following a state-issued notice. NHTSA also signals interest in ongoing data analysis and even consumer attitude assessment to understand what notification approaches are most effective at motivating repairs.

The opportunity is grounded in NHTSA's broader safety mission and the legal framework of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Under federal law, manufacturers must notify owners and purchasers about safety-related defects or noncompliance and provide a remedy, and they often rely on state vehicle registration records (obtained through contractors) to find current owners and mail recall notices. Even with those requirements, completion rates vary widely by vehicle age, vehicle type, and how owners perceive risk, leaving tens of millions of vehicles with unrepaired recalls on the road at any given time. NHTSA previously explored this approach through a FAST Act pilot, including a grant awarded to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration in 2017, with consumer notifications beginning in 2018. Interest from other states and early promise from that pilot helped motivate NHTSA to expand support for similar state-driven notification programs.

Operationally, award recipients are required to run the notification program for two years and then evaluate results. NHTSA is looking for proposals that are both workable and inventive, as long as they meet the basic requirement of notifying consumers at meaningful state-vehicle interaction points and incorporate a plan to measure performance using recall completion data. The funding opportunity (Number 693JJ920R000060, CFDA 20.614) lists an award ceiling of $1,500,000, with an expectation of up to six awards. The original posting date was May 7, 2020, with an original application closing date of September 15, 2020, and eligibility is limited to state governments (including territories).

• The Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "State Notification to Consumers of Motor Vehicle Recall Status" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.614.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 07, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 15, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

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