Commercial Use Authorizations
Congress enacted the 1998 Concessions Management Improvement Act (
Public Law 105-391) to improve commercial services in the NPS.
Section 418 outlines the requirement for CUAs and provides the framework for the NPS CUA program.
36 CFR 5.3 outlines the requirement for CUAs in the NPS.
Section 418 of the 1998 Act authorizes the NPS to issue CUAs to authorize a private person, corporation, or other entity to provide commercial visitor services in parks. Without a CUA, other permit, contract, or other written agreement with the United States, such activities otherwise are prohibited under 36 CFR § 5.3. CUAs are required if an operator provides goods or services to park visitors that: 1) take place at least in part on property managed by the NPS; 2) use park resources; and 3) are for the purpose of monetary gain or profit.
The 1998 Act authorizes the NPS to issue CUAs only for appropriate visitor services (See Section 3.4.1) and requires the NPS to:
- Collect a reasonable fee that recovers the NPS’s costs for the administration and management of the CUA, at a minimum
- Take appropriate steps to limit the liability of the United States arising from the provision of visitor services under the CUA
- Limit for-profit CUAs for services originating and provided solely within an NPS unit (in-park CUAs) to operations with annual gross receipts of no more than $25K
- Limit CUAs for services originating and terminating outside an NPS unit to incidental use of park resources
- Only issue CUAs for commercial services that will have no more than minimal impact on resources and values of the park
- Prohibit CUAs from constructing any structure, fixture, or improvement on NPS-managed lands
- Limit the CUA term to a maximum two years with no renewal rights
- Limit the number of CUAs or establish limiting conditions to ensure preservation and proper management of park resources and values
As part of a larger effort to streamline and modernize the National Park Service (NPS) commercial use authorization (CUA) program, the NPS has developed on online system designed to process CUA applications and collect required CUA reports. NPS hosted a public comment period from July 26, 2023, through September 20, 2023, to solicit comments about the online system. Thank you to all who provided comments.
NPS began using the online CUA system in 52 parks for the 2024 CUA season. That initial launch was very successful and provided NPS with the information needed to identify and implement system changes leading to an even better user experience.
NPS will initiate its online system in all parks for the 2025 CUA season. For the 2025 CUA season, the standard CUA application fee for all CUAs except road-based commercial tour CUAs will be $350 for the first application submitted by the applicant and $250 for subsequent applications from the same applicant to the same park. Application fees for road-based commercial tour CUAs will not change for the 2025 CUA season.