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What changed in the 2026 nationwide permit reissuance

The Corps reissued the nationwide permit programme in 91 FR 768, published 8 January 2026 and effective 15 March 2026. Of the 57 active permits, 56 were reissued with modifications and one, NWP 60 for fish passage, is entirely new. The set runs on a 5-year cycle, expiring 15 March 2031.

The citation, in full

This dataset was compiled from the final rule at 91 FR 768, pages 768-886, docket number COE-2025-0002, RIN 0710-AB56. Anyone checking our work should start at that document rather than at this page: 91 FR 768 - Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits (final rule, 8 Jan 2026).

Numbering is not contiguous, and this trips people up every cycle. The 57 NWPs are numbered 1-25, 27-46, 48-55 and 57-60. NWPs 26, 47 and 56 are shown as [Reserved] in the final rule and are not active permits. 56 existing NWPs were reissued with modifications and one new NWP (60) was issued. A permit missing from a list you are working from is not necessarily an error. Check whether the number simply falls in a reserved gap before assuming a citation is wrong.

56 reissued, one new: NWP 60

NWP 60, Activities to Improve Passage of Fish and Other Aquatic Organisms, is the only genuinely new permit this cycle. New NWP this cycle; proposed as NWP A and issued as NWP 60. Loss limit is one acre of waters of the United States. It carries a loss limit of 1 acre and pre-construction notification is conditional rather than blanket. If your work restores or improves fish passage, culvert replacement being the most common case, this is the permit to read first; see the NWP 60 page for the full compiled entry. Every other active permit in the 2026 set was reissued, meaning its number, and usually its terms, carried over from the 2021 nationwide permits with the modifications described in the final rule, not written from scratch.

What reissuance means for a project already under way

A reissuance replaces the prior nationwide permits at the effective date. If a project was authorised or verified under the 2021 NWPs, the practical question is whether that verification still stands, needs re-confirmation, or has to be re-run against the 2026 terms, and how long any transition allowance lasts. PermitBird does not hold a compiled transition or grandfathering period for this cycle, so this page will not invent one. That is a question for the district that issued the original verification, and it is worth asking in writing rather than assuming continuity. Do not treat a verification letter dated before 15 March 2026 as automatically valid against the 2026 conditions without checking.

This site holds the 91 FR 768 ruleset itself, not a permit-by-permit diff against the 2021 nationwide permits. Reissued with modifications is doing a lot of work in that phrase: it can mean a punctuation change to a summary, or it can mean an acreage limit, a PCN trigger, or a general condition reference moved. If you need to know exactly what changed on one specific permit's terms between cycles, compare the current compiled entry against your own 2021 project records or the Federal Register text for both rules directly. Do not assume a permit's terms are unchanged just because its number and general subject matter carried over.

Where to check a specific permit's terms

Every permit in this dataset carries its own confidence flag, and it is worth reading before relying on a number. All 57 active permits in the 2026 set are held at verified confidence here, meaning the title, summary, acreage limit and PCN rule were each read directly from the Federal Register text rather than estimated. That still leaves two layers this dataset does not reach into: the district's own regional conditions and the state's Section 401 posture, both discussed on the coverage page. A verified federal-level result is not the same thing as a complete determination once those layers are added in.

The 300 linear foot myth

300 linear feet of stream bed limit - NOT in force for the 2026 cycle. The 300 linear foot stream bed impact limit was REMOVED from 10 NWPs (21, 29, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 50, 51, 52) in the 2021 NWPs. Many commenters asked the Corps to reinstate it for 2026; the Corps declined and the limit was NOT reinstated. The Corps instead relies on the 1/2-acre impact limit, PCN requirements, and division/district engineer discretionary authority. Do not apply a 300 linear foot limit to 2026 NWP activities.

In plain terms: a 300 linear foot cap on stream bed impact was removed from the affected permits in the 2021 reissuance, and despite comments asking the Corps to bring it back, it was not reinstated in 2026. If a checklist, a consultant's memo, or your own memory says a project is fine because the stream impact is under 300 feet, that reasoning is out of date. What actually governs a stream impact today is the acreage loss limit that applies to the specific permit (see the half acre limit guide), whether a pre-construction notification is triggered, and the district engineer's discretionary authority to add conditions or require an individual permit regardless of size. Treat any reference to a 300 foot limit in older project files as historical, not current.

Run a project through the determination tool to see which of the 57 permits it could fall under and whether a PCN is triggered under the current, 2026-effective terms.

Frequently asked questions

How many nationwide permits were reissued in 2026 and how many are new?
The Corps reissued 56 existing nationwide permits with modifications and issued one entirely new permit, NWP 60, for activities that improve fish and aquatic organism passage. That brings the active set to 57 permits total.
Is the 300 linear foot stream bed limit back in the 2026 nationwide permits?
No. The 300 linear foot stream bed impact limit was removed from the affected permits in the 2021 reissuance. Commenters asked the Corps to reinstate it for 2026 and the Corps declined. It does not apply to 2026 nationwide permit activities.
What is NWP 60?
Discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States and structures and work in navigable waters of the United States for activities that restore or enhance the ability of fish and other aquatic organisms to move through aquatic ecosystems. Examples of activities that may be authorized by this NWP include, but are not limited to: the construction, maintenance, modification, or expansion of conventional/technical and nature-like fishways; the construction, maintenance, modification, or expansion of fish bypass channels around existing in-stream structures; the replacement of existing structures (e.g., culverts, low-water crossings) with structures planned, designed, and constructed to restore or enhance passage of fish and other aquatic organisms; the installation of fish screens and other devices to minimize entrainment and entrapment of fish and other aquatic organisms in irrigation ditches and other features; devices to guide fish and other aquatic organisms through passage features; fish lifts and fish by-pass pipes; the modification of existing in-stream structures, such as dams or weirs, to improve the ability of fish and other aquatic organisms to move past those structures.
When does the 2026 nationwide permit set expire?
The 2026 nationwide permits are effective 15 March 2026 and expire 15 March 2031, a 5-year cycle.
Does my 2021 nationwide permit verification still work under the 2026 rules?
PermitBird does not hold a compiled transition or grandfathering period for this reissuance. Confirm directly with the district that issued your original verification rather than assuming continuity.

Back to all guides, or run a project through the determination tool.