Paperwork Reduction Act: Agencies Could Better Leverage Review Processes and Public Outreach to Improve Burden Estimates, GAO-18-381: Published: Jul 11, 2018. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2018.

Each year, nearly every adult and business provides some form of information to a federal agency, whether via tax forms or benefits applications. Agencies estimate the time and resources it takes to provide this information to help manage the paperwork burden placed on the public. How do they ensure their estimates are accurate? The law requires agencies to solicit public input on information collections to validate their estimates. While agencies often consulted the public via stakeholder and board meetings, they often did not explicitly ask for input on estimates. We recommended that they better leverage public outreach to improve estimates.”