Through the licensing process, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) authorizes an applicant to conduct any or all of the following activities:

Construct, operate, and decommission commercial reactors and fuel cycle facilities.
Possess, use, process, export and import nuclear materials and waste, and handle certain aspects of their transportation.
Site, design, construct, operate, and close waste disposal sites.

To become licensed for any of these activities (or to amend, renew, or transfer an existing license), an entity or individual submits an application to the NRC. The NRC staff reviews the submission, using standard review plans, to ensure that the applicant's assumptions are technically correct and that the proposed activities will not adversely affect the environment. For additional detail, see the Additional Licensing Information below, as well as the following pages:

Additional Licensing Information

Reactors	Materials
Operating Reactors Operator Licensing Process New Reactors Combined License Design Certification Early Site Permit Advanced Reactors	Medical, Industrial, and Academic Uses of Nuclear Materials Source Material Facilities Uranium Recovery Fuel Cycle Facilities Nuclear Materials Transportation Materials Environmental Reviews Frequently Asked Questions About NRC's Role Under the National Environmental Policy Act
Radioactive Waste	Commodities
Low-Level Waste Disposal Waste Incidental to Reprocessing High-Level Waste Disposal Spent Fuel Storage	Export-Import
Licensing-Related Document Collections Regulatory Guides Standard Technical Specifications