On October 1, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 26-67) that rewrites key parts of its Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) consent-revocation rules. The changes respond to an unusually broad coalition of banks, utilities, healthcare groups, and consumer advocates, which urged the FCC to reconsider aspects of its prior revocation rules.
Background
In 2024, the FCC adopted rules requiring businesses to honor opt-outs made by “any reasonable method” and to treat an opt-out from one type of robocall or robotext as an opt-out from all calls and texts that require consent. Most of those rules took effect in April 2025. The “revoke all” piece was put on hold by waiver, most recently until January 31, 2027. The new order replaces it before it would have taken effect.
What changed
Opt-outs can now be category specific. For informational robocalls and robotexts, a business may treat an opt-out as applying only to the category of messages in which the consumer revoked consent. The FCC’s own example: under the old rule, a customer who opted out of payment reminders would also lose fraud alerts, multi-factor authentication codes, appointment reminders, and outage notices. The new rule allows businesses to avoid that result.
Marketing is the exception here. An opt-out in response to a marketing call or text revokes consent to all future marketing calls and texts from that business. Do-Not-Call requests continue to reach affiliates where the consumer would reasonably expect them to be included.
Businesses can designate an exclusive opt-out method from one or more of three methods as the exclusive means to revoke consent:
- An automated, interactive voice or key-press opt-out on the mechanism during a call
- A reply text using any of the standard words “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel,” or “unsubscribe”
- A website or phone number the business designates for opt-outs
The designated method must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed on each call or in each text. For texts, naming just one keyword (for example, “Reply STOP to opt out”) is enough, but the business must still honor all seven standardized keywords. A business that designates one or more exclusive methods does not have to process opt-outs through other methods. A business that does not designate one remains under the “any reasonable means” standard, where a revocation made by a reasonable method creates a rebuttable presumption that consent was revoked.
The FCC also refused to let businesses decide when and how to disclose their chosen method, and declined to let callers substitute opt-out procedures required by other regulators (such as written debt-collection notices). Existing opt-out mechanics required for exempted calls and calls that include advertising or constitute telemarketing are unchanged.
With these changes in place, banks get more room for fraud alerts. Financial institutions using the fraud-alert exemption may now contact wireless numbers obtained from a “reliable source,” not only numbers the customer provided directly. That includes numbers supplied by an authorized family member on the account, captured when the customer calls the institution, or included in records obtained from another financial institution. The exemption’s other conditions, including the three-message-per-event limit and immediate opt-out handling, still apply.
What’s next
The new rules take effect 30 days after Federal Register publication, which has not occurred as of this alert. Still, the FCC rejected a request for a 12-month runway, so business should start planning now.
The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) linked above asks whether the FCC should:
- Shorten the current 10-business-day deadline to honor opt-outs to seven business days
- Require two-way texting and eliminate the ability to use one-way texting coupled with another revocation method
- Require a “revoke all” option as a condition of category-specific opt-outs
- Clarify how opt-outs apply across affiliates, divisions, and lines of business
- Allow confirmation calls or texts asking which category of messages the consumer meant to stop
Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication, with replies due 30 days after that.
Practical considerations
Designate your opt-out method
This is one of the most significant practical changes in the order. Until you designate one of the three approved methods, you must keep honoring opt-outs sent by any “reasonable” means. Commenters told the FCC that plaintiffs have used that standard to manufacture lawsuits by ignoring clear opt-out instructions in favor of ambiguous phrasing. Designating an exclusive method narrows that exposure.
Update your scripts and templates
The exclusive method benefit only works if the method is clearly and conspicuously disclosed on every call and in every text. Review scripts and SMS templates to confirm your platform recognizes all seven keywords, even if you only display one.
Define your message categories
Category-specific opt-outs depend on clear lines between message types, such as fraud alerts, payment reminders, and appointment reminders. Map your informational programs, keep each category distinct, and make sure your preference systems can suppress one category without suppressing others.
Don’t blur marketing and service messages
Telemarketing remains a single category under the new rule, so businesses should be careful about mixing promotional content into informational messages. Keep promotional language out of informational messages you want to treat as separate categories for revocation purposes (not to mention differing consent requirements for marketing versus informational messages).
Loop in your vendors
Messaging platforms, dialers, and call centers will need to support exclusive-method disclosures and category-level suppression. With only 30 days to comply after Federal Register publication, businesses should start those conversations now.
Watch the FNPRM
A shorter opt-out deadline, mandatory two-way texting, or a required “revoke all” option could affect the systems you build today. Consider designing with those possibilities in mind and whether the comment period presents an opportunity to weigh in on rules that would affect your messaging programs.
The order is a welcome, practical development for businesses that rely on calls and texts customers actually want, but the benefits are not automatic. They go to companies that designate an opt-out method, disclose it consistently, and organize their messaging programs to take advantage of the new flexibility.
The TCPA and Consumer Privacy team at Nixon Peabody can help businesses evaluate the new opt-out rules, update call and text message procedures, revise consumer-facing disclosures, and coordinate with vendors to support compliance.