TCPA revocation of consent: what the FCC's new order changes for plaintiff firms

The FCC's new order on TCPA revocation of consent, FCC 26-67 (adopted September 30, 2026), lets callers designate an exclusive opt-out method and treat an opt-out from one kind of informational message as covering only that kind. An opt-out sent in reply to telemarketing covers all of that caller's future telemarketing, and the 10-business-day limit to honor a request stays. None of it is in force yet: the changes take effect 30 days after Federal Register publication, which had not happened as of October 21, 2026.

What does FCC 26-67 change about TCPA revocation of consent?

The order rewrites 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10) to (12), and Chairman Carr and Commissioners Gomez and Trusty approved it, per the FCC's September 30 news release. Three changes matter most for revocation claims.

1. Opt-outs from informational messages can be read narrowly. Callers may treat a revocation sent in reply to an informational call or text "as applying only to the specific category of informational robocalls and text messages to which the revocation was directed."

An informational robocall is one that "does not contain an advertisement or constitute telemarketing" (n.31). The FCC's example: under the current rule, an opt-out from payment reminders would also stop fraud alerts and appointment reminders (para. 11). Opt-outs sent in reply to telemarketing work differently: they revoke consent to "all future" telemarketing "from that caller" (para. 14).

2. Callers can pick the opt-out channel. A caller may designate one or more of three methods as the exclusive way to revoke (paras. 15 and 16; n.42):

• an automated, interactive voice or key-press opt-out on a call;
• a reply text using one of seven standard words: "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel" or "unsubscribe";
• a website or phone number the caller designates for opt-outs.

The caller "must clearly and conspicuously disclose the designated method to revoke consent on the call or in the text." For texts, naming one standard word in each message (the FCC's example is telling recipients to respond "stop") satisfies that, as long as the sender honors all seven.

3. The confirmation-text rule is rewritten. Amended (a)(12) keeps the five-minute presumption but drops "one-time," the condition that the confirmation be "the only additional message sent," and the clarification sentence, including its requirement to "cease all further texts for which consent is required" absent clarification. The order says only that (a)(12) was amended to reflect the category change (n.30).

What doesn't move: the ten-business-day limit, and the opt-out methods already required for prerecorded telemarketing and exempted calls, such as the key-press opt-out in 64.1200(b)(3) (para. 19).

In support of exclusive methods, footnote 45 cites a commenter's claim that "litigants intentionally bypass clear, simple, and automated opt-out instructions in favor of ambiguous phrases designed to evade recognition." The Commission cites the claim without adopting it as a finding.

When do the new revocation rules take effect?

Not yet. The amendments "become effective 30 days after Federal Register publication" and then "supersede the delayed effective date" of the revoke-all portion, January 31, 2027 (para. 24); the order doesn't address a later start. A Public Notice will give the exact date (n.64).

We checked federalregister.gov on October 21, 2026: FCC 26-67 had not been published or placed on public inspection.

What does the rule text say now, and what will it say?

Here is the codified rule (eCFR, current as of October 8, 2026) next to Appendix A of FCC 26-67. Quotes are trimmed; read the full text before relying on it.

Sources: eCFR, 47 CFR 64.1200; FCC 26-67, Appendix A. Compiled by ClassAct, October 11, 2026.

What facts should intake capture on a revocation claim?

The amended rule puts weight on details people rarely save. This worksheet pairs what to collect with the rule text each fact relates to. Whether a claim is viable is counsel's call.

Worked example. A prospective class member says a retailer texted her shipping updates and promotions. After the amendments take effect, she replies "please stop texting me" to a shipping update, then gets another update and a promotion.

Four facts stand out. Her words aren't one of the seven. Whether the texts told recipients to reply with a word like "stop" bears on whether the retailer designated and disclosed a method.

She replied to an informational message, which the amended text lets a caller read as limited to that category. And the promotion is a different category. Each fact points to a different sentence of the rule; how they combine is a legal judgment.

What is still open?

The order's Further Notice asks whether to:

1. shorten the 10-business-day deadline, possibly to seven (para. 31);
2. remove the option for one-way texting protocols that can't receive replies (paras. 32 to 34);
3. require a one-step way to revoke consent to all robocalls (para. 35);
4. set rules for affiliates, separate lines of business and divisions (paras. 37 and 38).

It also invites comment on other ideas in the record, including fewer standard words, dropping the (a)(11) presumption and limiting a revocation to the number it came from (paras. 35 and 39).

All four numbered items track a June 30, 2026 joint letter from the American Bankers Association, the National Consumer Law Center and ACA International. The FCC also told its consumer bureau to recast 64.1200 "in plain language," without substantive changes (para. 23), so paragraph numbers may move.

Courts will decide how these rules apply in private suits. In McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson Corp., No. 23-1226 (June 20, 2025), the Supreme Court held that the Hobbs Act "does not preclude district courts in enforcement proceedings from independently assessing whether an agency's interpretation of the relevant statute is correct."

What this means for your firm

• Add the worksheet questions to texting and robocall intake now. Claims will straddle the effective date, so every message needs a date.
• Ask for the whole thread. The caller's own opt-out instructions may be the key fact, and they sit in messages people scroll past.
• Watch for the Federal Register notice. Comments on the open proposals are due 30 days after publication.

Rules vary by jurisdiction. Check the rules that apply to you.