FCC changes how you opt out of robocalls and texts, starting November 25

The Federal Communications Commission has changed the rules on how people withdraw their permission for automated calls and texts. Under a final rule published in the Federal Register on October 26 and effective November 25, 2026, a request to stop one kind of informational robocall no longer has to end every robocall from that caller. The commission adopted the order on September 30 and released it on October 1.

The rules carry out the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, which governs robocalls and the consent callers need to make many of them. The FCC says it receives more complaints about illegal robocalls than about any other issue, but notes that many robocalls, such as fraud alerts, appointment reminders, school closings and power outage notices, are legal and benefit consumers.

What changes on November 25

Callers may now treat an opt-out made in response to an informational call or text, meaning one with no advertising or telemarketing, as applying only to that category of messages. The FCC gave an example of the rule it replaces: a consumer who opted out of payment reminders also cut off the caller's fraud alerts, multi-factor authentication messages, appointment reminders and utility outage calls. The commission said the record suggests that is often not what consumers intend.

Telemarketing works differently. An opt-out made in response to a call or text that contains an advertisement or is telemarketing still revokes consent to all future telemarketing calls and texts from that caller.

Callers may also choose one of three methods as the only way to opt out, as long as they disclose it clearly and conspicuously on the call or in the text:

• an automated voice or key-press opt-out during a call
• a reply to a text with a standardized word
• a website or phone number the caller sets up for opt-out requests

A caller that picks one of these methods does not have to process requests made any other way. A caller that does not pick one must still accept an opt-out made by any reasonable means. A text may display just one standardized word, such as "stop," but the sender must honor any of the seven words in the rule: stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel and unsubscribe.

Opt-outs must still be honored within a reasonable time of no more than 10 business days. A sender may reply with a text that only confirms the opt-out and carries no marketing; one sent within five minutes is presumed to fall within the consumer's consent.

More room for bank fraud alerts

Under an existing exemption, banks and other financial institutions may send certain informational calls and texts, such as fraud alerts, to cell phones without prior consent. Until now, the number had to be one the customer gave the institution directly. The new rule also allows numbers from a "reliable source": a spouse or family member authorized on the account, a call from the customer, or records from another financial institution. Institutions must honor opt-outs, and the FCC encouraged them to use the Reassigned Numbers Database so that calls are not misdirected to a number's new holder.

Why the rules changed

The FCC said the "revoke all" approach in its current rule was overinclusive and, agreeing with a broad range of commenters from industry and consumer groups, that it did not align with consumer expectations. The new text takes effect on November 25 and, the commission says, supersedes a delayed effective date for the existing rule's "revoke all" provision, which the FCC's consumer bureau had pushed back to January 31, 2027, through waivers. The commission declined one party's request for up to 12 months to comply.

One party opposed the changes in a filing, arguing that they make compliance more complex. The FCC said the support from industry and consumer groups was persuasive evidence that they do not. It acknowledged that some consumers may now need to make more than one opt-out request, a burden it called minimal.

What the FCC may change next

In a proposal published the same day, the FCC asks whether to go further. It draws on a joint letter filed on June 30, 2026, by the American Bankers Association, the National Consumer Law Center and ACA International, which raised concerns about the FCC's 2024 consent order on robocalls, published on October 11, 2024. The questions include:

• whether to cut the 10-business-day deadline for honoring opt-outs; the joint letter suggests seven business days
• whether to require text senders to accept opt-outs by reply text, ending an exception for systems that cannot receive replies
• whether callers should have to offer a one-step way to stop all their robocalls
• how opt-outs should apply to a company's affiliates, divisions and separate lines of business

Comments are due by November 25, 2026, and reply comments by December 28, 2026. They can be filed in CG Docket No. 02-278 through the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System. Our explainer on how a federal rule is made describes how comments are used.