Replying “stop” to a company’s text message may soon end only that kind of message, not everything the company sends. The Federal Communications Commission has rewritten its rules on how consumers withdraw consent to automated calls and texts, scrapping a broader rule before it ever took effect.
The commission adopted the order on September 30 and released it on October 1, according to the law firms Day Pitney and Nixon Peabody. The changes take effect 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register.
The rule that never took effect
In 2024, the FCC adopted rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal law that governs robocalls and robotexts. Businesses had to honor opt-outs made by “any reasonable method,” and an opt-out from one type of automated message was to count as an opt-out from every call and text that required the consumer’s consent.
Most of those rules took effect in April 2025, Nixon Peabody noted. The second piece, known as the “revoke all” rule, was repeatedly put on hold and was most recently delayed until January 31, 2027. The new order replaces it.
The rewrite followed requests from what Nixon Peabody described as an unusually broad coalition of banks, utilities, health care groups and consumer advocates. The FCC’s own example of the problem: under the old rule, a customer who opted out of payment reminders would also lose fraud alerts, security codes for logging in, appointment reminders and service outage notices.
What changes for informational messages
For informational calls and texts, meaning messages that do not advertise or sell anything, a business may now treat an opt-out as applying only to the category of message the consumer rejected. Someone who stops debt collection calls, for example, would not automatically stop fraud alerts or appointment reminders, according to Troutman Pepper Locke.
In practice, that means a consumer who wants to stop every informational message from a company may need to opt out of each type separately.
Marketing is still all or nothing
The change does not apply to telemarketing. A single opt-out from a marketing call or text still ends all future marketing calls and texts from that caller, all three firms reported. A business may keep sending informational messages after a consumer opts out of marketing.
Companies can name the way you opt out
The order also lets businesses choose an exclusive method for opting out, as long as it is clearly and conspicuously disclosed on each call or text. They can pick from three options:
- An automated voice or key-press opt-out during the call.
- A reply text using one of seven standard words: stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe.
- A website or phone number designated for opt-out requests.
A business that names an exclusive method does not have to process opt-out requests sent through other channels. Nixon Peabody noted that a text may mention just one keyword, such as “Reply STOP to opt out,” but the business must still honor all seven standard words. Companies that do not designate a method remain under the “any reasonable means” standard.
More room for bank fraud alerts
Banks and other financial institutions also gained flexibility. They may now send exempt fraud-alert calls and texts to wireless numbers obtained from a reliable source, not just numbers customers supplied themselves. That includes numbers provided by an authorized family member on the account, captured when the customer calls in, or found in records from another financial institution.
What the FCC is still considering
The order came with a proposal seeking public comment on further changes, according to Day Pitney. Questions include whether businesses should have less than the current 10 business days to honor an opt-out, how opt-outs should apply to a company’s affiliates and divisions, whether two-way texting should be required so consumers can reply to opt out, and whether callers should have to offer a way to revoke consent to everything at once.
For now, consumers who receive automated messages can look for the opt-out instructions on each call or text, which the new rules require businesses to disclose.
