A customer replies STOP to your payment reminder. Under the rule the FCC adopted in 2024, that one reply would also stop the same customer's fraud alerts and appointment reminders. The FCC has now changed that. This short video walks through the new order, FCC 26-67, and what a small business can prepare this week. It is information, not legal advice.
Read the full guide: FCC Consent Revocation Rule 2026: What STOP Cancels
What changed
The FCC adopted the Report and Order on September 30, 2026 and released it on October 1, 2026 (FCC 26-67). Once the new rules take effect, a business may treat a STOP sent in reply to an informational call or text as applying only to the category of messages it answered, for example payment reminders.
The FCC stresses that this applies only to informational robocalls, which the order defines as robocalls without advertising or telemarketing. For advertising and telemarketing, a revocation still covers all future advertising and telemarketing robocalls from that caller.
Official ways to opt out
A business may designate official ways for customers to opt out, one or more of these three: a key press or voice option during the call, standard reply words in a text, or a website or phone number it provides.
It has to show the method clearly on the call or in the text. For texts, showing even one of the standard words in each message meets that disclosure.
The FCC also says that text senders still must honor opt-outs sent with any of the standard words. The 2024 rule lists seven: stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel and unsubscribe.
When it starts
The amendments take effect 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register. When we checked the Federal Register on October 13, 2026, it was not published yet, so there is no calendar date.
The FCC says it will release a Public Notice with the specific date. The 2024 requirement that one STOP cancels everything has been on hold under FCC staff waivers, at the latest until January 31, 2027; the new category rule replaces that delayed date when it takes effect.
This week
Sort your automated messages by category, keeping ads and telemarketing separate.
Pick your opt-out method and show it clearly in every message. Keep honoring every opt-out within the current limit of no more than ten business days.
PATech Labs builds AI automation for small businesses in the United States, including reminder workflows where each message carries a category and a STOP is routed to the right list.
A written list of categories and a request log can do the same job. This page is information, not legal advice; check your own case with a lawyer.