On November 25, 2026, new Federal Communications Commission rules on opt-outs take effect. They change how a business may ask customers to stop calls and texts, and how fast it must act when someone does. Large call centers have compliance teams for changes like this. A real estate agent, an insurance broker, a home services company, or a two-person sales office usually does not.
For a small business, the rule change is a good moment to check three simple things. Who has asked to stop hearing from the business, whether those requests are being honored on time, and whether every calling list has had a recent National Do Not Call Registry scrub. Those checks overlap, but they are not the same.
This article explains the new rules in plain terms for small businesses and individual callers. It also covers the federal basics that did not change, so a small team can see the whole picture in one place.
Small businesses can scrub a calling list against the national registry by uploading a CSV file on the MyFreeDNC home page, and common registry questions are answered in the MyFreeDNC FAQ.
What the FCC Changed on November 25
The order is titled Enhancing the Ability of Consumers To Control the Robocalls. It was published in the Federal Register on October 26, 2026 (91 FR 67214) and takes effect November 25. It updates the consent revocation rules in section 64.1200(a)(10) of the FCC's telemarketing regulations.
Under the rule in force today, a person may revoke consent by any reasonable method, and callers may not name one exclusive way to opt out. Starting November 25, a caller may designate one or more of three methods as the exclusive way to revoke consent: a key-press or voice opt-out on the call, a reply text using a standard opt-out word, or a website or phone number the caller provides. The chosen method must be clearly disclosed on the call or in the text.
What It Means for Calls and Texts From a Small Business
Many small businesses send appointment reminders, quotes, and promotions from the same phone number or texting app. The new rules treat those messages differently. An opt-out sent in reply to an informational message, such as a reminder, may be treated as applying only to that kind of informational message.
Marketing is different. The rule text says a revocation made in response to a call or text that contains an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing revokes consent to all future advertising and telemarketing calls or texts from that caller. One "stop" in reply to a promotion means no more promotions, on any campaign.
Text senders that rely on reply keywords can name just one word in each message, such as "Reply STOP to opt out." Their system must still recognize all seven standard words: "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel," and "unsubscribe." A business that does not designate an exclusive method must keep honoring opt-outs made by any reasonable means, including a customer simply saying so on a call.
The Ten-Business-Day Clock
Whichever approach a business takes, revocation requests must be honored within a reasonable time, not to exceed ten business days from receipt. For a small team, the risk is rarely the deadline itself. It is the request that gets lost: a text reply nobody reads, a voicemail, or a note on a sticky pad that never reaches the calling list.
A simple habit helps. Keep one opt-out list, in a spreadsheet or customer system, and add every request to it the day it arrives. Before any calling or texting session, remove those numbers first. The FCC's company do-not-call rules also expect a business to keep a record of these requests and honor them for five years, as set out in 47 CFR 64.1200(d).
The Basics That Did Not Change
The November 25 changes sit on top of rules that small callers already need to follow. Under 64.1200(c), telephone solicitations may not be made to a residential subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time at the called party's location. They also may not be made to a number on the national registry, subject to the exceptions in the rules.
The federal safe harbor standards expect a business to use a version of the national registry obtained no more than 31 days before any call is made, and to keep records documenting that process. Under 64.1200(e), the registry and company do-not-call rules also apply to telemarketing calls and texts to wireless numbers. Registry data itself comes from the FTC's National Do Not Call Registry telemarketer site.
Some exceptions are narrow. As the MyFreeDNC FAQ explains, an established business relationship generally allows calls for up to 18 months after a customer's last purchase, delivery, or payment, or three months after an inquiry. Even then, a direct request to stop calling must be honored.
A Note on Texts and the Courts
Small businesses that mainly text may have seen headlines about courts deciding whether a text counts as a "call." Federal courts are split on whether people can bring private do-not-call lawsuits over texts alone. In July 2026, the Seventh Circuit held in Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services that they cannot, and a recent summary of a Georgia ruling notes that courts in other states have reached the opposite result.
Those decisions concern who may sue and where. They do not remove the FCC's rules, the new opt-out requirements, or state telemarketing laws. For a small business, the safer course is to scrub and honor opt-outs for texts the same way it does for calls.
A Simple Checklist Before November 25
Most small businesses can prepare in an afternoon. The goal is not a new system, only a clear routine that a busy owner can repeat.
- Decide whether to designate an opt-out method, and add a clear disclosure, such as "Reply STOP to opt out," to marketing texts.
- Confirm the texting app recognizes all seven standard opt-out words, not just "stop."
- Keep one opt-out list and update it the same day a request comes in.
- Scrub each calling list against the national registry at least every 31 days, and save the date of each scrub.
- Call only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone.
MyFreeDNC handles the registry step. A CSV list can be uploaded from the MyFreeDNC home page for a free quote, at $0.0008 per data row with a $25 minimum per file. The site states that its national registry data comes directly from the FTC and that uploaded leads are deleted from its servers once the scrubbed list is downloaded. Internal opt-out lists and state do-not-call lists remain the caller's responsibility to apply.
A Practical Standard for Small Callers
The November 25 rules give businesses more control over how opt-outs are collected, but they do not loosen the core expectation. When a customer says stop to marketing, the business must stop all marketing from that number, and it must do so within ten business days at most.
For small businesses, a steady routine matters more than a complex compliance program. One opt-out list, a registry scrub before each campaign, calls within permitted hours, and a simple record of each step make a sound standard that holds up as the rules continue to change.
This is general information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by type of call, state, and business, so confirm your obligations with a qualified attorney.