“STOP,” “QUIT,” “OPT OUT,” “CANCEL,” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” – Navigating the FCC’s Revocation Rule Changes Effective April 2025

New Revocation Guidelines Take Effect April 11, 2025

Effective today, April 11, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) introduced important updates to how consumers — especially patients — can revoke consent for receiving automated calls and text messages. These updates are especially relevant for healthcare providers and organizations like Americollect, which engage in patient communications through phone and SMS.

Under the new guidance, patients can now use simple, commonly understood keywords to opt out of receiving automated or prerecorded messages—often referred to as robocalls and robotexts. Acceptable terms include:

  “STOP,” “QUIT,” “END,” “REVOKE,” “OPT OUT,” “CANCEL,” or “UNSUBSCRIBE”
  (Federal Communications Commission, Report and Order, March 2024)

Once a patient uses any of these keywords, the consent is considered fully revoked. The sender must stop all automated communications — both calls and texts — within 10 business days. Once consent is revoked, organizations are allowed a single follow-up message confirming receipt of the request.

Importantly, other reasonable methods of revoking consent are still valid. The FCC continues to recognize that consumers who previously gave express consent can withdraw it through any reasonable means.

Organizations, notably healthcare providers, and Americollect, will need to ensure compliance by honoring these opt-out requests within 10 business days.

Understanding the FCC’s New Requirements

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), initially introduced in 1991, established the basic requirement for consumer consent prior to receiving automated communications. In 2015, the FCC expanded protections by allowing consumers to revoke consent through various “reasonable methods” — a phrase that led to considerable ambiguity. (FCC, 30 FCC Rcd 7961, July 2015)

To resolve this, the FCC’s latest update clarifies precisely which terms are acceptable for opting out and sets a specific timeframe of 10 business days for organizations to comply with revocation requests. Notably, the FCC emphasizes that while the listed keywords must be recognized, “other methods of revocation are not precluded,” and consumers may still revoke consent by any reasonable means.

(FCC, CG Docket No. 02-278, April 2024)

Temporary Relief: Limited Waiver of Part of the Rule

In a related development, on April 7, 2025, the FCC issued an Order granting a limited waiver of the new revocation rules. Initially “all” future communications meant “all” forms and types of communications from a healthcare provider. Instead, “unrelated matters” can still be communicated. The waiver applies to opt-out requests made in response to informational (exempt) messages, such as healthcare reminders or non-marketing texts.

According to the FCC:

“A revocation request made directly in response to an exempted informational call or text constitutes an opt-out request… [but] the requirement to apply this request to all future robocalls and robotexts from that caller on unrelated matters is delayed until April 11, 2026.”

Essential Actions for Healthcare Providers

• Effective April 11, 2025, consumers can opt out using clearly defined keywords.
• Revocation requests must be processed and honored within 10 business days.

A final confirmation message is permitted but must exclude marketing materials.

Action Items for Americollect

Early Out – If you are an Early Out client of Americollect, we ensure billing opt-outs are honored and will document in your system of record for that particular method of communication.

Bad Debt – Any opt-outs are Americollect specific and Americollect will document the opt-out for that specific method of communication.

How Americollect Supports Compliance

At Americollect, we prioritize regulatory compliance and effective communication with our clients. We encourage healthcare providers to engage closely with their Americollect Key Client Executives to ensure proper and timely handling of all consent revocation requests, maintaining adherence to the FCC’s updated guidelines.