Rule2026-01441
Achieving 100% Wireless Handset Model Hearing Aid Compatibility
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 26, 2026
Effective
January 26, 2026
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, information collections associated with the certain rules adopted in the Achieving 100% Wireless Handset Model Hearing Aid Compatibility Report and Order, FCC 24-112. This announcement also corrects a typographical error in the final rules.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 16 (Monday, January 26, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 16 (Monday, January 26, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3070-3072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01441]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 20
[WT Docket No. 23-388; FCC 24-112; FR ID 327224]
Achieving 100% Wireless Handset Model Hearing Aid Compatibility
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date; correction.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces
that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a
period of three years, information collections associated with the
certain rules adopted in the Achieving 100% Wireless Handset Model
Hearing Aid Compatibility Report and Order, FCC 24-112. This
announcement also corrects a typographical error in the final rules.
DATES: The rule amendments contained in 47 CFR 20.19(b)(3)(iii), (f),
(h), and (i), published at 89 FR 89832, November 13, 2024, with a
Correction published at 89 FR 105473, December 27, 2024, are effective
on January 26, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, contact
Cathy Williams, at (202) 418-2918 or via email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d497b5a0bcadfa83bdb8b8bdb5b9a794b2b7b7fab3bba2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="eba88a9f8392c5bc828787828a8698ab8d8888c58c849d">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that on May 7, 2025,
OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information collection
requirements contained in the Commission's Report and Order, FCC 24-
112, published at 89 FR 89832, November 13, 2024, with a Correction
published at 89 FR 105473, December 27, 2024. The OMB Control Number
for this information collection is 3060-0999. The Commission publishes
this document as an announcement of the effective dates of the
information collection requirements and to correct a typographic error
in the final rules.
Synopsis
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received OMB
approval on May 7, 2025, for the information collection requirements
contained in the revisions at 47 CFR 20.19(b)(3)(iii), (f), (h), and
(i) under OMB Control Number 3060-0999. Under 5 CFR part 1320, an
agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it
displays a current, valid OMB Control Number. No person shall be
subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of
information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not
display a current, valid OMB Control Number.
The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents
are as follows:
OMB Control No.: 3060-0999.
Title: Hearing Loss Compatible Wireless Handsets Section 20.19 and
Hearing Aid Compatibility Act.
Form Numbers: FCC Form 655 and 855.
Type of Review: Revision to the currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
Number of Respondents: 934 respondents; 934 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 13.92 hours per response (average).
Frequency of Response: On occasion and annual reporting
requirements, recordkeeping requirements, and third-party disclosure
requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47
U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 157, 160, 201, 202, 214, 301, 303, 308, 309(j), 310
and 610 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
Total Annual Burden: 12,998 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No cost.
Needs and Uses: This information collection relates to the
Commission's Hearing Loss Compatible Wireless Handsets rules at section
20.19 of the Commission's rules. This revision is necessary to
implement the final rules that the Commission adopted on October 17,
2024, in a Report and Order, WT Docket No. 23-388, FCC 24-112, and that
the Commission released on October 18, 2024. This Report and Order
delayed until OMB approval the following amendments to section 20.19:
(1) adding paragraph (b)(3)(iii); (2) revising the heading of paragraph
(f); (3) adding paragraph (f)(3); (4) revising paragraph (h); (5)
redesignating paragraph (i)(4) as paragraph (i)(6); and (6) adding new
paragraph (i)(4) and paragraph (i)(5). The revisions that the
Commission adopted to these sections contain new or modified
information collections subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), Public Law 104-13. This document is consistent with the Report
and Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in
the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of
the information collection requirements contained in these sections.
The final rules that the Commission adopted require all future
wireless handset models to be hearing aid compatible. These revised
rules ensure that consumers with hearing loss will have equal access to
the same handset models as consumers without hearing loss. In order to
ensure compliance with the 100% hearing aid compatiblity requirement,
the Commission adopted a Bluetooth equipment certification requirement
and updated labeling, website posting, and annual handset manufacturers
and service provider certification requirements. In addition, the
Commission eliminated outdated information collection requirements,
including labeling, website posting, and certification requirements, as
well as eliminating all record retention requirements. The elimination
of these requirements significantly reduces regulatory burden and cost
for handset manufacturers and service providers and results in an
information collection that is based on minimually necessary
requirements and tied to specific statutory provisions.
The revised hearing aid compatiblility rules include a requirement
that a certain number of handset models that handset manufacturers and
service providers offer for sale or use in the United States meet
Bluetooth coupling requirements. This Bluetooth coupling requirement
will benefit consumers by ensuring more universal connectivity between
handset models and hearing aids, including over-the-counter hearing
aids, and reduces the issue of certain handset models only being able
to pair with certain hearing aids. In order to
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ensure compliance with this new Bluetooth coupling requirement, the
Commisison adopted the recommendation of the Hearing Aid Compatibility
Task Force (HAC Task Force) and Samsung that handset manufacturers be
required to submit a sworn declaration attesting to a new handset
model's complaince with this pairing requirement. This attestation
requirement is contained in section 20.19(b)(3)(iii) of the rules the
Commission adopted and requires handset manufacturers to provide: (1)
the specific Bluetooth coupling standard included in each handset
model; (2) that the relevant handset model has been tested to ensure
compliance with the designated Bluetooth coupling standard; and (3)
after the transition to a non-proprietary Bluetooth coupling
requirement, that the included Bluetooth coupling technology is
consistent with certain Bluetooth functionality requirements. This
attestation requirement was adopted pursuant to section 710(c) of the
Communications Act which requires the Commission to establish or
approve such technical standards as are required to ensure the
compatibility of handsets models with hearing aids.
With respect to package labeling requirements, the Commission
decided to maintain the requirement that the external packaging of a
handset model indicate that the handset model is hearing aid
compatible, and provide the handset model's conversational gain with
and without hearing aids, if the handset model is certified as hearing
aid-compatible under a standard that includes volume control
requirements. The Commission also required a handset model's external
packaging to indicate whether the handset model meets telecoil or
Bluetooth coupling requirements or both, and in the case of Bluetooth
coupling, which Bluetooth coupling technology the handset model
includes. The Commission continued to allow handset manufacturers and
service providers to design their own printed package labels as long as
the labels include the required information. These external package
label requirements ensure that the most pertinent information appears
on the outside of the package and allows consumers to compare handset
models by comparing package labels.
The Commission updated its internal package labeling requirements
and removed outdated requirements. A handset model's internal packaging
must include information on the hearing aid compatiblity settings of
the handset model and how consumers can turn these settings on and off.
In addition, the Commission eliminated the requirement that package
inserts and user manuals must provide the M/T ratings of handset models
certified under the 2011 ANSI Standard or older ANSI standards or
provide an explanation of the ANSI M/T rating system. The Commission
regonized that the new ANSI technical standard used for certifying
handset models as hearing aid-compatible no longer utilizes the M/T
rating system. The revised internal packaging requirements allow
consumers who are interested in more detailed information about a
handset model's hearing aid compatibility then is provide on the
external label to find this additional information in a handset model's
package insert or user manual.
The revised labeling requirements are in section 20.19(f)(1) and
(2) of the rules the Commission adopted. These rules are consistent
with section 710(d) of the Communications Act, which requires the
Commission to establish requirements for labeling ``as are needed to
provide adequate information to consumers on the compatibility between
telephones and hearing aids.'' The information that the Commission is
requiring handset manufacturers and service providers to provide to
consumers allows consumers to be fully informed about a handset model's
functions and capabilities and to make informed purchasing decisions.
In addition to these revised labeling rules, the Commission decided
to allow handset manufacturers and service providers to use digital
labeling technology as an alternative to including a printed insert or
printed handset manual in a handset model's packaging. Handset
manufacturers and service providers choosing this option must maintain
publicly accessible websites where consumers can find the required
hearing aid compatiblity information, and they must provide consumers
with a Quick-Respone (QR) code and the related website address where
the required hearing aid compatibility information can be found. The
Commission decided to allow the use of digital labeling technology at
the request of handset manufacturers and service providers who argued
that the use of digital labeling would reduce regulatory burden and
cost. The use of digital labeling will also ensure that consumers have
access to the most up-to-date handset model information. The
Commission's new digital labeling rules are in section 20.19(f)(3) of
the rules the Commission adopted.
The Commission updated and streamlined its publicly accessible
website posting requirements to be consistent with the 100% hearing aid
compatiblity requirement. The Commission requires handset manufacturers
and service providers to indicate the type of coupling technologies
that their handset models include and whether the handset models meet
volume control requirements. The Commission also adopted point-of-
contact requirements that consumers can use to ask knowledgable company
employees handset model compatiblity questions. These website posting
requirements can be found in section 20.19(h) of the rules the
Commission adopted, and these rules are consistent with section 610(a)
of the Communications Act which requires the Commission to establish
regulations that are necessary to ensure reasonable access to telephone
service by persons with impaired hearing and section 610(d) which
requires the Commission to establish labeling requirments that provide
adequate information to consumers on the compatibility between mobile
handset models and hearing aids.
The Commission also eliminated certain website posting requirements
which it determined are no longer revelvent with the adoption of a 100%
hearing aid compatiblity requirement. These provisions include posting
requirements concerning a handset model's M/T ratings and providing an
explanation of the M/T rating system. In addition, service providers
will no longer be required to post: (1) a list of all the non-hearing
aid-compatible handset models that they offer, including the marketing
model name/number(s) and FCC ID number, or a list of all hearing aid-
compatible handset models that they offered in the past 24 months but
no longer offer, and (2) a link to a third-party website as designated
by the Commission or the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, with
information regarding hearing aid-compatible and non-hearing aid-
compatible handset models.
In addition, the Commission eliminated all record retention
requirements. These provisions required service providers to retain
certain information about handset models they no longer offer for sale
or use in the United States. Specifically, service providers will no
longer be required to retain internal records for discontinued handset
models, and the associated information that they presently have to make
available to the Commission upon request. This handset model
information includes: (1) the month/year each hearing aid-compatible
and non-hearing aid-compatible handset model was first offered; and (2)
the month/year each hearing aid-compatible
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and non-hearing aid-compatible handset model was last offered for all
discontinued handset models until a period of 24 months has passed from
that date.
The elimination of outdated website and record retention
requirements significantly reduces regulatory burden and cost for
handset manufacturers and service providers. The revised website
posting requirements are in section 20.19(h) of the rules the
Commission adopted.
Further, the Commission revised its annual certification
requirements for handset manufacturers and service providers. After the
100% hearing aid compatibility transition period ends for handset
manufacturers, these companies will no longer file FCC Form 655.
Instead, handset manufacturers will start filing FCC Form 855 and
service providers will continue to file this form. FCC Form 855 is a
streamlined certification form that does not require the detail handset
model information that FCC Form 655 collects. This change will
significantly reduce regulatory burden and cost for handset
manufacturers and was fully supported by commenters.
Finally, the Commission is updating FCC Form 855 to ensure it
collects only the minumal amount of relevent information needed to
ensure complaince with the 100% hearing aid compatibility requirement.
These updates include removing outdated questions related to the
current 85% handset model deployment benchmark. The Commission will
require handset manufacturers to file FCC Form 855 by January 31 each
year rather than the June 30 deadline for FCC Form 655. This change
aligns the filing deadline for handset manufacturers with the filing
deadline for service providers and allows the reporing period to cover
the entire previous calendar year rather than parts of two calendar
years. The revised annual certification requirements are in section
20.19 (i)(4) and (5) of the rules the Commission adopted.
In addition, in FR Doc. 2024-25088 appearing at 89 FR 89832 in the
Federal Register on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, the following
correction is made:
Sec. 20.19 [Corrected]
On page 89868, in the second column, in Sec. 20.19, in amendment
4, redesignate the second paragraph (f)(1)(ii) as paragraph
(f)(1)(iii).
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-01441 Filed 1-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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