--- title: "The FCC changes how guests opt out of texts: what it means for a restaurant chain's text club" url: "https://eaiservice.com/blog/fcc-text-opt-out-rules-restaurant-chain-text-clubs/" markdown: "https://eaiservice.com/blog/fcc-text-opt-out-rules-restaurant-chain-text-clubs/index.md" publisher: "Evaluate AI Service" owner: "Midwest AI Solution Inc." editor: "Peter Chen" datePublished: "2026-10-28" dateModified: "2026-10-28" relationship: null corrections: "corrections@eaiservice.com" --- [Blog](https://eaiservice.com/blog/) · [News](https://eaiservice.com/blog/news/) · [Marketing platforms](https://eaiservice.com/blog/beat/marketing-platforms/) # The FCC changes how guests opt out of texts: what it means for a restaurant chain's text club On October 1, 2026, the FCC released an order that lets a business pick one way for people to opt out of its texts and calls, as long as every message says what it is. It also lets an opt-out from one kind of informational text stay inside that kind. For a chain with a text club, a STOP reply to a promo still ends every promo text. The work is to write one clear opt-out line and test it. By [Peter Chen](https://eaiservice.com/authors/editor/) Published October 28, 2026 · Updated October 28, 2026 ## What happened On October 1, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission [released order FCC 26-67](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-26-67A1.pdf). It changes how people take back their consent to robocalls. In the order, a “robocall” includes a text sent with an autodialer. That is how most text clubs send. - **One opt-out method.** A business may now name one way to opt out. It picks from three: a voice or key-press opt-out on a call, set reply words in a text, or a website or phone number it provides. Each call or text must clearly say which method it uses. If you name one, you don’t have to act on opt-outs sent any other way. If you don’t, you must still honor any reasonable request. - **Narrower informational opt-outs.** An opt-out from one kind of informational text can now apply to that kind only. An opt-out from a promo still covers every promo text from that sender. The rules start 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register. The FCC turned down a request to wait 12 months. ## What it means for a 10-500 unit chain Most chains run two kinds of texts. One is promos: the Tuesday deal, the new menu item, the club offer. The other is service texts: order ready, table ready, a catering pickup time. The order treats them differently. Promo texts work as before. The rule text says an opt-out from a message with an advertisement revokes consent to “all future calls or text messages containing an advertisement” from that caller. A guest who replies STOP to one store’s deal is out of every deal text, from every store. Service texts get more room. If a guest opts out of one kind of informational text, you may read it as covering that kind only. They can drop one kind and keep another. The bigger change is the single method. Today a guest can opt out in ways that are hard to catch. They might write “please take me off this” or tell a cashier. If you name reply words as your method, and say so in every text, the request has a clear shape. Your system can act on it the moment it lands. The FCC said this should lead more senders to offer automated opt-outs. There is a catch on length. A text has few characters to spare. The FCC agreed that senders don’t need to list every standard opt-out word in each text. You do still need one clear line. Franchise systems should watch one more part. The FCC is asking whether opt-outs should carry across affiliates and divisions. If a guest opts out at one brand, does that cover your sister brand? Nothing changed yet, but the answer could reach shared text lists. ## Which tools this touches Your texting platform does most of this work. It holds the opt-out list and sends the footer. Ask your vendor four things. Can it add a fixed opt-out line to every text? Can it log opt-outs by message type? Can it keep service texts and promo texts on separate lists? Can a guest reply to every text you send? That last one matters. The FCC is asking whether to require two-way texting. Our [text message marketing rankings](https://eaiservice.com/best/sms-marketing/) compare the tools on published plans. [SlickText](https://eaiservice.com/reviews/slicktext/), [EZ Texting](https://eaiservice.com/reviews/ez-texting/) and [Textmunication](https://eaiservice.com/reviews/textmunication/) are reviewed there, so you can check each one’s plans before you ask. ## Our take: what to do This is a relief order, not a new burden. Law firm Latham & Watkins [wrote](https://www.lw.com/en/insights/fcc-revamps-rules-on-consent-to-calls-and-texts-under-the-tcpa) that it offers “meaningful compliance relief.” That is our reading too. But it only helps senders who act on it. If you skip the opt-out line, the old “any reasonable method” standard still applies to you. So do three things before the start date. 1. **Write one opt-out line.** Pick reply words as your method. Put the same short line in every promo and service text. 2. **Split your lists.** Tag each text as promo or service. Then a guest who drops order updates is not cut off from the club, or the other way round. 3. **Train the stores.** A guest who asks a cashier to stop the texts is still a real request if you have not named a method. Give each store one way to pass it on. The order also asks about more changes. One is cutting the 10 business days you have to process an opt-out. Comments are due 30 days after publication, and replies 60 days after. Build your process to act in days, not weeks, and you will be ready for either answer. ## Source [TCPA order on consent revocation: an exclusive opt-out method and narrower informational opt-outs (FCC 26-67)](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-26-67A1.pdf), announced by Federal Communications Commission on October 1, 2026. This post summarizes it and adds our analysis; read the announcement for the full text. ## Related reading - [SlickText review: best for a local business](https://eaiservice.com/reviews/slicktext/) - [EZ Texting review: best for a local business](https://eaiservice.com/reviews/ez-texting/) - [Textmunication review: best for a restaurant](https://eaiservice.com/reviews/textmunication/) - [Patch Retention review: best for a venue](https://eaiservice.com/reviews/patch-retention/) - [SMS marketing](https://eaiservice.com/best/sms-marketing/) - [All reviews](https://eaiservice.com/reviews/) - [How we score AI software](https://eaiservice.com/methodology/) ## Sources - [FCC 26-67: Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CG Docket No. 02-278](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-26-67A1.pdf) (read October 27, 2026) - [FCC Revamps Rules on Consent to Calls and Texts Under the TCPA](https://www.lw.com/en/insights/fcc-revamps-rules-on-consent-to-calls-and-texts-under-the-tcpa) (read October 27, 2026) ## Changelog - October 28, 2026: First draft written with AI from the cited sources, then checked against them. 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