US / FCC / Hearing Aid Compatibility
By 15th December 2026, every US handset model must support hearing aids.
The FCC's 100% Hearing Aid Compatibility requirement ends the old partial exemption on 15th December 2026. The 85% deployment benchmark in force since October 2021 rises to 100% — from that date a handset manufacturer may no longer offer any non-hearing-aid-compatible model for sale or use in the US. Within that 100%, 85% of models must meet acoustic and telecoil coupling requirements and the remaining 15% acoustic and Bluetooth coupling.
Last updated 12th September 2026 · By Vas Parshin and Anabel Amar
What's actually changing
The FCC's 17th October 2024 Report and Order (FCC 24-112, WT Docket No. 23-388) set an end date for the long-standing partial hearing-aid-compatibility exemption for wireless handset manufacturers. The rule has always been a deployment benchmark rather than a model-by-model one: 85% of the handset models a manufacturer offers for sale or use in the US must be hearing aid-compatible, the level in force since October 2021. From 15th December 2026 that benchmark rises to 100% — manufacturers may no longer offer any non-hearing-aid-compatible model. Within that 100%, 85% of models must meet acoustic and telecoil coupling requirements, and the other 15% must meet acoustic and Bluetooth coupling requirements (those models may meet telecoil requirements as well).
One date worth disambiguating: 1st July 2026 was not a new benchmark. It was the opening of the final FCC Form 655 compliance filing window (1–31st July 2026), covering the 1st July 2025 to 30th June 2026 reporting period against the existing 85% benchmark.
Why this catches manufacturers off guard
The old rules let manufacturers meet hearing-aid-compatibility obligations across a portfolio rather than model-by-model, so a handset line could ship without full HAC support as long as the manufacturer's broader lineup cleared the threshold. That flexibility disappears on 15th December 2026: any model still on sale in the US after that date has to meet the standard on its own. A manufacturer with even one non-compliant model still active in the US market needs it recertified, redesigned, or pulled from sale before the deadline — testing and, where needed, hardware changes take lead time that a December deadline doesn't leave much room for if work starts late in the year.
The coupling requirements are easy to miss
Clearing the acoustic-coupling ratings threshold on its own is not enough. From 15th December 2026 the portfolio splits two ways: 85% of the models a manufacturer offers must meet acoustic and telecoil coupling requirements, and the remaining 15% must meet acoustic and Bluetooth coupling requirements. A manufacturer running a single coupling route across its whole line has design and test work to do before the cutoff, not a paperwork change. Separately, all new handset models must meet either the 2019 ANSI Standard's volume control requirement or the temporary volume control standard, which is set to expire on 29th September 2027.
Questions
What is the FCC's 100% Hearing Aid Compatibility requirement?
A requirement from the FCC's 17th October 2024 Report and Order (FCC 24-112, WT Docket 23-388) that ends the long-standing partial hearing-aid-compatibility exemption for handset manufacturers. It raises the share of a manufacturer's wireless handset models that must meet HAC standards from the 85% deployment benchmark in force since October 2021 to 100%, effective 15th December 2026.
What happens on 15th December 2026?
Every wireless handset model a manufacturer offers for sale or use in the US must meet hearing-aid-compatibility requirements — not just 85% of the portfolio. From that date, handset models that don't meet the standard can no longer be offered for sale or use in the United States. Manufacturers still selling a non-compliant model line need it recertified, redesigned, or discontinued in the US before then.
What does a handset need beyond the 100% benchmark to count as compliant?
From 15th December 2026 the portfolio splits: 85% of the handset models a manufacturer offers must meet acoustic and telecoil coupling requirements, and the remaining 15% must meet acoustic and Bluetooth coupling requirements (those models may meet telecoil requirements as well). All new handset models must also meet either the 2019 ANSI Standard's volume control requirement or the temporary volume control standard, which is set to expire on 29th September 2027.
Does this apply to all wireless handsets sold in the US?
It applies to wireless handset manufacturers and the models they offer for sale or use in the US market. It sits alongside — and is distinct from — the FCC's Covered List/HBOM-SBOM equipment-authorization rules and the Trusted Test Lab fast-track programme, which address supply-chain security rather than accessibility.
Where we fit
Hearing-aid compatibility touches both the RF test plan and the accessibility feature set, and it's easy to treat as a lower-priority checkbox until the 15th December 2026 cutoff is close. We map your handset portfolio against the 100% benchmark and the 85/15 telecoil–Bluetooth coupling split, flag models that need coupling work, and manage the compliance testing alongside the rest of your US market-access work.
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