January 5, 2025
Source: Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Comments Due: February 2, 2026
Reply Comments Due: March 3, 2026
On November 20, 2025, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would seek comment on a plan to modernize Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) to align TRS with today’s communications landscape and ensure that relay services remain effective, accessible, and sustainable for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or have speech disabilities. The FCC released the document on November 21, 2025, and established the comment period on January 2, 2026.
In the Notice, the FCC proposes and seeks comment on:
- Phasing out the mandatory status of TTY-based relay service for state-based TRS programs;
- Facilitating users’ transitions from analog TRS to Internet-based forms of TRS;
- Recognizing IP STS as a compensable form of TRS;
- Exploring a national analog relay provider;
- Improving compatibility with real-time text (RTT);
- Streamlining TRS provider certification and data collection processes;
- Updating or eliminating obsolete rules, and;
- Closing an outdated docket.
Interested parties may file comments by accessing the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System at fcc.gov/ecfs/filings. All filings must reference CG Docket Nos. 03-123 and 08-15. People with disabilities who need assistance to file comments online may request assistance by email to FCC504@fcc.gov.
Link to the Analog TRS NPRM:
URL: fcc.gov/document/fcc-announces-plan-modernize-telecommunications-relay-services-0
Link to Public Notice Announcing Comment Dates:
URL: fcc.gov/document/comment-dates-set-analog-trs-modernication-nprm
For general questions about TRS, visit fcc.gov/trs. For further information about this item, please contact Joshua Mendelsohn, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at 202-559-7304 (voice and videophone) or Joshua.Mendelsohn@fcc.gov.
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