US / FCC / Hearing Aid Compatibility
The FCC's 100% Hearing Aid Compatibility requirement phases out the old partial exemption in two steps: an 85% benchmark from 1 July 2026, then a 100% benchmark — every model, plus telecoil coupling and at least two pairing methods — from 15 December 2026. After that date, non-compliant handset models can't be offered for sale or use in the US at all.
Last updated 29 August 2026
The FCC's 17 October 2024 Report and Order (FCC 24-112) set a phased end to the long-standing partial hearing-aid-compatibility exemption for wireless handset manufacturers. From 1 July 2026, 85% of the handset models a manufacturer offers for sale or use in the US must meet HAC requirements. From 15 December 2026, that rises to 100% — every model in the portfolio — and manufacturers must also ensure at least 85% of models meet telecoil coupling requirements and support at least two hearing-aid pairing methods (such as Bluetooth LE Audio/Auracast alongside telecoil).
Source: FCC, "FCC Announces Effective Dates of 100% Hearing Aid Compatibility Requirement"; FCC 24-112, Report and Order.
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 15 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.
Source: FCC 24-112, Report and Order.
A model doesn't count toward either benchmark just by clearing the acoustic-coupling ratings threshold. It also needs to meet telecoil coupling requirements and support at least two distinct hearing-aid pairing methods. For manufacturers relying solely on telecoil or solely on a single Bluetooth-based pairing route, that means adding a second, genuinely independent pairing method — not a checkbox change, but a design and test requirement that needs planning ahead of the 15 December 2026 cutoff.
Source: FCC, "FCC Announces Effective Dates of 100% Hearing Aid Compatibility Requirement".
A requirement from the FCC's 17 October 2024 Report and Order (FCC 24-112) that phases out 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 in two steps: 85% from 1 July 2026, then 100% from 15 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.
Compliant models must also meet telecoil coupling requirements and support at least two hearing-aid pairing methods (for example Bluetooth LE Audio/Auracast alongside telecoil), not just a bare HAC rating on the acoustic coupling scale. A model that only clears the ratings threshold without the coupling and pairing-method requirements does not count toward either benchmark.
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.
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 15 December 2026 cutoff is close. We map your handset portfolio against the 85%/100% benchmarks, flag models that need coupling or pairing-method work, and manage the compliance testing alongside the rest of your US market-access work.
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