Hearing Aid Compatibility Status Report and Section 20.19, Hearing-Aid Compatible Mobile Handsets (Hearing Aid Compatibility Act)

The Commission is requesting a revision to its currently approved hearing aid compatibility information collection that applies to wireless wireless service providers. The revision is necessary to implement the final rules promulgated in the 2018 Report and Order in WT Docket No. 17-228, FCC 18-167 (2018 Order), which eliminated unnecessary and outdated information collection requirements for wireless service providers and replaced these requirements for service providers with a revised web site posting and record retention requirement and a streamlined annual certification requirement. The 2018 Order did not make changes to the currently approved reporting requirements for device manufacturers. The Commission’s previous hearing aid compatibility reporting requirements for service providers were intended to provide the Commission with a way to verify compliance with rules requiring service providers to offer specified numbers of hearing aid-compatible handset models, to monitor the status of hearing aid-compatible handset deployment in the marketplace, and to ensure that consumers have access to information about the handset models that serve their needs. The Commission’s revised and enhanced web site posting, record retention, and annual certification requirements for service providers are an improved means of promoting those goals. The Commission now seeks approval for new FCC Form 855 and its instructions which will be used to ensure that service providers are in compliance with the Commission’s hearing aid compatibility provisions. To implement the changes made by the 2018 Order, the Commission modified the FCC Form 655 and its instructions for manufacturers. These non-substantive changes to FCC Form 655 and its instructions were already approved by OMB. The Form 655 and its instructions have been modified to eliminate references to wireless service providers. FCC Form 655 will only be used by device manufacturers on a going forward basis to ensure their compliance with the Commission’s hearing aid compatibility provisions.

The latest form for Hearing Aid Compatibility Status Report and Section 20.19, Hearing-Aid Compatible Mobile Handsets (Hearing Aid Compatibility Act) expires 2022-06-30 and can be found here.