Closed caption settings on new TVs and set-top boxes: what the FCC's “readily accessible” rule requires

Captions on a TV have been adjustable for years: since January 1, 2014, federal rules have required digital video devices to let viewers change caption size, color, font and background. What those rules did not say was where the settings had to be. A Federal Communications Commission rule whose compliance date was August 17, 2026 addresses that gap. It requires makers of TVs and other covered video devices, and pay-TV providers, to make caption display settings readily accessible. This guide explains what the rule requires, which devices it reaches and what it leaves out, based on the rule's current text in the eCFR and the FCC's Federal Register documents, read on November 11, 2026.

What caption settings a device already had to offer

Section 79.103 of the FCC's rules sets the caption features that covered devices must support. In adopting the new requirement in 2024, the FCC noted that its earlier rules required these features but did not mandate how users reach them, and that consumer groups had described the trouble deaf and hard of hearing viewers had finding them.

The new requirement and its four tests

Paragraph (e) of the rule requires device makers and multichannel video programming distributors, pay-TV providers such as cable and satellite companies, to ensure consumers can readily access caption display settings. The FCC lets companies decide how, and judges the result on four factors set out in the rule.

The FCC's order fills in some detail. A caption preview may use stock text, so viewers can check their settings during an ad break or an uncaptioned stretch, and the preview is to appear in a box over the programming so the picture stays visible. The FCC agreed that a long press of a remote control button may be consistent with the proximity factor, but said it would still be judged against the other three. Voice control may lead to the settings only if there is also a way to reach them that is reasonably comparable to a button, key or icon; the FCC cited consumer groups' point that many deaf and hard of hearing people find voice activation hard to use. One example in the record: consumer groups said that changing caption settings for the most popular streaming service took many users a 10-step process that meant leaving the app for the service's website.

Which devices it covers, and from when

The requirement applies to apparatus designed to receive or play back video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound, made in the United States or imported for use there, with a picture screen of any size, where technically feasible. The FCC's 2024 order applies it to pay-TV providers through the set-top boxes they ship or import for their customers. For screens smaller than 13 inches it applies only if achievable. It does not apply to third-party applications that come pre-installed on a device. Display-only monitors with no playback capability, and professional or commercial equipment not typically used by the public, are exempt from the whole section.

Timing is the main limit. The rule requires compliance for devices that use “next generation operating systems deployed after August 17, 2026,” and places no restrictions on importing, shipping or selling devices manufactured before that date. In its 2024 order, the FCC said pay-TV providers should supply new equipment on request to customers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and should tell those customers when new operating systems are deployed. It also encouraged companies to make the settings readily accessible sooner where they could.

For other figures on a TV spec sheet, our guide to HDMI 2.1, eARC and the EnergyGuide label covers connections and power use.