An ANPRM (Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) is an early, informational step in agency rulemaking used to gather data, questions, and public input about whether and how to regulate an issue. It asks for evidence and ideas; it does not propose final regulatory text. A proposed rule (NPRM) presents specific regulatory language or requirements and opens a formal notice-and-comment period under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Prenotification negative‑option plans are offers where a seller sends periodic notices of goods (for example, book‑of‑the‑month style offers) and ships—and bills for—the goods only if the consumer fails to reject the offer within a specified time. More broadly, a “negative option” means the seller treats a customer’s silence or inaction as acceptance (e.g., automatic renewals, free‑trial conversions, continuity plans).
A revision would affect sellers who use prenotification negative‑option practices (e.g., book clubs, continuity/automatic‑ship merchants, some subscription sellers and marketers who charge customers unless they opt out) and the consumers who subscribe to or are billed by those plans; if the Rule’s scope is expanded, additional subscription and continuity businesses (and their customers) would also be affected.
OIRA review is an interagency review conducted by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (within OMB) that examines significant draft regulatory actions’ legal, economic, and paperwork impacts and coordinates interagency comments. For actions designated “significant,” OIRA typically aims to complete review within about 90 days, though the clock can be tolled and timing varies by matter.
After OIRA completes its review, the agency (here, the FTC) may revise the draft based on interagency feedback and then publish the ANPRM in the Federal Register—at which point the public can submit comments. The agency may also decide not to move forward or to pursue a different rulemaking pathway depending on what the ANPRM solicitation yields.
The FTC posted a press release announcing the OIRA submission and linked the press release page; once OIRA review is finished the FTC will publish the ANPRM in the Federal Register and provide instructions for submitting public comments. Watch the FTC rule page and the Federal Register docket for the Negative Option Rule for the ANPRM and comment instructions.