2025 Year-in-Review: Junk Fee Laws

It's been a busy year for junk fees. In December 2024, the FTC announced its final Junk Fees Rule. The rule generally requires that the total price be disclosed up front more prominently than any other pricing information, but it is limited to two specific industries: live event ticketing and short-term lodging. This scope is much narrower than that of the proposed rule, which would have applied to all industries with limited exceptions. While that would have imposed restrictions on more sellers, it also would have established a clear, national standard. Potentially due in part to the absence of that standard, we've seen an uptick in state laws, creating a patchwork of compliance requirements across the country. Several laws regulate specific industries, such as ticketing and lodging, but many others broadly apply to all advertised prices for consumer goods and services. These laws typically require that the advertised price include all mandatory fees, excluding