On February 13, 2026, our prior alert reported that a judge in the Eastern District of Texas vacated the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Final Rule promulgating the new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) form, which went into effect last year.
The FTC filed a notice of appeal with the Fifth Circuit,1 and a Circuit Court panel issued a temporary administrative stay pending a decision on the FTC's emergency motion for a stay pending appeal.2 On March 19, a Circuit Court panel denied the FTC's motion and lifted the administrative stay.3
The FTC's Premerger Notification Office subsequently published guidance that, effective immediately, it will begin accepting HSR filings using the old version of the form in place prior to February 10, 2025—though it will continue to accept HSR filings using the new form on a strictly voluntary basis.4
Footnotes
1 Notice of Appeal, Chamber of Commerce v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 26-40094, ECF 1 (5th Cir. Feb. 18, 2026).
2 Order, Chamber of Commerce v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 26-40094, ECF 18 (5th Cir. Feb. 18, 2026).
3 Order, Chamber of Commerce v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 26-40094, ECF 44-2 (5th Cir. Mar. 19, 2026).
4 Premerger Notification Program, FTC, available at https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/premerger-notification-program (last visited Mar. 19, 2026).
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