EPA's 2026 PFAS Proposals: What Changes for Your Tap Water

Short answer: as of October 8, 2026, the EPA’s two May 2026 PFAS proposals are still proposals. Public comment closed on July 20, 2026, and we found no final rule in the Federal Register. So the April 2024 rule is still the federal regulation: a legal limit of 4.0 parts per trillion (ppt) each for PFOA and PFOS, limits for four other PFAS, and compliance due in 2029. Nothing changes in your tap today. Check your utility’s PFAS results, or test if you’re on a well.

For the bigger picture on what PFAS are and what the health research shows, see our guide to PFAS in drinking water.

What did the 2024 PFAS rule set?

On April 10, 2024, the EPA announced its final PFAS drinking water regulation. It sets legally enforceable limits, called maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), for six PFAS in public water, each paired with a health goal (MCLG) that is not enforceable:

• PFOA and PFOS: legal limit 4.0 ppt each; health goal zero.
• PFHxS, PFNA and HFPO-DA (“GenX”): legal limit 10 ppt each; health goal also 10 ppt.
• Mixtures of two or more of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS: a Hazard Index of 1, as both the limit and the goal.

Compliance is judged on running annual averages, not one sample. The timeline: water systems finish initial monitoring by 2027, start reporting PFAS levels to the public in 2027, and have until 2029 to fix any levels above the limits.

What would the May 2026 proposals change?

On May 18, 2026, the EPA announced two proposed rules, and both appeared in the Federal Register on May 20, 2026.

PFOA and PFOS: same limits, possibly more time. The compliance extension proposal keeps both limits at 4.0 ppt. Under the Federal Register notice, systems that request it could get an exemption moving their compliance date from April 26, 2029 to April 26, 2031. It isn’t automatic, and it comes with conditions:

• Systems with a PFOA or PFOS result at or above 12 ppt would have to take short-term mitigation actions during the extra time.
• Monitoring and reporting deadlines from the 2024 rule would not move.
• Exempted systems would have to notify the public, and community systems would also tell customers in their annual water quality report.

Four other limits removed. The rescission proposal would remove the limits for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and the Hazard Index mixture. The EPA says this would “correct the unlawful procedure” under which those regulations were issued; its Federal Register notice argues the decisions to regulate them and the limits themselves were issued together, out of the sequence the Safe Drinking Water Act requires. The EPA says that after finalizing the rescission it plans to evaluate additional PFAS for future regulation.

Where do the proposals stand now?

Both are still at the proposal stage:

• The EPA’s pages for both rules, last updated July 23, 2026, still call them proposed. The EPA held a public hearing on July 7, and comments closed on July 20, 2026 (dockets EPA-HQ-OW-2025-1742 and EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0654).
• When we searched the Federal Register for 2026 PFAS drinking water documents on October 8, 2026, the two May 20 proposed rules were the only actions on this regulation. There was no final rule.
• The 2024 rule has also been challenged in court. The rescission notice states that parts of it “are the subject of pending litigation” in the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (case No. 24-1188). A ruling, or a final rule, could change the picture, so check the date on anything you read about PFAS limits.

Unless a final rule is published or the court rules otherwise, all six 2024 limits and the 2029 deadline stand.

What does it mean for your tap water today?

Either way, PFOA and PFOS keep their 4.0 ppt limit. What matters is what’s in your own water.

• On city water, start with your utility. Your Consumer Confidence Report is due each year by July 1, but PFAS reporting under the 2024 rule only begins in 2027, so it may not list them yet. Results from the EPA’s UCMR 5 monitoring of 29 PFAS, released in final form in August 2026, are searchable by water system in the UCMR 5 Data Finder. Our guide on how to read your water quality report walks through the tables.
• On a private well, these rules don’t reach you: the EPA does not regulate private wells. It recommends a state-certified lab that uses EPA testing methods. Our well water testing guide explains how to plan one.
• A filter only if your numbers call for it. The EPA’s home filter guidance says that if PFAS were measured below federal limits, a filter may not be useful to you. If your PFOA or PFOS results are above 4.0 ppt, a filter certified to reduce PFAS (NSF/ANSI 53 or 58) is a reasonable step; our PFAS guide covers how to check a certification.

If your utility or health department has issued advice for your area, follow it.

Bottom line

The May 2026 proposals would keep the 4.0 ppt PFOA and PFOS limits, let systems ask for two more years (to 2031), and drop the limits for four other PFAS. As of October 8, 2026, they are not final, and the 2024 rule still applies. Check your water first; many households won’t need to do anything.