The Obama administration will tell families of Americans held by terror groups that they can communicate with captors and even pay ransom without fear of prosecution.
It's part of a broad review of US hostage guidelines that will be released on Wednesday.
President Barack Obama, in a softening of longstanding policy, ordered the review last autumn after the deaths of Americans held hostage by Islamic State militants.
The families of some of those killed complained about their dealings with the administration, saying they were threatened with criminal prosecution if they pursued paying ransom in exchange for their loved ones' release.
Two people familiar with the review said there will be no formal change to the law, which explicitly makes it a crime to provide money or other material support to terror organisations. However, the administration will make clear that the Justice Department has never prosecuted anyone for paying ransom and that that will continue to be the case.
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Four Americans have been killed by the Islamic State since last summer: journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. After the release of gruesome videos showing the beheadings of some hostages, Obama approved an airstrike campaign against the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria.
In recent months, two other American hostages have been killed while in custody: journalist Luke Somers, who died in a failed US rescue attempt in Yemen, and Warren Weinstein, who was accidentally killed by a US drone strike in Pakistan.
Weinstein's family has been particularly outspoken about its frustration with the Obama administration. In a statement Wednesday, his wife, Elaine Weinstein, said she hoped the hostage review "was conducted fully and frankly so the US government can have an honest conversation about the areas where it falls short".
