Debt collectors: the federal rules

This area is governed by federal law, and the rules are the same in every state. Your state may add protections on top, but nothing below changes based on where you live.

What the statute says

Window to demand validation

30 days

Under 15 U.S.C. §1692g(a), in or within five days of the initial communication the collector must provide written validation information stating the amount, the creditor, and that you have 30 days to dispute.

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HOW THE 30 DAYS IS COUNTED — 12 CFR 1006.34(b)(5) (Regulation F), verbatim: "Validation period means the period starting on the date that a debt collector provides the validation information required by paragraph (c) of this section and ending 30 days after the consumer RECEIVES or is assumed to receive the validation information. For purposes of determining the end of the validation period, the debt collector may assume that a consumer receives the validation information on any date that is at least five days (excluding legal public holidays identified in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), SATURDAYS, and Sundays) after the debt collector provides it." Two points people get wrong: (1) the 30 days ends 30 days after RECEIPT or assumed receipt, not 30 days after the notice was sent — 15 U.S.C. §1692g(a)(3) says the same thing, "within thirty days after receipt of the notice", so do NOT count 30 days from the postmark or you will file late; (2) the Saturday/Sunday/legal-public-holiday exclusion applies ONLY to computing the at-least-five-day assumed-receipt offset. It never applies to the 30-day count itself. Dispute in writing inside that window and §1692g(b) requires the collector to cease collection until it mails verification.

What validation forces

15 U.S.C. §1692g(b): if the consumer notifies the debt collector IN WRITING within the 30-day period that the debt (or any portion) is disputed, or requests the name and address of the original creditor, 'the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment ...

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and a copy of such verification or judgment ... is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.' Collection may resume once verification is mailed. Separately, §1692g(c) provides that 'the failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer.'

Making them stop contacting you

15 U.S.C. §1692c(c): if a consumer notifies the debt collector IN WRITING that the consumer refuses to pay the debt or that the consumer wishes the collector to cease further communication, the collector 'shall not communicate further with the consumer' with respect to that debt, except (1) to advise the consumer that…

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the collector's further efforts are being terminated; (2) to notify the consumer that the collector or creditor may invoke specified remedies which are ordinarily invoked by such collector or creditor; or (3) where applicable, to notify the consumer that the collector or creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy. IMPORTANT LIMIT: a cease-communication letter stops communication only — it does not cancel the debt, does not bar the collector from suing, and does not bar credit reporting.

What they may not do

Three operative prohibition sections. (1) §1692d Harassment or abuse — 'A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt', including use or threat of violence or criminal means; obscene or profane…

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language; publishing lists of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay (other than to a consumer reporting agency); advertising the debt for sale to coerce payment; 'causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number'; and placing telephone calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity. (2) §1692e False or misleading representations — 'A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt', with 16 enumerated examples including falsely implying government affiliation, misrepresenting the character/amount/legal status of the debt, falsely representing that the collector is an attorney, threatening arrest/imprisonment or seizure that is unlawful or not intended, threatening any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken, communicating credit information known to be false or failing to communicate that a debt is disputed, using any false representation to collect the debt or to obtain information about the consumer, failing to disclose in the initial communication that the collector is attempting to collect a debt, and using a business name other than the collector's true name. (3) §1692f Unfair practices — 'A debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt', with 8 enumerated examples including collecting any amount not expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law, misuse of postdated checks, taking or threatening nonjudicial action to dispossess property where there is no enforceable security interest or the property is exempt, communicating with a consumer about a debt by postcard, and using any language or symbol other than the collector's address on an envelope (with a limited exception for a business name that does not indicate debt collection).

Regulation F (CFPB)

Regulation F, 12 CFR Part 1006 (CFPB), effective November 30, 2021. Two key additions on top of the statute: (A) Telephone call frequency, 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2) — the widely cited '7-in-7' rule.

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A collector is PRESUMED TO COMPLY with the §1692d(5) harassment prohibition if it places telephone calls to a particular person in connection with the collection of a particular debt neither (A) more than seven times within seven consecutive days, nor (B) within a period of seven consecutive days after having had a telephone conversation with the person in connection with the collection of such debt (the date of the telephone conversation is day one of that seven-day period). Under 1006.14(b)(2)(ii) a collector is PRESUMED TO VIOLATE the prohibition if it exceeds either frequency. 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(3) excludes certain calls from the count, including calls placed with the person's prior consent given directly to the collector within the preceding seven consecutive days, calls that are not connected to the dialed number, and calls "[p]laced to the persons described in § 1006.6(d)(1)(ii) through (vi)" — i.e. to the consumer's attorney, a consumer reporting agency (if otherwise permitted by law), the creditor, the creditor's attorney, or the debt collector's attorney. That third exclusion is NOT about location-information calls; location-information contact is governed separately by 12 CFR 1006.6(d)(2)(i) and 1006.10 (statutory analogue 15 U.S.C. §1692b). Because these are presumptions rather than bright-line bans, fewer than 7 calls can still be harassment and more than 7 is rebuttable. (B) Validation notice, 12 CFR 1006.34 — the collector must provide 'validation information' in the initial communication or within five days of the initial communication (with a limited option to convey it orally in the initial communication). Required content under 1006.34(c) includes a debt-collector communication disclosure, information identifying the consumer and the debt (name of the creditor to whom the debt is currently owed, an account number if any, the itemization date and the amount of the debt on that date, an itemization of interest/fees/payments/credits since then, and the current amount), and consumer-protection information including the dispute deadline (the validation-period end date stated as a specific date), the right to request the name and address of the original creditor, and consumer-response prompts/tear-off checkboxes for disputing or requesting original-creditor information. The itemization date may be the last statement date, charge-off date, last payment date, transaction date, or judgment date, used consistently.

Statutory damages

15 U.S.C. §1692k(a). A successful consumer may recover: (a)(1) 'any actual damage sustained by such person as a result of such failure'; plus (a)(2)(A) in an individual action, 'such additional damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding $1,000'.

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In a class action, (a)(2)(B) allows each named plaintiff such additional damages as in an individual action (i.e., up to $1,000), and for all other class members 'such amount as the court may allow' with total additional damages capped at 'the lesser of $500,000 or 1 per centum of the net worth of the debt collector'. The $1,000 is a per-action cap on additional (statutory) damages, not a per-violation multiplier, and it is not indexed for inflation in the statutory text.

Governing law

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. §1692 et seq. (Title 15, Chapter 41, Subchapter V, §§1692-1692p), plus its implementing regulation, Regulation F, 12 CFR Part 1006.

Who this applies to

The FDCPA applies to 'debt collectors' as defined in §1692a — generally third-party collectors and debt buyers collecting consumer debts. It does not generally reach a creditor collecting its own debt in its own name. Many states extend equivalent duties to original creditors; that is a state-law overlay, not FDCPA.

TWO CARVE-OUTS TO CHECK BEFORE YOU WRITE. (1) §1692a(6)(A) excludes "any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor" — though the definition expressly pulls back in "any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own", i.e.

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a creditor using a name that suggests a third party is collecting. (2) §1692a(6)(F)(iii) excludes a person collecting a debt "which was not in default at the time it was obtained by such person" — this removes most loan servicers that took over a current account. If your account was never in default when the servicer obtained it, the FDCPA likely does not reach that servicer and you must look to state law or the loan contract instead.

Also on contact

15 U.S.C. §1692c(a) separately bars communication at any unusual time or place, or a time or place known or which should be known to be inconvenient, "[w]ithout the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction".

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THE 8am-9pm WINDOW IS A DEFAULT, NOT A FIXED RULE: "In the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that the convenient time for communicating with a consumer is after 8 o'clock antemeridian and before 9 o'clock postmeridian, local time at the consumer's location." §1692c(a)(2) bars contact where the collector "knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with respect to such debt AND has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, UNLESS the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to a communication from the debt collector or unless the attorney consents to direct communication with the consumer" — all three conditions matter; a direct contact after your attorney has gone silent may be lawful. §1692c(a)(3) bars contact at your place of employment where the collector "knows or has reason to know" the employer prohibits it. §1692c(b) bars communication with third parties other than the consumer, the consumer's attorney, a consumer reporting agency (if otherwise permitted by law), the creditor, the creditor's attorney, or the collector's attorney.

Attorney's fees

Yes — 15 U.S.C. §1692k(a)(3): a successful consumer recovers 'the costs of the action, together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court.' The same paragraph also provides that on a finding that an action was brought in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment, the court may award the defendant…

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attorney's fees and costs.

Time limit to sue

1 year

15 U.S.C. §1692k(d): an action to enforce FDCPA liability may be brought in any appropriate United States district court without regard to the amount in controversy, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, 'within one year from the date on which the violation occurs.' NOTE: this 1-year period is the deadline to SUE THE COLLECTOR for an FDCPA violation.

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It is a completely different thing from the statute of limitations on the underlying debt itself, which is set by STATE law and commonly runs 3-6 years. Do not conflate the two.

Who handles complaints

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — primary rulemaking and enforcement authority; Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — concurrent enforcement. FDCPA §1692l allocates administrative enforcement among the CFPB, FTC, and prudential regulators.

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There is also a private right of action under §1692k, so a consumer does not need an agency to act.

Read it yourself

Official sources. If a number below matters to your case, open the statute and read it — laws get amended, and cities often stack stricter local rules on top.

• 15 U.S.C. §1692 et seq.; edition currency 'Current 2024 Main Ed. (1/6/2025)' — 15 U.S.C. Chapter 41, Subchapter V (Debt Collection Practices) — section list, §§1692-1692p
• 15 U.S.C. §1692g(a), (b), (c) — 15 U.S.C. §1692g — Validation of debts (30-day validation period; cease collection until verification mailed; no admission of liability)
• 15 U.S.C. §1692c(a), (b), (c)(1)-(3) — 15 U.S.C. §1692c — Communication in connection with debt collection (8am-9pm presumption; third-party contact; written cease-communication and its three exceptions)
• 15 U.S.C. §1692d(1)-(6) — 15 U.S.C. §1692d — Harassment or abuse (including repeated/continuous calls with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass)
• 15 U.S.C. §1692e(1)-(16) — 15 U.S.C. §1692e — False or misleading representations (16 enumerated practices)
• 15 U.S.C. §1692f(1)-(8) — 15 U.S.C. §1692f — Unfair practices (8 enumerated practices, incl. collecting amounts not authorized, postcards, envelope markings)
• 15 U.S.C. §1692k(a)(1), (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), (a)(3), (d) — 15 U.S.C. §1692k — Civil liability ($1,000 additional-damages cap; class caps of lesser of $500,000 or 1% of net worth; costs and reasonable attorney's fee; one-year limitations period)
• 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2)(i)(A)-(B), (b)(2)(ii), (b)(3) — 12 CFR 1006.14(b) — Regulation F telephone call frequency ('7-in-7' presumption of compliance and presumption of violation; excluded calls), CFPB eRegulations
• 12 CFR 1006.34(a), (b)(5), (c) — 12 CFR 1006.34 — Regulation F validation information / validation notice; the "validation period" definition is at §1006.34(b)(5) and runs to 30 days after the consumer receives or is assumed to receive the validation information, CFPB eRegulations
• Debt Collection Practices (Regulation F), 12 CFR Part 1006, effective Nov. 30, 2021 — CFPB final rule page for Regulation F — 'Effective date: NOV 30, 2021'
• 15 U.S.C. §1692a(6), (6)(A), (6)(F)(iii) — 15 U.S.C. §1692a — Definitions; §1692a(6) defines "debt collector" by two independent prongs (a business whose principal purpose is the collection of debts, or one who regularly collects debts owed another), excludes at (6)(A) an officer or employee of a creditor collecting in the creditor's own name, and excludes at (6)(F)(iii) a person collecting a debt "which was not in default at the time it was obtained by such person"

Last checked: 2026-08-20