Last reviewed: 6 October 2026
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The FDCPA and Regulation F: your debt collection rights in plain language
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) limits what a “debt collector” may do when collecting a consumer debt. Regulation F is the CFPB’s rule that carries out the FDCPA and adds detail.[1] This page maps the main rules, each tied to its section, and links to our guides that go deeper. It reports what the law says; it does not decide whether your collector broke it.
The short version
- Who is covered: a “debt collector,” defined by the statute. The statute also includes a creditor that, while collecting its own debts, uses a name other than its own that would indicate a third person is collecting.[2]
- Which debts: a “debt” is an obligation of a consumer to pay money from a transaction primarily for personal, family or household purposes.[2]
- What is limited: when and how a collector contacts you, who it may talk to, false or misleading statements, unfair practices, and what it must tell you about the debt.[3][4][5][6]
- How to enforce: a collector that fails to comply is liable for your actual damages, up to $1,000 in additional damages in an individual action, and costs and attorney’s fees. The deadline is one year from the violation.[7]
Who is a “debt collector”?
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), the term means a person who uses interstate commerce or the mails in a business whose principal purpose is collecting debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect debts owed or due another.[2] The statute lists exclusions, including:
- an officer or employee of a creditor collecting in the creditor’s name;[2]
- a person collecting a debt it originated, or a debt that was not in default when it obtained it, to the extent of that activity;[2]
- a government officer or employee collecting a debt in the performance of official duties;[2]
- a nonprofit that, at consumers’ request, performs bona fide consumer credit counseling and distributes payments to creditors.[2]
Regulation F applies to debt collectors as defined in 12 C.F.R. § 1006.2(i).[1] See original creditor, debt buyer or collection agency, and state debt collection laws that reach further than the FDCPA.
What the rules say, by topic
| Topic | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Time and place of contact | Unless you gave prior consent directly to the collector or a court permits it, a collector must not contact you at an unusual time or place, or one it knows or should know is inconvenient. Absent knowledge to the contrary, before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. local time is inconvenient. It must not contact you at work if it knows or has reason to know your employer prohibits it.[8] |
| If you have a lawyer | A collector must not contact you about the debt if it knows you are represented by an attorney for it and can readily ascertain the attorney’s name and address, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable time or consents.[8] |
| Talking to other people | A collector must not communicate with anyone other than you, your attorney, a credit reporting company if otherwise permitted, the creditor, or the creditor’s or collector’s attorney, with exceptions that include getting your location information, your consent given directly to the collector, and court permission.[8] See can a collector contact your employer or family. |
| Asking it to stop | If you notify the collector in writing that you refuse to pay or want it to stop contacting you, it must stop, except to say its efforts are ending or to say that it or the creditor may invoke specified remedies.[8] |
| Harassment | No conduct whose natural consequence is to harass, oppress or abuse. The statute lists threats of violence, obscene or profane language, publishing a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, and repeated or continuous calls intended to annoy, abuse or harass.[9] |
| Call frequency | Regulation F presumes a collector complies if it calls you about a particular debt no more than seven times within seven consecutive days and not within seven days after a phone conversation about that debt. Calls above those frequencies are presumed to violate the rule. Calls placed with your consent given directly to the collector (for up to seven days after the consent), calls that do not connect, and calls to your attorney, a credit reporting company, the creditor, the creditor’s attorney or the collector’s attorney do not count. For student loans, a “particular debt” means all the student loan debts serviced under a single account number when the collector got them.[10] See call and text limits. |
| Ways of contact you refuse | A collector must not use a medium of communication, such as email or text, that you have asked it not to use, with limited exceptions such as one response if you contact it that way.[10] |
| False or misleading statements | No false, deceptive or misleading representation. The statute lists examples, including falsely stating the amount or legal status of a debt, falsely implying an attorney is involved, threatening action that cannot legally be taken or is not intended, falsely implying you committed a crime, and using a name other than the collector’s true name.[4] |
| Saying it is a debt collector | The statute treats failing to disclose in the initial communication that the collector is attempting to collect a debt and that information obtained will be used for that purpose as a violation, and failing to disclose in later communications that they come from a debt collector.[4] |
| Unfair practices | A collector may not collect any amount, including interest or fees, unless the agreement creating the debt expressly authorizes it or the law permits it. It may not use a postcard, or put any language or symbol other than its address on an envelope (a business name is allowed if it does not indicate a debt collection business).[5] |
| The validation notice | A collector must give you validation information in its first communication, in a notice sent within five days of it, or orally in the first communication. The validation period ends 30 days after you receive, or are assumed to receive, the information.[11] See debt validation letters. |
| If you dispute in writing | If you dispute the debt in writing within the 30-day period, the collector must stop collecting the disputed part until it obtains and mails you verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment. Not disputing is not an admission of liability.[6] |
| Credit reporting | Before reporting a debt to a credit reporting company, a collector must speak with you, or send a letter or electronic message and wait a reasonable time for an undeliverable notice. It must not sell, transfer for consideration or place for collection a debt it knows or should know has been paid, settled or discharged in bankruptcy, with listed exceptions.[12] |
| Where it can sue | A collector suing you must bring the action only in the judicial district where you signed the contract or where you live when the case starts (different rules apply to property-securing actions).[12] See where a collector can sue you. |
| Payments on several debts | If you make a single payment on multiple debts owed to the same collector, it must not apply the payment to a debt you dispute, and must follow your directions if applicable.[12] |
How you can enforce your rights
- Damages: a collector that fails to comply with the FDCPA is liable for any actual damage you suffer, additional damages the court may allow up to $1,000 in an individual action, and, in a successful action, costs and a reasonable attorney’s fee.[7]
- What the court considers: in an individual action, the frequency and persistence of noncompliance, its nature, and how intentional it was.[7]
- Collector’s defense: a collector is not liable if it shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error despite procedures reasonably adapted to avoid it.[7]
- Deadline: an action must be brought within one year from the date of the violation.[7]
Complaints to agencies are a separate route; see where to file a credit, debt or scam complaint. For a lawyer, see free legal help for debt problems.
What this page does not cover
It does not decide whether you owe a debt, whether a particular collector is covered, or whether a particular call or letter broke a rule. It does not cover state laws, which can add protections, or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (see the TCPA and debt-relief robocalls). The Regulation F provisions here are summaries, not the full text. It is general information, not legal advice. Our Standard checks companies; it does not decide FDCPA claims.
Your next step
If a collector has contacted you, start with debt collection: where to start. Keep a record of each contact, with the date, time and what was said. To check a company that offers debt help, use the Register and our guide to checking a company yourself.
When we will update this page
We revisit it when the cited statute or regulation sections change. Sources last read 6 October 2026.
What you can do next
- Find a company — see which specific US companies we checked and what we could verify.
- How we check — the rules and sources behind each result.
- More credit help guides
- Report an error on this page or in a result.