The FDCPA in Plain English: What Collectors Can and Can't Do

Short answer: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.) is the 1977 federal law that limits how debt collectors go after personal, family and household debts. Collectors can call, write, text and even sue you. They can't harass you, lie to you or use unfair tactics. The CFPB's Regulation F (12 CFR 1006) spells out the details.

Last checked October 21, 2026 against the statute text on govinfo.gov, Regulation F on eCFR (current as of October 19, 2026), and CFPB and FTC guidance. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Got a call or letter about a specific debt and just want the quick checklist? Our page on what a debt collector can legally do covers it in two minutes. This page goes through the law itself, section by section, so you can see where each rule comes from.

What is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

The FDCPA is the main federal law on debt collection. It became law on September 20, 1977 (Pub. L. 95-109) and took effect six months later. It sits in the U.S. Code at 15 U.S.C. 1692 through 1692p (govinfo).

Congress wrote its reasons right into section 1692. It found "abundant evidence" of abusive, deceptive and unfair collection practices. The law's stated purpose is to stop those practices, to make sure collectors who follow the rules aren't at a disadvantage, and to encourage consistent state laws (15 U.S.C. 1692).

Two federal agencies matter most here:

• The CFPB writes the rules. Its Regulation F took effect November 30, 2021 and fills in what the 1977 law left open, like texts, email and call limits (CFPB, Regulation F final rule).
• The FTC and the CFPB both enforce it. Banking regulators handle the institutions they supervise (15 U.S.C. 1692l).

Who does the FDCPA cover?

The FDCPA covers third-party debt collectors collecting consumer debts. It generally doesn't cover the company you originally owed, or business debts. The CFPB says collectors under the law can include collection agencies, debt buyers and lawyers (CFPB).

Source: definitions in 15 U.S.C. 1692a.

The law defines "debt" as money owed from a deal that was mainly for personal, family or household purposes. The FTC lists credit cards, car loans, medical bills, student loans and mortgages as covered (FTC, Debt Collection FAQs).

One catch: if your card issuer's own collections department calls, the FDCPA usually doesn't apply. Some state laws do cover original creditors, though, so check your state (more on that below).

What does the FDCPA allow a debt collector to do?

A debt collector can contact you, ask you to pay, report the debt to the credit bureaus and sue you, as long as it follows the rules. Here's what's allowed:

• Reach you in several ways. Phone calls, letters, emails, texts and private social media messages are all allowed (FTC).
• Contact other people to find you. A collector can ask someone else for your address, home phone number or workplace. It usually can only contact that person once, and can't say you owe a debt (15 U.S.C. 1692b).
• Report the debt to a credit bureau. First it has to speak with you, or send you a letter or electronic message and wait a reasonable time to see if it bounces (12 CFR 1006.30(a)). The FTC says that wait is usually 14 days.
• Sue you, but only in the area where you live or where you signed the contract (15 U.S.C. 1692i). See what to do if you're sued.
• Ask about old debts. In many states a collector can still ask you to pay a debt past the statute of limitations. It just can't sue or threaten to sue over it (12 CFR 1006.26(b)).

What does the FDCPA ban debt collectors from doing?

A collector can't harass you, lie to you or treat you unfairly, and it has to respect limits on when, where and how it contacts you. The FDCPA lists examples in sections 1692c through 1692f, and Regulation F repeats and adds to them.

Contact rules

Conduct rules

What is the 7-in-7 call rule?

It's the Regulation F test for when calls cross the line. A collector is presumed to be harassing you if it calls you about one debt more than seven times in seven days, or calls again within seven days after it actually talked with you about that debt (12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2)).

A few details people miss:

• It counts per debt. Each debt in collection gets its own count. Student loans that were serviced under one account number when the collector got them count as one debt (1006.14(b)(4)).
• Some calls don't count. A call that never connects to your number, such as one that gets a busy signal or a "not in service" message, isn't counted. A call that rings through does count, even if you don't pick up. Calls made within seven days after you gave the collector permission to call don't count either (1006.14(b)(3)).
• It's a presumption, not a free pass. Fewer calls can still be illegal if they're meant to harass you. The base rule in section 1692d(5) still applies.

What does a collector have to tell you about the debt?

A collector has to give you "validation information" in its first contact or within five days after (15 U.S.C. 1692g; 12 CFR 1006.34). The FTC sums up what that notice includes:

• the collector's name and mailing address
• the name of the creditor you owe
• how much you owe, broken out into interest, fees, payments and credits
• what to do if you don't think the debt is yours
• your right to ask for the original creditor's name within the dispute window

Every contact after the first has to say it's from a debt collector (12 CFR 1006.18(e)).

The dispute window is the "validation period." It runs until 30 days after you get the notice. The collector may assume you got it five days after sending it, not counting weekends and federal holidays (1006.34(b)(5)).

Not disputing doesn't mean you admit you owe it. The law says a court can't treat your silence as an admission of liability (1692g(c)).

How do you dispute a debt or make a collector stop contacting you?

You put it in writing. A written dispute pauses collection, and a written stop request ends most contact. Here's how each works:

1. To dispute the debt, write to the collector within the validation period. It has to stop collecting the disputed amount until it mails you verification, such as a copy of a bill or a judgment (15 U.S.C. 1692g(b)).
2. To stop contact, send a letter saying you want it to stop or that you refuse to pay. After that, it can contact you only to confirm it's stopping, or to tell you about a specific step it plans to take, like a lawsuit (15 U.S.C. 1692c(c)).
3. To stop emails or texts, use the opt-out method. Regulation F says every collection email or text must include a simple way to opt out, with no fee (12 CFR 1006.6(e)).

The FTC suggests sending letters by certified mail with a return receipt and keeping a copy (FTC). The CFPB also suggests writing down dates and notes from every call.

Stopping contact doesn't make the debt go away. The collector can still sue while the statute of limitations is open. The FTC also suggests talking to the collector at least once if you don't think you owe it, so you can find out what it says you owe.

Want letters you can copy? The CFPB has free samples on its debt collection page. Our free PDF, Dealing With a Debt Collector, walks through your rights step by step and includes six sample letters. The sign-up box is on this page.

What happens if a debt collector breaks the FDCPA?

You can sue the collector in federal or state court within one year of the violation (15 U.S.C. 1692k). Here's what a court can award:

Source: 15 U.S.C. 1692k(a).

There are limits. A collector isn't liable if it proves the violation was an honest mistake despite reasonable procedures to prevent it (1692k(c)). If a court finds you sued in bad faith to harass the collector, it can make you pay the collector's legal fees. And the FTC points out that winning an FDCPA case doesn't erase the debt itself.

You can also report a collector without suing:

• the CFPB, at consumerfinance.gov/complaint
• the FTC, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
• your state attorney general's office

For free legal help, start with a legal aid office (LSC's legal aid finder). Our free debt help guide lists other no-cost options.

Do state debt collection laws give you more protection?

They can. The FDCPA overrides a state law only where the two conflict, and a state law that protects you more doesn't count as a conflict (15 U.S.C. 1692n).

The CFPB says most states have their own debt collection laws, and some of them also cover original creditors (CFPB). Your state attorney general's office can tell you what applies where you live.

Time limits for lawsuits are set by the states too. The CFPB says most fall between three and six years, and some are longer (CFPB). Our page on the statute of limitations on credit card debt explains how the clock works and how a payment can restart it.

How is Regulation F different from the FDCPA?

The FDCPA is the 1977 law passed by Congress. Regulation F is the CFPB's rule that carries it out. Regulation F took effect November 30, 2021 and covers newer ways of reaching people that the 1977 text never mentions.

Sources: 15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.; 12 CFR part 1006.

If a specific company is contacting you, our debt collector pages show what the CFPB's public complaint records say about each one.

Sources

• 15 U.S.C. 1692 to 1692p, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (U.S. Code, 2023 edition, govinfo.gov): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title15/html/USCODE-2023-title15-chap41-subchapV.htm
• 12 CFR part 1006, Debt Collection Practices (Regulation F), eCFR current as of Oct. 19, 2026: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1006
• CFPB, Debt Collection Practices (Regulation F) final rule (effective Nov. 30, 2021): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/final-rules/debt-collection-practices-regulation-f/
• CFPB, What laws limit what debt collectors can say or do?: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-laws-limit-what-debt-collectors-can-say-or-do-en-329/
• CFPB, Can debt collectors collect a debt that's several years old?: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-debt-collectors-collect-a-debt-thats-several-years-old-en-1423/
• CFPB, Debt collection: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/debt-collection/
• FTC, Debt Collection FAQs: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/debt-collection-faqs

Photo: Karola G / Pexels

DebtHaus is not a law firm and isn't affiliated with the CFPB or FTC. This page explains the law in general terms; it isn't legal advice for your situation. Editorial policy