Federal law requires a debt collector to give a consumer the amount of the debt, the creditor's name and a statement of the 30-day period to dispute the debt, either in its first communication or in a notice sent within five days of it, unless the consumer has paid the debt. The same law bars false, misleading, unfair and harassing content, such as a false statement of the amount of a debt or a false claim that a letter comes from an attorney.
A collection letter can be hard to read. The amount may be higher than a reader remembers, the creditor's name may be unfamiliar, or the letter may hint at a lawsuit. This page walks through what the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) requires a collection letter to say, what it forbids a letter from saying, the options a consumer has after one arrives, and what the law makes potentially available when a collector does not follow the rules.
What the FDCPA Requires in a Debt Collection Letter
The FDCPA applies to debt collectors, and the statute defines that term. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), a debt collector is any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails "in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another." The definition also reaches a creditor that, in collecting its own debts, uses a name other than its own that would indicate a third person is collecting, and it excludes several groups, among them a creditor's officers and employees collecting in the creditor's name. It covers consumer debts, meaning obligations for personal, family or household purposes.
The heart of the letter rules is the validation notice: the written statement that tells a consumer what the collector says is owed and how to challenge it. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a), a debt collector must send it within five days after its first communication with the consumer, unless that first communication already contains the information or the consumer has paid the debt. The notice must contain:
- the amount of the debt;
- the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
- a statement that unless the consumer disputes the debt, or any part of it, within 30 days after receiving the notice, the collector will assume it is valid;
- a statement that if the consumer disputes in writing within those 30 days, the collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment and mail it to the consumer; and
- a statement that, on written request within those 30 days, the collector will provide the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current one.
A dispute, in plain words, is a consumer telling the collector that the debt, or some part of it, is wrong or not theirs. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b), a written dispute within the 30 days requires the collector to stop collecting the disputed amount until it mails verification. The CFPB's Regulation F, at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34, adds detailed content requirements, covered below.
Language and Content the FDCPA Prohibits in Collection Letters
The broadest rule is in 15 U.S.C. § 1692e: a debt collector "may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt." The statute then lists examples, including several that show up in letters:
- falsely representing the character, amount or legal status of a debt (§ 1692e(2)(A));
- falsely representing or implying that anyone is an attorney or that a communication is from an attorney (§ 1692e(3));
- threatening action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken (§ 1692e(5));
- using any false representation or deceptive means to collect a debt or obtain information about a consumer (§ 1692e(10)); and
- failing to disclose that the communication is from a debt collector, with the specific disclosures § 1692e(11) requires in the first and later communications.
A separate section, 15 U.S.C. § 1692f, bars "unfair or unconscionable means." Its examples include collecting any amount, including interest or fees, unless the agreement creating the debt expressly authorizes it or the law permits it (§ 1692f(1)); communicating about a debt by post card (§ 1692f(7)); and putting language or symbols other than the collector's address on an envelope, though a business name that does not reveal debt collection is allowed (§ 1692f(8)).
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692d, a collector may not engage in conduct whose natural consequence is to harass, oppress or abuse any person. That section is often linked with phone calls, but its text reaches any conduct, including abusive or profane language in writing.
Letters to other people are limited too. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b), a collector generally may not communicate about the debt with anyone 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, absent the consumer's direct consent, a court's permission, or a post-judgment need. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692b, a collector seeking location information from someone else may not say the consumer owes a debt, generally may contact that person only once, and may not use a post card. Those rules are explained further in our page on debt collectors calling family.
Each of these is conduct that may violate the FDCPA when a debt collector, as defined, does it in collecting a consumer debt. Whether a particular letter crosses the line depends on its exact words and the facts around it.
The Validation Notice Under Regulation F
A lot of the detail a consumer sees on a modern collection letter comes from Regulation F, the CFPB's debt collection rule, at 12 C.F.R. Part 1006. Under 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34(a), a collector must provide the validation information either in a written notice sent in the initial communication or within five days of it, or orally in the initial communication. The five-day notice is not required if the consumer has already paid the debt before it would be due.
The required content in 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34(c) includes the collector's name and the mailing address where it accepts disputes, the consumer's name and mailing address, the account number or a shortened version, the current creditor's name, and, for debts tied to a consumer financial product, the creditor on the itemization date. Under 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34(b), the itemization date is any one of five reference dates the rule lists, among them the last statement date and the charge-off date. The notice must give the amount of the debt on that date, an itemization of interest, fees, payments and credits since then, and the current amount. It must also state the date the collector treats as the end of the validation period, along with the consumer's dispute and original-creditor rights tied to that date.
Regulation F includes a model validation notice, Model Form B-1. Under 12 C.F.R. § 1006.38(b), a collector may not, during the validation period, use collection activity or communications that overshadow, or are inconsistent with, the consumer's dispute and original-creditor rights; a collector who uses Model Form B-1 in the manner the rule describes has not, by that alone, violated that overshadowing rule. Under 12 C.F.R. § 1006.38(d), a written dispute within the validation period requires the collector to stop collecting the disputed amount until it sends verification or a judgment, or, for a dispute it reasonably finds duplicative, explains that and points to its earlier response.
The CFPB's own page on what information a debt collector has to give says the information "helps you recognize whether the debt is yours and, if not, how to dispute it," and that the notice may be sent by mail or electronically.
What a Consumer May Do After Receiving a Collection Letter
For someone staring at a letter that looks wrong, the statute offers several written options rather than a single required step.
A written dispute. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b), a consumer may dispute the debt, or any part of it, in writing within 30 days after receiving the validation notice. The collector must then stop collecting the disputed amount until it obtains verification or a copy of a judgment and mails it. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(c), not disputing is not an admission of liability. The FTC's debt collection FAQs describe sending a dispute by certified mail with a return receipt and keeping a copy as one way to show the collector received it.
A request for the original creditor. Under the same subsection, a consumer may ask in writing within those 30 days for the name and address of the original creditor, if different. Collection must pause until the collector mails that information.
A request to stop contact. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c) and 12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(c), a consumer may notify a collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay or wants communication to stop. The collector then may contact the consumer about that debt only to say its efforts are ending, to say the collector or creditor may use specified remedies it ordinarily uses, or, where it applies, to say it intends to use a specified remedy. If the notice is mailed, it is complete on receipt. The CFPB's page on what a debt collector is notes that such a request will not necessarily stop a lawsuit or credit reporting. The CFPB also says, on its page about what laws limit debt collectors, that a collector using email, text or another electronic medium must offer a reasonable and simple way to opt out.
A complaint to an agency. The CFPB says that when a consumer submits a complaint, it forwards the issue to the company, provides a tracking number and gives status updates. Whether a particular letter contains a violation still depends on its facts.
What the FDCPA Makes Potentially Available When a Violation Occurs
The remedies section is 15 U.S.C. § 1692k. Under § 1692k(a), except as the section otherwise provides, a debt collector who fails to comply with the FDCPA is liable for the sum of any actual damage the person sustained as a result; in an individual action, additional damages "as the court may allow, but not exceeding $1,000"; and, in a successful action, costs and a reasonable attorney's fee as the court determines. Different limits apply in a class action. If a court finds an action was brought in bad faith and to harass, it may award the collector its fees and costs.
Additional damages are not automatic. Under § 1692k(b), in an individual action the court considers, among other relevant factors, the frequency and persistence of the noncompliance, its nature, and the extent to which it was intentional.
Under § 1692k(c), 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, meaning a genuine mistake, despite procedures reasonably adapted to avoid it. Under § 1692k(e), good-faith reliance on a CFPB advisory opinion is also a defense.
Timing is fixed by § 1692k(d): an action may be brought in federal district court or another court of competent jurisdiction "within one year from the date on which the violation occurs." The FTC's page adds that even if a court finds a violation, the consumer may still owe the debt. Whether any situation is a violation, and what remedy may apply, depends on the facts; our page on the consumer lawsuit process covers this area further.
How Federal and State Law Interact
The FDCPA is federal law, and it applies across the United States. Congress stated in 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e) that its purpose includes eliminating abusive debt collection practices and promoting "consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses." In practice, the FDCPA works as a floor, and a state may build on it.
The CFPB says that most states have debt collection laws, many similar to the FDCPA, that some of those laws cover the original creditor while others do not, and that state unfair and deceptive practices laws may also apply. The FTC's debt collection FAQs say that many states have their own debt collection laws that differ from federal law. Because those rules vary from state to state, a letter that fits within the FDCPA might still raise questions under a state's own statute, and the reverse can also be true.
Both federal agencies publish consumer guidance on these rules. The CFPB's page on harassment by a debt collector notes that some state laws may allow more time to file than the FDCPA's one year. The broader picture of how these federal statutes fit together appears on our consumer rights attorney overview.
If You'd Like a Consumer Rights Case Review
This page explains federal letter rules only; it does not cover credit-report disputes over the same debt in depth.
A reader may request a consumer rights case review through Federal Consumer Rights.
