Debt Collectors: Your Rights

A call from a debt collector feels like the worst part of being behind. It helps to know that federal law sets firm rules on what collectors can and cannot do, that you have 30 days to dispute a debt you do not recognize, and that a charged-off card is not the same as a debt you no longer owe. Here is what the rules say, in plain English, with the sources so you can check them yourself.

Who counts as a debt collector

The federal rules come from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the CFPB's Regulation F (12 CFR part 1006, read October 28, 2026). They cover third parties: collection agencies, debt buyers and law firms that regularly collect debts owed to someone else. A bank or card company collecting its own debt in its own name is generally not a "debt collector" under these rules, though other laws and your state's rules may still apply. If the original creditor uses a different name that makes it look like a third party, it is covered.

Charge-off, collection, debt buyer: what happened to your account

When a credit card goes unpaid for months, the bank eventually charges it off. Federal banking policy says open-end accounts such as credit cards that are 180 days past due should be charged off (the Uniform Retail Credit Classification and Account Management Policy, Federal Reserve). A charge-off is an accounting step for the bank. It does not cancel what you owe. The bank may keep collecting itself, hire a collection agency, or sell the debt to a debt buyer, who then collects in its own name.

On your credit report, federal law limits how long this can show. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the reporting period for accounts placed in collection or charged off generally runs for seven years after the expiration of a 180-day period beginning with the delinquency that immediately preceded the collection or charge-off (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(4) and (c)(1)). This is commonly described as approximately seven years and 180 days from the original delinquency. Because that period is counted from the original delinquency, paying a collection does not restart it. A payment or a written acknowledgment can matter for something else: the separate time limit for a lawsuit (the statute of limitations), which in some states starts over, depending on your state's law (see the note on old debts below).

Your first step: the validation notice and your 30 days

A collector must give you the validation information either in its first communication or by sending a validation notice within five days of it (12 CFR 1006.34(a)). The notice shows who the collector is, the creditor, the amount, an itemization of interest, fees, payments and credits since a set date, and the date your dispute window ends.

That window, the validation period, ends 30 days after you receive the notice; the collector may assume you received it five business days after it was sent (12 CFR 1006.34(b)(5)). If you tell the collector in writing within that period that you dispute the debt or any part of it, the collector must stop collecting the disputed part until it sends you verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment.

What to do with it:

• Check every line. Is it your debt? Is the amount right? Is it a debt you already paid or settled?
• Dispute in writing if anything is wrong or unfamiliar. Keep a copy and send it in a way you can prove, such as certified mail. The CFPB explains what to send, with sample letters, on its page What can I do if a debt collector contacts me about a debt I don't think I owe?
• Do not ignore it. Even a debt you think is wrong can turn into a court case if nobody answers.

What collectors cannot do

Regulation F spells out the conduct that is off limits. A few of the rules people use most:

• Times. Unless they know otherwise, calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your local time are treated as inconvenient and not allowed (12 CFR 1006.6(b)(1)). They also must not contact you at work if they know your employer forbids it.
• Too many calls. A collector is presumed to be harassing you if it calls you about a debt more than seven times in seven days, or within seven days after it had a phone conversation with you about that debt (12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2)).
• Threats and lies. They must not threaten violence, use obscene language, or say that not paying will get you arrested or your wages taken unless that action is lawful and actually intended (12 CFR 1006.14 and 1006.18). They must not lie about the amount or the legal status of the debt, or pretend to be a lawyer or a government agency.
• Your lawyer. If they know you have a lawyer for the debt, they must deal with the lawyer instead of you.
• Old debts. If the time limit for suing (the statute of limitations, set by your state) has run out, a collector must not sue you or threaten to sue (12 CFR 1006.26). The debt may still be collected in other ways.
• Credit reporting. Before reporting a debt to a credit bureau, a collector must first speak to you about it or send you a letter or electronic message and wait a reasonable time to see if it comes back undeliverable (12 CFR 1006.30(a)).

Be careful with old debts. The FTC warns that in some states, making a payment or acknowledging the debt in writing restarts the statute of limitations. Before you pay anything on a very old debt, find out your state's rule.

How to make them stop contacting you

If you write to a collector that you refuse to pay the debt or that you want it to stop contacting you, it must stop, except to confirm it is ending its efforts or to tell you about a specific step it may take, such as a lawsuit (12 CFR 1006.6(c)). Two cautions: stopping contact does not erase the debt, and the creditor can still sue. A stop letter makes sense when the calls are the problem; it does not replace a plan to deal with the debt. You can also ask them to contact you only by mail or only at certain times.

If you are sued

The FTC's advice: "If a debt collection lawsuit is filed against you, respond by the date specified in the court papers." If you do not respond, the court can decide against you without hearing your side. A collector generally needs a court judgment before it can garnish your wages, and many federal benefits, such as Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and veterans benefits, are generally exempt from that kind of garnishment, according to the FTC. Rules on what can be taken depend on your state. A local legal aid office can help, often at no cost.

Medical debt: what changed and what did not

Four different things decide whether a medical bill shows up on your credit report, and they are easy to mix up:

• Federal law (the Fair Credit Reporting Act). It sets the general limit above: a medical collection, like any other collection, can generally be reported for about seven years and 180 days from the original delinquency. It does not set a separate dollar limit for medical collections. It adds a few narrower rules, such as limits on naming the medical provider and extra protections for some veterans' medical debt (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(6) to (8)).
• The credit bureaus' own voluntary policies. Since July 1, 2022, paid medical collection debt is no longer included on consumer credit reports, and unpaid medical collections wait one year before they can appear, up from six months (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion joint announcement). Since April 2023, medical collections with an initial balance under $500 are not on reports from the three bureaus (joint announcement of April 11, 2023). These are the bureaus' business decisions, not federal law, and the bureaus could change them.
• Your state's law. Several states restrict medical debt reporting further. What applies depends on your state; check with your state attorney general.
• The vacated CFPB rule. A CFPB rule of January 2025 would have removed most medical bills from credit reports. A federal court in Texas vacated that rule on July 11, 2025, and the CFPB's page on the rule notes it. It is not in effect.

So, to the best of our knowledge as of October 29, 2026, an unpaid medical collection with an initial balance of $500 or more can still appear on your reports, subject to the bureaus' one-year wait and any stricter rule in your state.

Before you pay a medical bill in collection, ask the provider for an itemized bill, check it against what your insurance paid, and ask whether the provider has a financial assistance program you qualify for. A corrected bill is cheaper than a paid wrong one.

Where to complain

The FTC tells consumers to report problems with a debt collector to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, to the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint, and to your state attorney general. Keep notes of every call (date, time, name, what was said) and copies of every letter. That record is what makes a complaint or a legal case work.

Then make a plan for the debt itself

Knowing your rights stops the pressure. Paying the debt is still the way out. List every debt with its balance and rate, then pick an order: the debt snowball calculator pays the smallest balance first, and the debt avalanche calculator the highest rate first. If you are weighing a settlement or a debt management plan, read our guide to debt relief options first. If a payday loan started it, see how to get out of payday loan debt.

This guide is educational only. It is not legal advice. Debt collection and credit reporting rules also depend on your state. For your own situation, talk to a qualified professional or a legal aid office.

More on this topic: Debt Help: Where to Start When You Owe Too Much