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Debt-Collection Calls, Voicemails, and Messages to Other People

This guide presents selected U.S. government consumer education from CFPB. References to “we” or “us” in the source material refer to the issuing agency. Source dates and links appear below.

When and how often can a debt collector call me on the phone?

There are laws to prohibit debt collectors from placing repeated or continuous telephone calls to annoy, abuse, or harass you or others who share your phone number. They’re also prohibited from communicating with you at times or places that are inconvenient for you.

When can a debt collector call me?

Generally, debt collectors can’t call you at an unusual time or place, or at a time or place they know is inconvenient to you. They are generally prohibited from contacting you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. The law also requires debt collectors to follow instructions you give them about when and where you don’t want to be contacted.

If you don’t want to receive calls from a debt collector at a particular time or place, such as on the weekends or at work, you should tell the debt collector. If they’re aware you don’t want or are not allowed to receive personal calls at work, for example, they’re not allowed to contact you there.

You have a right to ask a debt collector to stop contacting you.

How often can debt collectors call me?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collectors from placing repeated or continuous telephone calls to you or having telephone conversations with you with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass you. “Placing a telephone call” includes telephone calls that the debt collector makes and that go into voicemail.

In addition, the Debt Collection Rule creates certain “presumptions” to help determine whether debt collectors have violated this law. The debt collector is presumed to violate the law if they place a telephone call to you about a particular debt:

  • More than seven times within a seven-day period, or
  • Within seven days after engaging in a telephone conversation with you about the particular debt.

Factors such as the frequency and pattern of phone calls and voicemails may also be used to assess whether a debt collector complied with or violated the law. For example, if the debt collector placed seven calls to you about a debt within a seven-day period, but all seven calls were made on the same day, they could be violating the law. There may be some exceptions to this, including if you gave them consent to call more frequently.

The limits generally apply per debt but in the case of student loan debt – depending on the facts – multiple debts could be counted together as one “particular debt,” so the limits would apply to those debts as a group.

Keep in mind that these presumptions only apply to telephone calls placed by the debt collector to you and don’t apply to other forms of communication, including text messages, emails, in-person interactions, or social media messages, which have other protections.

For more information about repeated or continuous telephone calls or telephone conversations, review the Debt Collection Rule FAQs or see Section 7.1 in the Debt Collection Small Entity Compliance Guide . Your state laws may also provide additional protections, and you can check with your state attorney general’s office for more information.

If you're having an issue with debt collection, you can submit a complaint with the CFPB.

Learn what to do when a debt collector contacts you.

What is a “limited-content message?”

Under the CFPB’s Debt Collection Rule, a “limited-content message” is a voicemail message left by a debt collector that must contain required information and may contain other optional information.

Under the Debt Collection Rule, this is a voicemail message left for a consumer that must contain required information and may contain other optional information. A limited-content message is not a “communication,” meaning that it is not subject to other legal requirements and prohibitions. For example, a debt collector who leaves only a limited-content message does not violate the prohibition against third-party communications.

For a voicemail message to be a “limited-content message,” it must include the following information:

  • A business name that does not indicate that the caller is a debt collector
  • Telephone number(s) you can use to reply to the caller
  • A request that you reply and the names of the people who you can contact to reply

The debt collector may also include the following optional information:

  • A salutation
  • The date and time of the message
  • Suggested dates and times for you to reply
  • That you may speak to any of the company’s representatives

To be a “limited-content message,” the voicemail message cannot contain any other information. Messages other than voicemail messages, such as text messages, are not limited-content messages. For more information about the definition of a limited-content message under the Debt Collection Rule, see Section 3.3 in the Debt Collection Small Entity Compliance Guide.

Learn more about limits on what a debt collector can say or do.

If you're having an issue with debt collection, you can submit a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372)

Can debt collectors tell other people, like family, friends, or my employer, about my debt?

No. Under federal law, a debt collector may contact other people but generally only to find out how to contact you.

What are the general limits on debt collection related contacts?

There are strict limits about what debt collectors can say or ask about you. A debt collector generally may only contact other people to find out:

  • Where you live
  • What your phone number is
  • Where you work

Debt collectors usually can't contact people you know more than once and they can't say they're trying to collect on a debt. Generally, a debt collector can't discuss your debt with anyone other than:

  • You
  • Your spouse
  • Your parents (if you are a minor)
  • Your guardian, executor, or administrator

Your attorney, if you are represented with respect to the debt

If the debt collector knows an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector must contact the attorney instead of you. The debt collector may contact you if your attorney fails to respond to the collector within a reasonable period of time or your attorney agrees that the collector can contact you.

Tip

The CFPB has prepared sample letters that a consumer could use to respond to a debt collector who is trying to collect a debt. The letters include tips on how to use them. The sample letters may help you to get information, set limits or stop any further communication, or exercise some of your rights.

Can debt collectors contact my place of employment?

  • Debt collectors may ask your employer for your address or telephone number.
  • If your employer does not allow you to receive personal calls at work you should let the debt collector know that.
  • If a debt collector knows that you are not allowed to receive the debt collector’s calls at work then the debt collector is not allowed to call you there.

If a debt collector calls your employer, you might want to talk to the person who took the call to find out what the debt collector said. A debt collector may not tell your employer that you owe a debt. If the debt collector has told your employer that you owe a debt, you may want to speak to an attorney about your rights.

If you're having trouble with debt collection, you can submit a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).

Sources and publication details

The federal agency source text is U.S. government work in the public domain. Fynoptic selected, adapted, and formatted it for this guide. No agency endorsement is implied. Follow the linked sources for current program details and the rules applicable to your circumstances.

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