Debt collectors in California: your rights

Your federal rights

These federal rules apply in California and every other state. California's own law, below, can add more.

• Who the federal law covers. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) covers debt collectors who collect for someone else and companies that buy debts, not usually the original creditor collecting its own debt (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)). Some state laws also cover original creditors.
• A validation notice. A collector must give you a validation notice, in its first message or within 5 days after it, with the amount, the creditor and how to dispute (15 U.S.C. 1692g(a); 12 CFR 1006.34).
• Your right to dispute. If you dispute the debt in writing within the validation period (30 days after you get the notice), the collector must stop collecting until it mails you verification (15 U.S.C. 1692g(b); 12 CFR 1006.38).
• When collectors can contact you. No calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your time, or at work if your employer doesn't allow it (15 U.S.C. 1692c(a)). More than 7 calls in 7 days about one debt is presumed to break the law (12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2)).
• Telling a collector to stop. If you tell a collector in writing to stop contacting you, it must stop, except to tell you it is ending collection or will take a specific step such as a lawsuit (15 U.S.C. 1692c(c)).
• What collectors can't do. No threats, obscene language, false statements (for example pretending to be a lawyer or the government, or threatening arrest) and no unfair practices such as collecting fees your contract doesn't allow (15 U.S.C. 1692d, 1692e, 1692f). A collector generally can't discuss your debt with your family, neighbors or employer (15 U.S.C. 1692c(b)).

Read how to dispute a debt or stop collector calls.

California law and extra protections

State law

Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (plus the Debt Collection Licensing Act and the Fair Debt Buying Practices Act)

Law

Cal. Civ. Code § 1788 et seq.; Cal. Fin. Code § 100000 et seq.; Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.50 et seq.

Covers original creditors

Yes

Extra protections

• The Rosenthal Act covers businesses that collect their own debts, not only collection agencies. A "debt collector" is anyone who regularly collects debts "on behalf of that person or others" (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.2(c)).
• If a debt is too old to sue on, the collector's first letter after that point must say: "The law limits how long you can be sued on a debt. Because of the age of your debt, we will not sue you for it" (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.14(d)).
• A collector that bought or was assigned a delinquent debt must, if you ask in writing, send you free proof of the debt (balance, interest and fees, last payment date, original creditor) within 30 days, or stop collecting until it does (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.14.5).
• Letters and digital messages from a collector must show its California license number in at least 12-point type, and callers must give the license number if you ask (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.11(b), (f)).
• For hospital debt, the first letter must include the hospital's financial-help notice and say the collector will wait at least 180 days after the first bill before suing (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.14(e)).

Can you sue under it?

Yes. You can sue a collector for your actual damages. If the violation was willful and knowing, the court can add a penalty of $100 to $1,000. A winning consumer gets reasonable attorney's fees. You must sue within 1 year of the violation (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.30).

Official text

Read the law

Old debts in California

Written contracts

4 years

Open accounts and unwritten agreements

4 years

Does a payment restart the clock?

A new promise or acknowledgment only counts if it is in writing and signed by you (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 360). Once the 4-year period in § 337 has run, no one may sue or start arbitration to collect the debt, and the period can only be extended under § 360 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337(d)). A payment does not by itself revive a debt that is already time-barred (§ 360).

Must collectors say a debt is too old?

Yes. A collector writing to you about a time-barred debt must include a set notice saying it will not sue you, and saying whether it may still report the debt to credit bureaus (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.14(d)).

Law

Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 337, 360; Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.14(d)

Official text

Read the law

The time limit is the statute of limitations. Once it runs out, the debt is “time-barred”: a collector must not sue or threaten to sue you, but the debt still exists. Read more about time-barred debt.

Is my debt too old? Check California's time limit

Every state limits how long a creditor or collector has to sue you over a debt. This is the statute of limitations. Choose your state, the type of debt and the date of your last payment to see the limit and an estimated end date. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.

Wage garnishment and bank accounts in California

Wage limit

Stricter than federal. A creditor can take no more than the lesser of 20% of your weekly disposable earnings, or 40% of the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 48 times the state minimum hourly wage (or the local minimum wage, if higher where you work). You can ask for more to be protected with a Claim of Exemption (form WG-006).

Head of household

No fixed head-of-household amount. You can file a Claim of Exemption to keep pay you need to support yourself and your family.

Bank account

Money in your bank accounts up to the state's "minimum basic standard of adequate care" for a family of four (Region 1) is protected automatically, per person. The courts list this as $2,325, effective July 1, 2026 (adjusted every July 1) (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 704.220; Judicial Council form EJ-156).

Law

Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 706.050, 704.220

Federal benefits such as Social Security, SSI and VA benefits that were directly deposited are protected in your bank account up to two months' worth (31 CFR 212.6). A creditor usually needs a court judgment before it can garnish your wages or bank account.

Property you can keep in California

Homestead: the greater of $300,000 or your county's median home sale price from the prior year, capped at $600,000, both adjusted yearly for inflation (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 704.730). Vehicles: $8,625 of equity, effective April 1, 2025 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 704.010; form EJ-156).

Collector licensing in California

License required

Yes

Who licenses

California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), under the Debt Collection Licensing Act (Cal. Fin. Code § 100001)

Check a license

Official license lookup

Medical debt in California

No one may report a medical debt to a credit bureau. If someone knowingly does, the debt becomes void and can't be collected. Medical debt contracts signed on or after July 1, 2025 must include a notice about this rule (Cal. Civ. Code § 1785.27, added by SB 1061 (2024), amended by AB 1521 (2025)). For hospital debt, collectors must wait at least 180 days after the first bill before suing (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.14(e)). Note: on October 28, 2025 the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an interpretive rule saying that the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act generally preempts state laws that ban medical debt from credit reports (90 Fed. Reg. 48710). The state law is still on the books, but credit bureaus may argue it cannot be enforced, and courts have the final say.

If you are sued in California

Time to answer

30 days after you are served with the summons, to file a written response (Superior Court, including limited civil cases).

If you don't answer

If you don't respond in 30 days, the plaintiff can ask the court to enter your default and give it what it asked for. That can lead to garnishment of your wages and the taking of money or property (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 412.20(a)(4)).

Court self-help

California court self-help (official)

Don't ignore court papers. Read what to do if a debt collector sues you.

Where to complain in California

• California: California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI); you can also report to the California Attorney General's Public Inquiry Unit · 1-866-275-2677
• Federal: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau takes complaints about debt collectors at consumerfinance.gov/complaint · (855) 411-2372.
• You can also report a collector to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Free help in California

• California Courts Self-Help Guide: debt lawsuits
• DFPI Consumer Services Office · 1-866-275-2677
• California Attorney General: debt collectors
• LawHelpCA (free legal aid finder)

Good to know in California

• Since 2025, the Rosenthal Act also protects people who owe certain small-business debts of $500,000 or less, and personal guarantors of those debts (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.2(h)(2), (n), as amended by SB 1286 (2024)). The proof-of-debt rule applies to such business debts sold or assigned on or after July 1, 2025 (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.14.5(i)).
• Debt collectors must have a DFPI license to collect from people who live in California, even if the collector is located in another state (Cal. Fin. Code § 100001(a)).

Changes in 2024–2026

SB 1061 (2024): ban on reporting medical debt to credit bureaus, with new contract terms required from July 1, 2025 (Civ. Code § 1785.27); AB 1521 (2025) amended it, effective Jan. 1, 2026. SB 1286 (2024): the Rosenthal Act now also covers certain small-business debts of $500,000 or less (amended sections effective Jan. 1, 2025; the proof-of-debt rule covers such debts sold or assigned from July 1, 2025, § 1788.14.5(i)). AB 2837 (2024) amended the automatic bank-account exemption (CCP § 704.220), effective Jan. 1, 2025. AB 863 (2025) amended the summons rules (CCP § 412.20), effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Free letters to send a collector

Questions about debt collection in California

Other states