Debt collectors in Colorado: your rights

Your federal rights

These federal rules apply in Colorado and every other state. Colorado'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.

Colorado law and extra protections

State law

Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Law

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 5-16-101 et seq.

Covers original creditors

No

Extra protections

• A collector who sues you must file in the county (judicial district) where you live now or where you signed the contract. (C.R.S. § 5-16-111(1))
• If a debt buyer sues, the court papers must include a copy of the original agreement and other records about the debt; for medical debt, an itemized bill. (C.R.S. § 5-16-111(2))
• A collector's first letter must tell you that you can ask in writing for the collector to stop contacting you. (C.R.S. § 5-16-105(3)(d))
• Collectors on medical debt must follow extra rules on payment plans, must stop collecting while a health insurance appeal is pending, and must stop collecting until they give you a free itemized statement if you ask for one in writing. (C.R.S. §§ 5-16-109(5), 5-16-109.5)

Can you sue under it?

Yes. You can sue a collector who breaks the Colorado act for your actual damages, up to $1,000 in extra damages, and court costs and lawyer fees. You must sue within 1 year of the violation. You cannot collect twice for the same violation under both state and federal law. (C.R.S. § 5-16-113(1), (5), (7))

Official text

Read the law

Old debts in Colorado

Written contracts

6 years

Open accounts and unwritten agreements

6 years

Does a payment restart the clock?

A new promise or acknowledgment counts only if it is in writing and signed by you. The law says this does not change the effect of a payment, so a payment may restart the clock. (C.R.S. § 13-80-113)

Law

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-103.5(1)(a) (6 years to collect a debt or a set amount of money owed)

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 Colorado'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 Colorado

Wage limit

Stricter than federal: no more than 20% of your disposable earnings a week, and none of the pay below 40 times the federal or Colorado minimum hourly wage. (C.R.S. § 13-54-104(2)(a))

Head of household

No automatic head-of-household rule, but you can file a written objection and ask for a hearing to protect more of your pay if what is left is not enough for the actual living expenses of you and your family (proof of the last 60 days of expenses). (C.R.S. § 13-54-104(2)(a)(I)(D))

Bank account

Up to $2,500 total in your bank accounts is exempt. (C.R.S. § 13-54-102(1)(w))

Law

Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-54-104(2)(a), 13-54-102(1)(w)

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 Colorado

Your home is protected up to $250,000 in equity ($350,000 if you, your spouse or a dependent living there is 60 or older or disabled). Up to two vehicles or bicycles are protected up to $15,000 total ($25,000 if elderly or disabled). (C.R.S. §§ 38-41-201(1), 13-54-102(1)(j))

Collector licensing in Colorado

License required

Yes

Who licenses

Colorado Attorney General, Consumer Credit Unit (Collection Agency Program), acting as Administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code. Creditors collecting their own debts in their own name do not need a license.

Medical debt in Colorado

Credit bureaus may not include medical debt in credit reports, except in a report used for a very large loan (above the national conforming loan limit for a one-unit home); this rule ends July 1, 2028 unless extended (C.R.S. § 5-18-109(1)(f), (2)). Collectors must tell you about this rule in their first letter (C.R.S. § 5-16-105(3)(e)). Interest on medical debt is capped at 3% a year (C.R.S. § 5-12-102(5)); a 2026 law (H.B. 26-1426, effective August 12, 2026) clarifies that this cap applies only to direct medical costs. While a health insurance appeal is pending (or was pending in the last 63 days), a medical debt collector may not report the debt, contact you to collect, sue you, or sell the debt. (C.R.S. § 5-16-109.5(2)) 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 Colorado

Time to answer

County court: the summons gives a date and time. You must file a written answer before then, or go to court at that date and time and file it there. Filing an answer has a fee; if you cannot afford it, you can go to court on that date, fill out a financial form and ask the court to waive the fee. (Colorado County Court Civil Summons, Form 1)

If you don't answer

If you do not file an answer, the court may enter a default judgment against you for what the collector asked for. (Colorado County Court Civil Summons, Form 1)

Court self-help

Colorado court self-help (official)

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

Where to complain in Colorado

• Colorado: Colorado Attorney General, Consumer Credit Unit (Collection Agency Program) · (720) 508-6022
• 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 Colorado

• Colorado Attorney General, Collection Agency Program · (720) 508-6022
• Colorado Legal Services (free legal aid)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) complaint portal

Good to know in Colorado

• Colorado caps garnishment at 20% of disposable pay, lower than the federal 25%. (C.R.S. § 13-54-104(2)(a))
• Up to $2,500 in your bank accounts is protected from a collector with a judgment. (C.R.S. § 13-54-102(1)(w))
• Interest on medical debt is capped at 3% a year. (C.R.S. § 5-12-102(5))

Changes in 2024–2026

2024: a collection agency that is not the creditor or debt buyer may sue only if the original creditor's name appears first in the case caption and it has a full assignment with settlement authority (H.B. 24-1380, C.R.S. § 5-16-111(1.5), effective Aug. 7, 2024); training-repayment costs an employer may recover count as a 'debt' under the act (H.B. 24-1324, C.R.S. § 5-16-103(8)(a.5)). 2026: H.B. 26-1426 (effective Aug. 12, 2026) clarifies that the 3% medical-debt interest cap covers only direct medical costs. 2025: a landlord may not send a victim-survivor tenant's alleged debt to a third-party debt collector without giving documentation of damages and 90 days' written notice (2025 Digest of Bills). The Colorado FDCPA (article 16) is set to be repealed September 1, 2028 unless the legislature extends it (C.R.S. § 5-16-135).

Free letters to send a collector

Questions about debt collection in Colorado

Other states