Debt collector laws in Colorado

How the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects you, beyond the federal FDCPA, plus licensing and complaints in Colorado.

Short answer

Colorado has its own debt collection law: the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It does not cover original creditors collecting their own debts. Debt collectors need a state license in Colorado; the licensing agency is 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. You can complain to Colorado Attorney General, Consumer Credit Unit (Collection Agency Program). The CFPB also takes complaints.

State law
Yes
Covers original creditors
No
License required
Yes
Extra protections listed
4

What Colorado law says about collectors

State law
Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Law
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 5-16-101 et seq.
Covers original creditors
No
Official text
Read the law

Colorado rules on medical debt

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.

Extra Colorado 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)

Good to know in Colorado

  • 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)).

Your right to sue in Colorado

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))

The federal FDCPA adds a claim of its own: actual damages, up to $1,000 more and attorney's fees, if you sue within 1 year (15 U.S.C. 1692k).

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.

Like Colorado, 28 of the 48 states we cover license collectors.

In nearby states

Reporting a collector in Colorado

If a collector breaks the rules in Colorado

  1. Keep a record

    Log each call (date, time, who) and keep every letter, voicemail and text.

  2. Check the collector

    Colorado requires a license; ask the collector for its license number from 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.

  3. Send a letter

    Use a letter to dispute a debt or to stop collector calls; keep a copy and the mailing receipt.

  4. File a complaint

    Complain to Colorado Attorney General, Consumer Credit Unit (Collection Agency Program). You can also complain to the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.

  5. Know your right to sue in Colorado

    Under Colorado law: 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.

Questions about collector laws in Colorado

Does Colorado license debt collectors?

Yes. 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.

Is there a Colorado debt collection act?

Yes: the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 5-16-101 et seq.). It does not cover original creditors collecting their own debts.

Does Colorado protect people with medical debt?

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.

Who takes complaints about collectors in Colorado?

Colorado Attorney General, Consumer Credit Unit (Collection Agency Program): https://coag.gov/file-complaint · (720) 508-6022

Can I sue a debt collector under Colorado law?

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))

How does Colorado law go beyond the FDCPA?

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))

Related Colorado pages

Debt collector laws in nearby states

Sources

Last checked: Oct 24, 2026.

Federal sources