How we research our guides

Debt collection is governed by federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the CFPB's Regulation F, and by each state's own laws on collection practices, time limits, garnishment, exemptions and licensing. This page explains where our information comes from and how the tools work.

Sources

Federal facts come from the official text: 15 U.S.C. 1692–1692p (the FDCPA), 12 CFR part 1006 (Regulation F), 15 U.S.C. 1673 (garnishment limits), 15 U.S.C. 1681c (credit reports) and 31 CFR part 212 (federal benefits in bank accounts), with each citation next to the fact. Each state page is built from official state sources only: the statutes on the state legislature's website, the attorney general and the banking or financial regulator, and the state courts' self-help pages and forms. Law-firm and blog sites may help us find a citation, but we confirm every fact in official text. Each page lists its sources and when it was checked.

How we check

  • Every state page is researched and then checked by a second, independent reviewer against the official text, with special care for the statute of limitations, wage-garnishment limits, licensing and lawsuit deadlines.
  • A state page is published only after that check. Until then, the state appears on our map and in our tables as “not covered yet,” with a link to the CFPB's debt collection pages.
  • Where we could not confirm something, we leave it out or say so on the page instead of guessing. Where we could not confirm a number, the tools say “check your state” and link to the official source.

The tools

The “Is my debt too old?” checker adds your state's time limit for the type of debt you choose to the date you enter. It shows the state's rule on whether a payment restarts the clock, any state rule on time-barred debt notices, and the federal credit-report rule. It is an estimate: the exact start date and the type of debt depend on your state's law and your account.

The dispute letter and the stop-contact letter fill a standard letter with what you type and the federal provisions that apply (15 U.S.C. 1692g(b) and 12 CFR 1006.38; 15 U.S.C. 1692c and 12 CFR 1006.6 and 1006.14(h)). They are made on your device in English, because collectors work in English, and you can download them as PDF, Word or text.

Report an error

Email us at [email protected] with a link to the official source and we'll check it.