Debt collectors in Illinois: your rights

Your federal rights

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

Illinois law and extra protections

State law

Collection Agency Act

Law

205 ILCS 740 (formerly 225 ILCS 425)

Covers original creditors

No

Extra protections

• A collection agency cannot threaten to contact your employer unless you have been behind at least 30 days and it gave you 5 days' written notice first. (205 ILCS 740/9(a)(18))
• Calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your local time, or calls so frequent they harass you or your family, are prohibited. (205 ILCS 740/9(a)(19))
• A collection agency cannot tell others about a debt it knows you dispute without saying it is disputed. (205 ILCS 740/9(a)(22))
• If a debt was coerced (for example, taken out in your name by an abuser or trafficker), you are not liable for it and can send the agency a written Statement of Coerced Debt with supporting documents. (205 ILCS 740/9.6)
• If you send a police report and an identity-theft statement, the agency must stop collecting until it reviews your claim. (205 ILCS 740/9.4)

Can you sue under it?

IDFPR can discipline and fine agencies up to $10,000 per violation (205 ILCS 740/9), and any person may go to court to stop an unlicensed agency (205 ILCS 740/14a). You can sue a debt collector that breaks the federal FDCPA (15 U.S.C. § 1692k).

Official text

Read the law

Old debts in Illinois

Written contracts

10 years

Open accounts and unwritten agreements

5 years

Does a payment restart the clock?

Yes, for written debts, if the payment or new promise to pay is in writing: you can then be sued within 10 years after that payment or promise. (735 ILCS 5/13-206)

Law

735 ILCS 5/13-206 (written contracts); 735 ILCS 5/13-205 (unwritten contracts)

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 Illinois'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 Illinois

Wage limit

Stricter than federal: no more than 15% of gross weekly wages, or the amount of disposable earnings above 45 times the higher of the federal or Illinois minimum wage, whichever is less.

Bank account

After a consumer debt judgment, $1,000 in a checking or savings account is automatically protected until the court's return date. It is part of your $4,000 'any property' exemption, which you must claim in court. (735 ILCS 5/12-1001.1; 12-1001(b))

Law

735 ILCS 5/12-803; 735 ILCS 5/12-1001.1

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 Illinois

Home: up to $50,000 per person ($100,000 total if two or more own it) (735 ILCS 5/12-901, as amended by P.A. 104-120, eff. Jan. 1, 2026). One vehicle up to $3,600; $4,000 in any other property; household goods and personal possessions are exempt, but a creditor can ask the court to take an item worth more than $5,000 (735 ILCS 5/12-1001).

Collector licensing in Illinois

License required

Yes

Who licenses

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Financial Institutions, Consumer Credit Section

Check a license

Official license lookup

Medical debt in Illinois

Since July 2, 2024, credit reports cannot include medical debt (SB 2933, amending the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act). The state also funded a program to buy and cancel medical debt for eligible low-income residents (HB 5290, 2024); people helped get a letter and do not need to apply. 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 Illinois

Time to answer

Most debt cases: file an appearance and answer within 30 days after you are served, not counting the day of service (Ill. S. Ct. Rule 101(d)). Smaller money claims may use a summons with a set court date: you must appear on that day (Ill. S. Ct. Rule 101(b)).

If you don't answer

If you don't appear or answer on time, a default judgment may be entered against you for what the complaint asks.

Court self-help

Illinois court self-help (official)

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

Where to complain in Illinois

• Illinois: Illinois Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division (also IDFPR for licensed collection agencies) · 1-800-386-5438 (Chicago); 1-800-243-0618 (Springfield); 1-866-310-8398 (Spanish)
• 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 Illinois

• Illinois Attorney General Consumer Protection · 1-800-386-5438
• Illinois Legal Aid Online
• Illinois Courts Self-Help

Good to know in Illinois

• Illinois moved the Collection Agency Act to 205 ILCS 740; IDFPR says its collection agency board was repealed as of January 1, 2026 (Public Act 104-149).
• Illinois has one of the longest limits for written debts: 10 years (735 ILCS 5/13-206).

Changes in 2024–2026

2024: medical debt credit-reporting ban (SB 2933) and state medical debt relief program (HB 5290). 2026: P.A. 104-120 (eff. Jan. 1, 2026) raised the homestead exemption to $50,000 and amended the bank-account automatic exemption; P.A. 104-149 (eff. Jan. 1, 2026) amended the Collection Agency Act and repealed its board; P.A. 104-842 (eff. Aug. 21, 2026) amended 735 ILCS 5/13-206.

Free letters to send a collector

Questions about debt collection in Illinois

Other states