Every legal statement on this site traces to one of the 23 sources below, and every source links to the government text it was read from. Last checked .
Why This Page Exists
Debt collection writing is full of confident claims with nothing behind them. The working rule on this site is that a legal statement either cites the text it comes from or does not get made, so this page is the list of everything it is allowed to say. If you find something on the debt validation letter generator or the annotated sample letter that does not resolve to a row here, that is a bug worth reporting on the contact page.
Two things this page is not. It is not a complete statement of debt collection law — it is only the part this site relies on. And it is not legal advice: it says what the rules are, never what they mean for your situation. The about page explains how the checking is done and by whom.
How to Read a Row
Each row gives the citation as lawyers write it, the operative language, a link to the official government source, and the date that language was last read against that source. Where a row is marked summary, the wording is a description rather than a quotation, because no quotable passage was recorded for it — those are never presented inside quotation marks, since doing so would dress a paraphrase up as the statute's own words.
Federal Statute: The FDCPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §1692 et seq. Passed by Congress, and the source of the validation right itself. It reaches third-party debt collectors and debt buyers, not creditors collecting their own debts in their own name.
15 U.S.C. §1692a(6)
The term "debt collector" means any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another. […] The term does not include— (A) any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor; […] (F) any person collecting or attempting to collect any debt owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another to the extent such activity […] (ii) concerns a debt which was originated by such person; (iii) concerns a debt which was not in default at the time it was obtained by such person […]
Notwithstanding the exclusion provided by clause (F) of the last sentence of this paragraph, the term includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts.
15 U.S.C. §1692g(a)(1)–(5)Summary, not a quotation
The statutory validation notice must contain five specified items: (1) the amount of the debt; (2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed; (3) the thirty-day dispute statement; (4) the verification statement; (5) the statement that on written request within thirty days the collector will provide the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.
If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt […] until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment […] is mailed to the consumer.
The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer.
If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication […] the debt collector shall not communicate further […] except— (1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector's further efforts are being terminated; (2) to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor may invoke specified remedies […]; or (3) […] intends to invoke a specified remedy. If such notice from the consumer is made by mail, notification shall be complete upon receipt.
12 CFR Part 1006, written by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the FDCPA. Where the statute grants the right, Regulation F sets out the mechanics — what a validation notice has to contain, and when the 30-day clock starts and stops.
12 CFR §1006.26(a)
(a)(1) Statute of limitations means the period prescribed by applicable law for bringing a legal action against the consumer to collect a debt. (2) Time-barred debt means a debt for which the applicable statute of limitations has expired.
(b) Legal actions and threats of legal actions prohibited. A debt collector must not bring or threaten to bring a legal action against a consumer to collect a time-barred debt. This paragraph (b) does not apply to proofs of claim filed in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding.
Itemization date means any one of the following five reference dates for which a debt collector can ascertain the amount of the debt: (i) The last statement date […]; (ii) The charge-off date […]; (iii) The last payment date […]; (iv) The transaction date […]; or (v) The judgment date […]
Validation period means the period starting on the date that a debt collector provides the validation information required by paragraph (c) of this section and ending 30 days after the consumer receives or is assumed to receive the validation information. For purposes of determining the end of the validation period, the debt collector may assume that a consumer receives the validation information on any date that is at least five days (excluding legal public holidays […], Saturdays, and Sundays) after the debt collector provides it.
Requires, among other items: the name of the creditor on the itemization date; the account number associated with the debt on the itemization date; the name of the creditor to whom the debt is currently owed; the itemization date; the amount on that date; an itemization of the current amount reflecting interest, fees, payments, and credits since the itemization date; and the current amount.
Upon receipt of a request for the name and address of the original creditor submitted by the consumer in writing within the validation period, a debt collector must cease collection of the debt until the debt collector: (1) […] Sends the name and address of the original creditor […]; or (2) […] reasonably determines that the original creditor is the same as the current creditor, notifies the consumer of that fact […]
12 CFR §1006.38(a)(1), §1006.38(d)(2)(ii)Summary, not a quotation
A dispute that is substantially the same as an earlier one and adds no new material information may receive a short-form response instead of verification.
Federal law is a floor, not a ceiling: states set their own limitation periods and several have collection statutes that reach further than the FDCPA does. Only states whose law has been read against the official text appear here, which is why this list is 4 states rather than fifty.
California
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §337
337. Within four years: (a) An action upon any contract, obligation or liability founded upon an instrument in writing […] (b) An action to recover (1) upon a book account whether consisting of one or more entries; (2) upon an account stated based upon an account in writing […]
No acknowledgment or promise is sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract […] unless the same is contained in some writing, signed by the party to be charged thereby, provided that any payment on account of principal or interest due on a promissory note […] shall be deemed a sufficient acknowledgment […] to start the running of a new period of time, but no such payment of itself shall revive a cause of action once barred.
(c) The term "debt collector" means any person who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly, on behalf of that person or others, engages in debt collection.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, every debt collector collecting or attempting to collect a consumer debt shall comply with the provisions of Sections 1692b to 1692j […] of Title 15 of the United States Code. However, subsection (11) of Section 1692e and Section 1692g shall not apply to any person specified in paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (6) of Section 1692a of Title 15 of the United States Code or that person's principal. The references to federal codes in this section refer to those codes as they read January 1, 2001.
(2) WITHIN FIVE YEARS. — […] (b) A legal or equitable action on a contract, obligation, or liability founded on a written instrument […] (3) WITHIN FOUR YEARS. — […] (j) A legal or equitable action on a contract, obligation, or liability not founded on a written instrument, including an action for the sale and delivery of goods, wares, and merchandise, and on store accounts.
An action arising out of a consumer credit transaction where a purchaser, borrower or debtor is a defendant must be commenced within three years […] when the applicable limitations period expires, any subsequent payment toward, written or oral affirmation of or other activity on the debt does not revive or extend the limitations period.
RCW 4.16.080 Actions limited to three years. […] (3) Except as provided in RCW 4.16.040(2), an action upon a contract or liability, express or implied, which is not in writing […]
When any payment has been or shall be made upon any existing contract prior to its applicable limitation period having expired […] the limitation period shall restart from the time the most recent payment was made. Any payment on the contract made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period.