Guides › TCPA compliance for debt collection: Reg F call limits, consent and autodialers

TCPA compliance for debt collection: Reg F call limits, consent and autodialers

Not legal advice. This page is general information for lenders and collection teams, current as of October 17, 2026. TCPA and Reg F rules change, and state laws add requirements. Talk to counsel before changing your dialing or texting program.

Short answer: Collection calls and texts to cell phones are covered by the TCPA when they use an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice, and they need the consumer's prior express consent (47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii), in force since Dec. 20, 1992). Third-party collectors must also follow Regulation F, which presumes a collector complies with the call-frequency limit at seven calls in seven days per debt (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2), effective Nov. 30, 2021). Consumers can revoke consent, and callers must honor revocations within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(10), effective Apr. 11, 2025). After Facebook v. Duguid (Apr. 1, 2021), "autodialer" is read narrowly, but prerecorded messages and state laws still create risk.

Does the TCPA apply to debt collection calls?

Yes. The TCPA has no exception for debt collection.

Calls to a cell phone made with an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice need prior express consent unless they are for an emergency (47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii); statute enacted Dec. 20, 1991, with this restriction effective Dec. 20, 1992 under Pub. L. 102-243 § 3(c)(2)).

Two related rules:

• The TCPA also authorizes the national Do-Not-Call registry for telemarketing calls (47 U.S.C. § 227(c); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(2)); pure collection calls are not telemarketing.
• Prerecorded calls to residential landlines are also restricted (§ 227(b)(1)(B)); the FCC exempts some non-telemarketing calls to landlines (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(3)).

Who can be sued, and for how much? The TCPA applies to original creditors and third-party collectors alike. Consumers can sue for actual damages or $500 per violation, whichever is greater. A court can increase that up to three times for willful or knowing violations (§ 227(b)(3)).

How often can a collector call? Reg F's 7-in-7 rule

Regulation F (12 C.F.R. part 1006, effective Nov. 30, 2021) implements the FDCPA.

Under 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2), a debt collector is presumed to comply with the ban on calling repeatedly or continuously to annoy or harass if, for a particular debt, it:

• places no more than seven telephone calls within seven consecutive days, and
• does not call within seven consecutive days after a telephone conversation about that debt.

Things to know:

• It is a presumption, not a safe harbor. It can be rebutted either way: staying under the cap can still be harassment, and going over it isn't automatically a violation (§ 1006.14(b)(2)).
• It counts per debt. Each debt has its own count; 'particular debt' is defined in 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(4) (all of a consumer's student loans serviced by one servicer count as one debt).
• It counts calls, not texts or emails, but those channels have their own rules (opt-outs under § 1006.6(e)).
• Who it covers: FDCPA "debt collectors" (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)). A creditor collecting its own debts in its own name is generally outside the definition, but collection agencies, and debt buyers whose principal business is collecting debts, are covered. Some state laws reach creditors directly.

What hours can collectors call?

Collectors may not contact a consumer at a time they know or should know is inconvenient.

Before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. in the consumer's local time are presumed inconvenient (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(1), effective Mar. 20, 1978; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(b)(1)(i), effective Nov. 30, 2021). If the consumer says a particular time or place is inconvenient, that also counts.

What consent do you need for collection calls?

The standard depends on what the call is for:

• Informational collection calls need prior express consent. The FCC has held that giving a cell number on a credit application, in connection with the debt, is prior express consent to be called at that number about the debt (FCC Declaratory Ruling, FCC 07-232, released Jan. 4, 2008).
• Telemarketing calls need prior express written consent (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2), (f)(9), effective Oct. 16, 2013). A collection call that also markets a new product can trigger this stricter standard.
• One-to-one consent is not in effect. The FCC's December 2023 rule requiring one-seller-at-a-time telemarketing consent (FCC 23-107) was postponed by the FCC (DA 25-90, Jan. 24, 2025) and vacated by the Eleventh Circuit the same day in Insurance Marketing Coalition Ltd. v. FCC, No. 24-10277 (11th Cir. Jan. 24, 2025).

How can consumers revoke consent, and how fast must you act?

The rule in effect now

Consumers may revoke consent by any reasonable method, and callers must honor a revocation within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(10); FCC 24-24, adopted Feb. 15, 2024, released Feb. 16, 2024, 89 Fed. Reg. 15756). Most of those rules took effect April 11, 2025 (89 Fed. Reg. 82518).

The delayed revoke-all provision

The 2024 order also required callers to treat an opt-out from one type of message as an opt-out from all robocalls and robotexts on unrelated matters. The FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau delayed the revoke-all provision to April 11, 2026 (DA 25-312) and then to January 31, 2027 (DA 26-12, Jan. 6, 2026).

The 2026 revision (not yet effective)

The FCC revised the revoke-all rule in FCC 26-67 (adopted Sept. 30, 2026; released Oct. 1, 2026). Not yet effective: the changes take effect 30 days after Federal Register publication, and as of October 17, 2026 the order had not been published, so no effective date has been set.

What the order changes:

• Callers may treat an opt-out from an informational call or text as applying only to that category of informational messages.
• An opt-out from a marketing call or text still revokes consent to all of that caller's marketing.
• Callers may designate an exclusive revocation method: an automated or key-press opt-out on a call; a reply text using 'stop,' 'quit,' 'end,' 'revoke,' 'opt out,' 'cancel' or 'unsubscribe'; or a designated website or phone number. The method must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed.
• Callers that designate no exclusive method must still accept revocation by any reasonable means.
• Revocations must be honored within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days; the FCC is asking for comment on shortening this to seven. (FCC 26-67)

The same order also widens the financial-institution fraud-alert exemption: exempt fraud and identity-theft alerts may go to a wireless number obtained from a "reliable source" (for example, one supplied by an authorized family member on the account, or given when the customer calls the institution), not only a number the customer provided (FCC 26-67, "Revisiting Fraud Alert Restrictions"; 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(9)(iii)).

What to do in practice

In practice, log every revocation by channel and date, sync it across every dialer, texting and vendor system, and stop calls well within the 10-business-day window.

Is your dialer an autodialer after Facebook v. Duguid?

The statute defines an autodialer as equipment that can store or produce numbers "using a random or sequential number generator" and dial them (47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(1)).

In Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (decided Apr. 1, 2021), the Supreme Court held that the equipment must use such a generator to store or produce the numbers. A dialer that only calls a stored list of customer numbers is generally not an autodialer under the federal statute.

What still matters after Duguid:

• Prerecorded and artificial voice rules apply regardless of dialer type.
• State laws (often called "mini-TCPAs") may define automated dialing more broadly. Check the borrower's state.
• Courts read the statute themselves. McLaughlin Chiropractic Assocs. v. McKesson Corp. (U.S. June 20, 2025) holds that district courts are not bound by FCC interpretations of the TCPA in enforcement suits.
• Abandoned calls: telemarketing calls are limited to a 3% abandonment rate per campaign, measured over 30 days, under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(7). Pure collection calls are generally outside this telemarketing rule.

How do the rules treat prerecorded messages, ringless voicemail and texts?

• Prerecorded voice to a cell phone: needs prior express consent (§ 227(b)(1)(A)).
• Ringless voicemail: a "call" with a prerecorded voice that needs consent (FCC Declaratory Ruling FCC 22-85, released Nov. 21, 2022).
• Texts: treated as calls under the TCPA (Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 577 U.S. 153 (2016)). Under Reg F, collectors must give a simple opt-out in each text or email (12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(e), effective Nov. 30, 2021).
• Carrier rules: the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023, the current version) are industry standards rather than law, but carriers can filter or block messages that ignore them.

How do you handle reassigned numbers?

Calling a number that has since been reassigned can reach someone who never consented.

Callers who check the FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database get a limited safe harbor for calls to numbers the database wrongly reports as not reassigned (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(m)).

Which rules apply, and since when?

Checklist: how to keep collection calls compliant

1. Document the source and date of every phone number and consent.
2. Configure dialers to cap calls at 7 per 7 days per debt and block calls for 7 days after a conversation (for collectors).
3. Enforce calling hours by the consumer's local time zone.
4. Honor revocations within 10 business days at most, across all systems and vendors.
5. Don't use prerecorded messages or ringless voicemail without documented consent.
6. Query the Reassigned Numbers Database before campaigns.
7. Review state laws for each borrower's state.
8. Audit agencies and vendors on all of the above.

When does compliance cost make selling worth pricing?

Each item above costs money: dialer configuration, consent records, scrubbing, opt-out syncing, vendor audits and legal review. For aged charged-off accounts that recover less every month, that fixed cost can outweigh what the accounts bring in.

Selling the portfolio is one way to stop carrying that cost. Generally, the buyer is responsible for its own collection and reporting conduct after the sale, and the seller remains responsible for its conduct before it; the purchase agreement controls.

SellChargeOffs is a seller-side service. We introduce lenders to debt buyers and help compare bids; we do not buy debt. Request a free valuation or estimate a price range. A valuation is an estimated range based on market data, not a bid or offer.

What else do sellers ask?

Where should you go next?

• e-OSCAR Dispute Process: ACDV Response & FCRA 623 Deadlines
• How small lenders sell charged-off accounts
• Selling consumer charge-offs
• How much debt buyers pay
• Request a free valuation

General information only, not legal advice. Laws and FCC/CFPB rules change; verify with counsel. SellChargeOffs is a seller-side service and does not buy or collect debt.