TCPA Compliance for Debt Collectors

Debt collectors work under two sets of rules at once. The TCPA controls how you can call: autodialers, prerecorded voice and consent. The FDCPA and the CFPB's Regulation F control when, how often and what you can say. Most collection agencies know the FDCPA side well. The TCPA side is where reassigned numbers and prerecorded messages quietly build up liability, because each call can carry its own $500 to $1,500 in damages.

This guide covers how the two sets of rules fit together, the call limits under Regulation F, and why reassigned numbers are a collector's biggest TCPA risk.

The two sets of rules side by side

Consent for collection calls

Collection calls aren't telemarketing, so you don't need the written consent that sales calls require. But if you use an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice to call a cell phone, you need prior express consent.

The FCC has said that a consumer who gives their cell number to a creditor during the transaction that created the debt, for example on a credit application, has given prior express consent to be called about that debt. Two limits matter in practice:

• The consent belongs to that person and that number. If the number now belongs to someone else, the consent doesn't carry over.
• The consent can be revoked. A debtor who says "stop calling this number" has revoked it, and any later autodialed or prerecorded call is exposed. Read more in our guide to consent revocation.

Since Facebook v. Duguid (2021), fewer dialing systems count as autodialers, but prerecorded and artificial-voice messages are still fully covered. A collector who leaves automated voicemails needs consent for every one of them. See what counts as an autodialer.

The reassigned-number trap

Collectors call the same numbers over months or years, which leaves them especially exposed to reassignment:

1. Number givenA borrower gives their cell number on a loan application in 2022.
2. Number droppedThe borrower changes carriers or stops paying for the line, and the carrier recycles the number.
3. Number reassignedA new person, who owes nothing, gets the number.
4. Calls continueThe collection system keeps sending prerecorded reminders to the "account phone".
5. Claim filedThe new owner never consented, and every call is a potential TCPA violation.

This happens constantly in collections, and the new subscriber often has months of call logs as evidence. The FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database lets you check whether a number has been permanently disconnected since the date you got consent. If you query it correctly and it gives a wrong answer, you get a safe harbor for that call.

Regulation F limits every collector should know

• No more than 7 call attempts about a particular debt within 7 consecutive days (a presumption of compliance, not a hard ban above it)
• No call within 7 days after a phone conversation with the consumer about that debt
• No calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM in the consumer's local time, unless they agree otherwise
• No calls to a number or at a time the consumer says is inconvenient, or at work if the employer prohibits it
• Every email and text must include a clear, simple way to opt out
• Keep records that prove you stayed inside these limits

Getting the local time right is harder than it looks when a debtor has moved or kept an out-of-state cell number. A scrub report that shows each number's local calling window helps your team plan the day; see calling time restrictions.

Where collectors get sued

• Prerecorded voicemails to cell numbers that were reassigned years ago
• Calling after the debtor said "stop calling" or "don't call this number"
• Wrong-party calls to relatives or references, made with an autodialer or prerecorded voice
• Skip-traced numbers that the debtor never gave you, so you have no consent for them
• Collection calls mixed with sales offers, which turns them into telemarketing

That last point matters for creditors who collect their own accounts. A call that collects a payment and then pitches a new card, loan or upgrade is partly a sales call, and DNC rules and written consent can apply.

One process for both sets of rules

You don't need separate workflows for the TCPA and the FDCPA. You need one disciplined process:

1. Capture consentRecord where each number came from and when the consumer gave it.
2. Screen numbersCheck aging accounts against the Reassigned Numbers Database, and scrub against honeypot and litigator data before high-volume dialing.
3. Set frequency capsConfigure the dialer for 7-in-7 and the 7-day rule after a conversation.
4. Respect local timeDial each number only inside its local 8 AM–9 PM window, or the narrower state window.
5. Log revocationsMake "stop calling" a disposition that blocks the number everywhere, right away.
6. Keep evidenceKeep consent records, scrub reports and call logs for every account.

Honeypot and known-litigator numbers matter for collectors too: people who sue repeatedly look for exactly the reassigned and wrong-party calls collections produce. Our DNC vs. honeypot vs. litigator comparison explains what each check catches.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Do Not Call Registry apply to debt collection calls?

No. The National Do Not Call Registry covers telephone solicitations, and calls that only collect a debt aren't solicitations. The TCPA's consent rules for autodialed and prerecorded calls still apply, and so do Regulation F's limits.

Do debt collectors need consent to call a cell phone?

They do if they use an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice. Giving the number to the creditor in connection with the debt usually counts as prior express consent, but only for that person, and it can be revoked.

What is the 7-in-7 rule?

Under Regulation F, a collector is presumed to comply with the call-frequency limits if it makes no more than seven call attempts about a particular debt within seven consecutive days, and doesn't call within seven days after having a phone conversation about that debt.

What happens if I call a reassigned number?

The new subscriber never consented, so every autodialed or prerecorded call to them can be a TCPA violation worth $500 to $1,500. Checking the Reassigned Numbers Database before calling older numbers can give you a safe harbor.

Can a debtor revoke consent by voice?

Yes. Consent can be revoked by any reasonable means, including telling an agent on the phone. Log it immediately and stop autodialed and prerecorded calls to that number.

Scrub your collection list free: 500 numbers to start, with line type and local calling hours for every number.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Collection rules vary by state and by account type, so confirm your process with counsel.