U.S. Code » Title 15 » Chapter CHAPTER 41— CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER V— DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES

15 U.S.C. § 1692a

Definitions

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As used in this subchapter—(1) The term “Bureau” means the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.(2) The term “communication” means the conveying of information regarding a debt directly or indirectly to any person through any medium.(3) The term “consumer” means any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt.(4) The term “creditor” means any person who offers or extends credit creating a debt or to whom a debt is owed, but such term does not include any person to the extent that he receives an assignment or transfer of a debt in default solely for the purpose of facilitating collection of such debt for another.(5) The term “debt” means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance, or services which are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not such obligation has been reduced to judgment.(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. 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. For the purpose of section 1692f(6) of this title, such term also includes any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the enforcement of security interests. 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;(B) any person while acting as a debt collector for another person, both of whom are related by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, if the person acting as a debt collector does so only for persons to whom it is so related or affiliated and if the principal business of such person is not the collection of debts;(C) any officer or employee of the United States or any State to the extent that collecting or attempting to collect any debt is in the performance of his official duties;(D) any person while serving or attempting to serve legal process on any other person in connection with the judicial enforcement of any debt;(E) any nonprofit organization which, at the request of consumers, performs bona fide consumer credit counseling and assists consumers in the liquidation of their debts by receiving payments from such consumers and distributing such amounts to creditors; and(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 (i) is incidental to a bona fide fiduciary obligation or a bona fide escrow arrangement; (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; or (iv) concerns a debt obtained by such person as a secured party in a commercial credit transaction involving the creditor.(7) The term “location information” means a consumer’s place of abode and his telephone number at such place, or his place of employment.(8) The term “State” means any State, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any political subdivision of any of the foregoing.(Pub. L. 90–321, title VIII, § 803, as added Pub. L. 95–109, Sept. 20, 1977, 91 Stat. 875; amended Pub. L. 99–361, July 9, 1986, 100 Stat. 768; Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1089(2), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2092.)Editorial NotesAmendments

2010—Par. (1). Pub. L. 111–203 added par. (1) and struck out former par. (1) which read as follows: “The term ‘Commission’ means the Federal Trade Commission.”

1986—Par. (6). Pub. L. 99–361 in provision preceding cl. (A) substituted “clause (F)” for “clause (G)”, struck out cl. (F) which excluded any attorney-at-law collecting a debt as an attorney on behalf of and in the name of a client from term “debt collector”, and redesignated cl. (G) as (F).

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 2010 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 111–203 effective on the designated transfer date, see section 1100H of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 552a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Effective Date

Section effective upon the expiration of six months after Sept. 20, 1977, see section 819 of Pub. L. 90–321, as added by Pub. L. 95–109, set out as a note under section 1692 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2,661 cases (852 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Bridge v. Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB
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Bridge v. Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB (2012) ca6 · cites it 28× “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(3) (emphasis added). A debt is any obligation or alleged obligation.”
Vincent v. The Money Store (2013) ca2 · cites it 25× “Because neither “use” nor “collect” is defined in the statute, see 15 U.S.C. § 1692a, we give these terms their ordinary meaning.”
Vien-Phuong Thi Ho v. ReconTrust Co. (2016) ca9 · cites it 14× “” See 15 U.S.C. § 1692a. The meaning must therefore be derived from the manner in which the term is used, namely, one who dispossesses or disables personal property- .”
Alaska Trustee, LLC v. Ambridge (2016) alaska · cites it 30× “…to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.”). 11 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). 12 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). 13 Id. The statute also lists six categories that Congress explicitly excluded from the definition of “debt collector,” none of…”
Todd Bates v. Green Farms Condominium Ass'n (2020) ca6 · cites it 7× “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). But the Act adds a separate debt-collector definition “[f]or the purpose of section 1692f(6),” a subsection regulating the repossession of property.”
St. Pierre v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc. (2018) ca3 · cites it 10× “Pierre's amended class action complaint alleges that the disclosure of these two pieces of information on the envelope violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692a - 1692p, which prohibits the use of any "unfair or unconscionable means to collect…”
Barbato v. Greystone Alliance, LLC (2019) ca3 · cites it 10× “at 371 (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4) ). Like Crown, the defendant based this argument on Third Circuit precedent that characterized the two statuses as "mutually exclusive.”
McKinney v. Cadleway Properties, Inc. (2008) ca7 · cites it 12× “2003); see also 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4), (6) & (6)(F). The undisputed evidence here establishes that Cadleway is a debt collector, not a creditor.”
Rowe v. Educational Credit Management Corp. (2009) ca9 · cites it 10× “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). The FDCPA provides for a number of exceptions from the term “debt collector.”
Vien-Phuong Thi Ho v. Recontrust Co. (2016) ca9 · cites it 21× “” See 15 U.S.C. § 1692a. The meaning must therefore be derived from the manner in which the term is used, namely, one who dispossesses or disables personal property.”
Dale Dowers v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC (2017) ca9 · cites it 6× “” 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). Each of the four FDCPA provisions under which Plaintiffs sue applies to only the conduct of a “debt collector.”
Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. (2017) scotus · cites it 3× “" 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4). In another subsection, too, Congress required a debt collector to identify "the creditor to whom the debt is owed.”
Show all 2,661 citing cases →
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(1) — 1 case
Bergida v. PlusFour, Inc. (2023) nvd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(10) — 1 case
Morton v. O'Brien (2020) ohsd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(11) — 1 case
Cooper v. Litton Loan Servicing (In Re Cooper) (2000) flnb
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(2) — 160 cases
McDermott v. Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, P.C. (2012) mad
William Brown, III v. Van Ru Credit Corporation (2015) ca6
Richard Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc. (2021) ca11
Maria Hernandez v. Williams, Zinman & Parham Pc (2016) ca9
Simon v. FIA Card Services, N.A. (2013) ca3
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(3) — 349 cases
Loja v. Main St. Acquisition Corp. (2018) ca7
Villanueva v. Account Discovery Systems, LLC (2015) cod
Taylor v. First Resolution Invest. Corp. (Slip Opinion) (2016) ohio
Dunham v. PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, LLC (2011) ca8
Cohen v. Rosicki, Rosicki & Assocs., P.C. (2018) ca2
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4) — 201 cases
McKinney v. Cadleway Properties, Inc. (2008) ca7 “2003); see also 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4), (6) & (6)(F). The undisputed evidence here establishes that Cadleway is a debt collector, not a creditor.”
Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. (2017) scotus “" 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4). In another subsection, too, Congress required a debt collector to identify "the creditor to whom the debt is owed.”
Barbato v. Greystone Alliance, LLC (2019) ca3 “at 371 (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4) ). Like Crown, the defendant based this argument on Third Circuit precedent that characterized the two statuses as "mutually exclusive.”
Andrew Schlaf v. Safeguard Property, LLC (2018) ca7
Ruth v. Triumph Partnerships (2009) ca7
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4)(6)(F) — 1 case
McAndrew v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. (2013) pamd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4)(B) — 1 case
Pelfrey v. Educational Credit Management Corp. (1999) alnd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5) — 644 cases
St. Pierre v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc. (2018) ca3 “Pierre's amended class action complaint alleges that the disclosure of these two pieces of information on the envelope violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692a - 1692p, which prohibits the use of any "unfair or unconscionable means to collect…”
Vien-Phuong Thi Ho v. ReconTrust Co. (2016) ca9 “” See 15 U.S.C. § 1692a. The meaning must therefore be derived from the manner in which the term is used, namely, one who dispossesses or disables personal property- .”
Alaska Trustee, LLC v. Ambridge (2016) alaska “…to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.”). 11 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). 12 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). 13 Id. The statute also lists six categories that Congress explicitly excluded from the definition of “debt collector,” none of…”
Whittiker v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. (2009) ohnd
Vien-Phuong Thi Ho v. Recontrust Co. (2016) ca9 “” See 15 U.S.C. § 1692a. The meaning must therefore be derived from the manner in which the term is used, namely, one who dispossesses or disables personal property.”
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6) — 1594 cases
Vincent v. The Money Store (2013) ca2 “Because neither “use” nor “collect” is defined in the statute, see 15 U.S.C. § 1692a, we give these terms their ordinary meaning.”
Todd Bates v. Green Farms Condominium Ass'n (2020) ca6 “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). But the Act adds a separate debt-collector definition “[f]or the purpose of section 1692f(6),” a subsection regulating the repossession of property.”
Bridge v. Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB (2012) ca6 “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(3) (emphasis added). A debt is any obligation or alleged obligation.”
Alaska Trustee, LLC v. Ambridge (2016) alaska “…to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.”). 11 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). 12 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). 13 Id. The statute also lists six categories that Congress explicitly excluded from the definition of “debt collector,” none of…”
Barbato v. Greystone Alliance, LLC (2019) ca3 “at 371 (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4) ). Like Crown, the defendant based this argument on Third Circuit precedent that characterized the two statuses as "mutually exclusive.”
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(1988) — 1 case
First Interstate Bank of Fort Collins, N. A. v. Soucie (1996) coloctapp
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(A) — 103 cases
Alaska Trustee, LLC v. Ambridge (2016) alaska “…to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.”). 11 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). 12 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). 13 Id. The statute also lists six categories that Congress explicitly excluded from the definition of “debt collector,” none of…”
Vien-Phuong Thi Ho v. ReconTrust Co. (2016) ca9 “” See 15 U.S.C. § 1692a. The meaning must therefore be derived from the manner in which the term is used, namely, one who dispossesses or disables personal property- .”
Burnett v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (2013) ca10
Stephanie Reygadas v. DNF Associates (2020) ca8
Rowe v. Educational Credit Management Corp. (2009) ca9 “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). The FDCPA provides for a number of exceptions from the term “debt collector.”
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(B) — 32 cases
Polanco v. NCO Portfolio Management, Inc. (2015) nysd
Williams v. Citibank, N.A. (2008) nysd
Aaron Fox Toni Fox, Husband and Wife v. Citicorp Credit Services, Inc., a South Dakota Corporation Jerold Kaplan Jane Do (1994) ca9
Bihn v. Fifth Third Mortgage Co. (2013) ohsd
Anarion Investments LLC v. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC (2015) ca6
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(C) — 62 cases
Pamela Gillie v. Law Office of Eric A. Jones (2015) ca6
Gradisher v. Check Enforcement Unit, Inc. (2001) miwd
Rowe v. Educational Credit Management Corp. (2009) ca9 “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). The FDCPA provides for a number of exceptions from the term “debt collector.”
April Brannan v. United Student Aid Funds, Inc. (1996) ca9
Mark Suesz v. Med-1 Solutions, LLC (2014) ca7
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(D) — 20 cases
Holmes v. Electronic Document Processing, Inc. (2013) cand
Sykes v. Mel S. Harris & Associates LLC (2015) ca2
Jennifer Lynn Romea v. Heiberger & Associates (1998) ca2
Sykes v. Mel Harris and Associates, LLC (2010) nysd
Citimortgage, Inc. v. Cotton (2012) illappct
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(E) — 2 cases
Yang v. DTS Financial Group (2008) casd
Schueler v. Roman Asphalt Corp. (1993) nysd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F) — 157 cases
Vien-Phuong Thi Ho v. ReconTrust Co. (2016) ca9 “” See 15 U.S.C. § 1692a. The meaning must therefore be derived from the manner in which the term is used, namely, one who dispossesses or disables personal property- .”
Zirogiannis v. Seterus, Inc. (2017) ca2
Bridge v. Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB (2012) ca6 “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(3) (emphasis added). A debt is any obligation or alleged obligation.”
Hope D. Darrisaw v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) (2020) ca11
Alaska Trustee, LLC v. Ambridge (2016) alaska “…to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.”). 11 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). 12 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). 13 Id. The statute also lists six categories that Congress explicitly excluded from the definition of “debt collector,” none of…”
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F)(1977) — 1 case
First Interstate Bank of Fort Collins, N. A. v. Soucie (1996) coloctapp
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F)(1988) — 1 case
First Interstate Bank of Fort Collins, N. A. v. Soucie (1996) coloctapp
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F)(1999) — 1 case
Sponaugle v. First Union Mortgage Corp. (2002) ca3
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F)(I) — 1 case
Rowe v. Educational Credit Management Corp. (2010) ord
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F)(i) — 38 cases
Rowe v. Educational Credit Management Corp. (2009) ca9 “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). The FDCPA provides for a number of exceptions from the term “debt collector.”
Vien-Phuong Thi Ho v. ReconTrust Co. (2016) ca9 “” See 15 U.S.C. § 1692a. The meaning must therefore be derived from the manner in which the term is used, namely, one who dispossesses or disables personal property- .”
Todd Bates v. Green Farms Condominium Ass'n (2020) ca6 “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). But the Act adds a separate debt-collector definition “[f]or the purpose of section 1692f(6),” a subsection regulating the repossession of property.”
Hope D. Darrisaw v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) (2020) ca11
Karen Wilson v. Draper & Goldberg, P.L.L.C. L. Darren Goldberg (2006) ca4
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F)(ii) — 41 cases
Estate of Egenious Coles v. Zucker, Goldberg & Ackerman (2016) ca3
Duane Montgomery v. Huntington Bank and Silver Shadow Recovery, Inc. (2003) ca6
Hulse v. Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB (2002) ord
Conquest v. WMC Mortgage Corp. (2017) paed
Sterling v. Ourisman Chevrolet of Bowie Inc. (2013) mdd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F)(iii) — 133 cases
Bridge v. Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB (2012) ca6 “15 U.S.C. § 1692a(3) (emphasis added). A debt is any obligation or alleged obligation.”
Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. (2017) scotus “" 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4). In another subsection, too, Congress required a debt collector to identify "the creditor to whom the debt is owed.”
Llewellyn v. Shearson Financial Network, Inc. (2009) cod
Skerry v. Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corp. (1999) mad
CA PARTNERS v. Spears (2008) texapp
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F)(in) — 1 case
Berndt v. Fairfield Resorts, Inc. (2004) wiwd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F)(iv) — 4 cases
Hardy v. Northern Leasing Systems, Inc. (2013) dcd
Avila v. Citimortgage, Inc. (2014) dcd
Walker v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC (2015) dcd
Walker v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC (2015) dcd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(G) — 3 cases
Perry v. Stewart Title Co. (1985) ca5
McGrew v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (2009) casd
Patterson v. Financial Asset Management Systems, Inc. (2021) lamd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(a) — 3 cases
Jeanette Randolph v. Imbs, Inc., Cheryl Alexander v. Unlimited Progress Corp., Cross-Appellee. Jennifer J. Cross v. Risk (2004) ca7
MCCOY v. MERCK SHARP & DOHME FEDERAL CREDIT UNION (2022) paed
Randolph, Jeanette v. IMBS Incorporated (2004) ca7
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(c) — 9 cases
Allen v. U.S. Department of Education (2010) dcd
Campbell v. Baldwin (2000) txed
Okoro v. Garner (2001) ca7
Passa v. City of Columbus (2010) ohsd
Sole v. DeVos (2020) flmd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(f) — 2 cases
Garth Cooper v. PHEAA (2020) ca11
Bruce v. REV FEDERAL CREDIT UNION (\REVFCU\")" (2023) scd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(iii) — 1 case
Davis v. Bridgecrest Acceptance Corporation (2022) mowd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(7) — 4 cases
Naomi Cushman v. GC Services, L.P. (2010) ca5
Evankavitch v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC (2013) pamd
Raze v. Everest Receivable Services, Inc. (2022) nywd
Wilfred Rivera Jr. v. Gatestone & Co. and American Express Co. (2026) ctd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(8) — 6 cases
Mayor and Bd. of Aldermen v. Drew Chemical Corp. (1985) njd
Pelfrey v. Educational Credit Management Corp. (1999) alnd
Pollice v. National Tax Funding, L.P. (2000) ca3
(PS) Narayan v. County of Sacramento (2022) caed
Hart v. Shmayenik (2023) nysd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(F) — 1 case
Montgomery v. Educational Credit Management Corp. (1999) mnd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(F)(6)(ii) — 1 case
Pultz v. Novastar Mortgage, Inc. (In Re Pultz) (2008) mdb
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(F)(i) — 1 case
Berndt v. Fairfield Resorts, Inc. (2004) wiwd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(a)(6)(F) — 3 cases
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOC. v. HILL (2023) okla
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOC. v. HILL (2023) okla
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOC. v. HILL (2023) okla
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(e) — 2 cases
Conquest v. WMC Mortgage Corp. (2017) paed
Thomas W. Lovegrove v. Brock & Scott, PLLC (2017) ca4
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(fe) — 1 case
Bock v. Pressler & Pressler, LLP (2014) njd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(g) — 1 case
(PS) Simmons v. LVNV Funding LLC (2025) caed
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(l) — 1 case
Edeh v. Midland Credit Management, Inc. (2010) mnd
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(l)(6) — 1 case
Santoro v. CTC Foreclosures Services Corp. (1999) ca9
— 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(ll) — 1 case
Hart v. GMAC Mortgage Corp. (In Re Hart) (2000) mab
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.