Debt validation letter

What It Means

The term has two uses. (1) The validation notice a debt collectorDebt collectorA person or company that collects debts owed to someone else, such as a collection agency, debt buyer or collection lawyer, limited by the FDCPA. See more must give you under Regulation F, the CFPB's debt collection rule, which identifies the debt, itemizes the amount and explains how to dispute it. (2) The letter a consumer sends back, disputing the debt or asking the collector to verify it. If you send yours in writing within 30 days of receiving the notice, the collector must pause collecting the disputed amount until it responds.

How People Say It

• "I got a validation notice from a collection agency I've never heard of."
• "Send them a debt validation letter before you pay anything."
• "They have to prove the debt is mine."

The Breakdown

What the rule says. Under Regulation F, 12 CFR 1006.34, a debt collector must give you validation information, either in its first communication or in a written notice within five days after it. According to the CFPB, the notice must include:

• A statement that the communication is from a debt collector.
• Your name and mailing information, and the collector's.
• An itemization of the debt since a set date, showing interestInterest rateThe yearly percentage a lender charges for borrowing money, not counting fees; the APR adds certain fees to show a fuller cost. See more, fees, payments and credits.
• What the debt amounts to now.
• How to respond if you think the debt isn't yours or the amount is wrong.

Who it applies to. Debt collectors covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, such as collection agencies. The rights here belong to you as the person the collector says owes the debt.

Documents needed

1. A copy of the collector's validation notice, with the date you received it.
2. Your letter, in writing, saying the debt or part of it is disputed, or asking for the name of the original creditor.
3. A copy of everything you send and proof of when you sent it.

Official source. Regulation F, 12 CFR 1006.34, on the CFPB's website, and the CFPB's model validation notice from October 2021, which shows how the required information can be laid out.

Good to Know

The CFPB says you have 30 days after you receive the validation information to dispute the debt in writing. If you dispute within that period, or ask in writing for the original creditor's name and address, the collector must pause collecting the disputed amount until it sends you verification, such as a copy of a judgment, or the information you asked for. A dispute asks the collector to show its work; if the debt turns out to be yours and correct, you still owe it.

Related Terms and Categories

• Debt collector

  A person or company that collects debts owed to someone else, such as a collection agency, debt buyer or collection lawyer, limited by the FDCPA.

• Charge-off

  When a lender writes an unpaid account off as a loss and closes it; you still owe the money, and the mark can stay on your credit report for up to seven years.

• Statute of limitations on debt

  The state-set time limit for a creditor or collector to sue you over an unpaid debt; after it passes, the debt is called time-barred.

• Credit report

  A record of how you've borrowed and repaid, kept by credit bureaus and sold to lenders, landlords, insurers and others who decide whether to deal with you.

• Medical debt

  Money owed for health care, such as hospital, doctor, lab or ambulance bills; unpaid bills can go to collections and, in some cases, onto credit reports.

• Debt settlement

  Paying a creditor a lump sum that's less than the full balance, often through a for-profit company, in exchange for the creditor treating the debt as resolved.

Debt and credit