Reg F § 1006.14 — Call frequency (7-in-7) and harassment

Authority

12 CFR 1006.14 (Regulation F), implementing FDCPA section 806 (15 U.S.C. 1692d) and, for call frequency, section 806(5) (15 U.S.C. 1692d(5)); enforced by the CFPB. Current text effective November 30, 2021 (85 FR 76887; eCFR versioner shows no amendment since). Official Interpretations in Supplement I to Part 1006.

Operative text

General harassment standard — § 1006.14(a)

(a) In general. A debt collector must not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt, including, but not limited to, the conduct described in paragraphs (b) through (h) of this section. — 12 CFR 1006.14(a)

The repeated-calls prohibition — § 1006.14(b)(1)

(b) Repeated or continuous telephone calls or telephone conversations—(1) In general. In connection with the collection of a debt, a debt collector must not place telephone calls or engage any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number. — 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(1)

The 7-in-7 presumptions — § 1006.14(b)(2)

(2) Telephone call frequencies; presumptions of compliance and violation. (i) Subject to the exclusions in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, a debt collector is presumed to comply with paragraph (b)(1) of this section and FDCPA section 806(5) (15 U.S.C. 1692d(5)) if the debt collector places a telephone call to a particular person in connection with the collection of a particular debt neither:

(A) More than seven times within seven consecutive days; nor

(B) Within a period of seven consecutive days after having had a telephone conversation with the person in connection with the collection of such debt. The date of the telephone conversation is the first day of the seven-consecutive-day period. — 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2)(i)

(ii) Subject to the exclusions in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, a debt collector is presumed to violate paragraph (b)(1) of this section and FDCPA section 806(5) if the debt collector places a telephone call to a particular person in connection with the collection of a particular debt in excess of either of the telephone call frequencies described in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section. — 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2)(ii)

Excluded calls — § 1006.14(b)(3)

(3) Certain telephone calls excluded from the telephone call frequencies. Telephone calls placed to a person do not count toward the telephone call frequencies described in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section if they are:

(i) Placed with such person's prior consent given directly to the debt collector and within a period no longer than seven consecutive days after receiving the prior consent, with the date the debt collector receives prior consent counting as the first day of the seven-consecutive-day period;

(ii) Not connected to the dialed number; or

(iii) Placed to the persons described in § 1006.6(d)(1)(ii) through (vi). — 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(3)

(§ 1006.6(d)(1)(ii)–(vi) = the consumer's attorney, a consumer reporting agency, the creditor, the creditor's attorney, and the debt collector's attorney.)

Per-debt counting + student-loan exception — § 1006.14(b)(4)

(4) Definition. For purposes of this paragraph (b), particular debt means each of a consumer's debts in collection. However, in the case of student loan debts, the term particular debt means all student loan debts that a consumer owes or allegedly owes that were serviced under a single account number at the time the debts were obtained by a debt collector. — 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(4)

What counts as "placing a telephone call" (official commentary)

For purposes of § 1006.14(b)(1) through (4), "placing a telephone call" includes conveying a ringless voicemail but does not include sending an electronic message (e.g., a text message or an email) that may be received on a mobile telephone. — Supplement I to Part 1006, comment 14(b)-1

A debt collector's telephone call does not connect to the dialed number if, for example, the debt collector receives a busy signal or an indication that the dialed number is not in service. Conversely, a telephone call placed to a person counts toward the telephone call frequencies described in § 1006.14(b)(2)(i) if it connects to the dialed number, unless an exclusion in § 1006.14(b)(3) applies. A debt collector's telephone call connects to the dialed number if, for example, the telephone call is answered, even if it subsequently drops; if the telephone call causes a telephone to ring at the dialed number but no one answers it; or if the telephone call is connected to a voicemail or other recorded message, even if it does not cause a telephone to ring and even if the debt collector is unable to leave a voicemail. — Supplement I to Part 1006, comment 14(b)(3)(ii)-1

Designated-medium opt-out — § 1006.14(h)

(h) Prohibited communication media—(1) In general. In connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector must not communicate or attempt to communicate with a person through a medium of communication if the person has requested that the debt collector not use that medium to communicate with the person. — 12 CFR 1006.14(h)(1)

(2) Exceptions. Notwithstanding the prohibition in paragraph (h)(1) of this section:

(i) If a person opts out of receiving electronic communications from a debt collector, a debt collector may send an electronic confirmation of the person's request to opt out, provided that the electronic confirmation contains no information other than a statement confirming the person's request and that the debt collector will honor it;

(ii) If a person initiates contact with a debt collector using a medium of communication that the person previously requested the debt collector not use, the debt collector may respond once through the same medium of communication used by the person; or

(iii) If otherwise required by applicable law, a debt collector may communicate or attempt to communicate with a person in connection with the collection of any debt through a medium of communication that the person has requested the debt collector not use to communicate with the person. — 12 CFR 1006.14(h)(2)

Plain English

Interpretation — if this conflicts with the quotes above, the quotes win.

The two 7/7 prongs (both must be satisfied for the compliance presumption):

1. Frequency prong (b)(2)(i)(A): no more than 7 calls placed to a particular person about a particular debt within any 7-consecutive-day rolling window. (7 is fine; the 8th is presumptively a violation.)
2. Post-conversation cooldown (b)(2)(i)(B): after an actual telephone conversation about the debt, no calls about that debt for 7 consecutive days — and the conversation day itself is day 1 of the 7. (Commentary example: conversation Friday Aug 14 → calling again "prior to Friday, August 21" is presumptively a violation; comment 14(b)(2)(ii)-1.ii.)

Presumptions, not hard caps. Staying within 7/7 = presumed compliant; exceeding = presumed violation. Both are rebuttable (comments 14(b)(2)(i)-2 and 14(b)(2)(ii)-2):

• Rebutting compliance (i.e., ≤7 calls can still be harassment): calls in rapid succession or highly concentrated (e.g., two calls within five minutes, seven calls in one day), voicemail-stacking, prior "stop contacting me"/refusal-to-pay statements, or abusive conduct on earlier calls.
• Rebutting a violation (i.e., an 8th call may be defensible): calls required by other law (e.g., Reg X loss-mitigation), calls directly tied to active litigation, calls returning a consumer's request for information, or time-of-the-essence calls that let the consumer avoid a negative effect outside the collector's control.

What counts as a call/attempt:

• Ringless voicemail drops count as placed calls (comment 14(b)-1). Texts and emails do NOT count toward 7/7 (but excessive texting can violate § 1006.14(a) generally — comment 14(a)-1.i, and cumulative phone+email conduct can too — comment 14(a)-2).
• A call "connects" (and counts) if answered, if it rings unanswered, or if it hits voicemail — even when no voicemail can be left. It does NOT count on busy signal / number-not-in-service (comment 14(b)(3)(ii)-1).
• Misdirected calls: calls to a number later learned not to be the person's don't count toward that person's tally (comment 14(b)(2)(i)-3).
• Per person as well as per debt — calls to a third party for location information get their own 7/7 count (comment 14(b)(2)(i)-1.iii).

Per-debt counting. "Particular debt" = each debt in collection. A consumer with 3 debts can presumptively receive up to 21 calls/7 days (7 per debt) — commentary example 14(b)(4)-2.i confirms exactly this. An unanswered call or an LCM (which names no debt) counts against "at least one particular debt" — the collector may allocate it to one debt (comments 14(b)(4)-1.i, 14(b)(4)-2.ii). A conversation touching two debts counts as a conversation on BOTH, triggering both cooldowns (comment 14(b)(4)-2.iv). Student-loan exception: all student loans serviced under a single account number when obtained = ONE debt for 7/7.

Prior-consent exclusion has its own 7-day fuse (b)(3)(i)): consent given directly to the collector excludes ensuing calls for at most 7 days (receipt day = day 1), and expires earlier if the person limited it, revokes it, or a telephone conversation about the debt occurs (comment 14(b)(3)(i)-2). "Call me Monday" during a conversation lets you call Monday despite the cooldown (comment 14(b)(3)(i)-3.i).

Medium opt-out (h): any person can designate any medium (calls, email, text, etc.) as off-limits — no writing requirement in the rule text. Exceptions: one-time opt-out confirmation with no other content, one reply if the person initiates on that medium, and communications required by other law.

Traps / edge cases

• The cooldown prong is the one people miss. One answered call with a conversation = zero further calls on that debt for 7 days, even if only 1 of 7 was "used."
• 7/7 compliance ≠ § 1006.14(a) compliance. The presumption covers frequency only; obscene voicemails, cumulative multi-channel pressure, etc. still violate (a) (comments 14(b)(1)-1, 14(a)-2).
• Unanswered ringing calls count. Only busy/not-in-service (and consented or professional-party calls) are excluded.
• Per-debt counting is a double-edged sword: it permits multiple tallies per consumer, but a single conversation that wanders across debts starts the cooldown on every debt discussed — regardless of who raised it (comment 14(b)(4)-1.ii).
• Consent under (b)(3)(i) must be given directly to the debt collector and evaporates after ≤7 days or on the next conversation.
• § 1006.14(h) opt-outs are per-medium and unwritten; do not conflate with the written § 1006.6(c) cease-communication or the per-address § 1006.6(e) electronic opt-out.
• State overlays are stricter: NY DFS limits collection calls more tightly, and MA 940 CMR 7.00 caps calls at two per 7-day period per debt — the strictest applicable rule controls.

Related

• overview.md
• communications-opt-outs.md — § 1006.6(c)/(e) interplay with (h)
• limited-content-message.md — LCM voicemails still count as placed calls
• ../fdcpa/harassment-abuse.md — FDCPA § 806, the statute this implements
• ../cfpb-guidance/debt-collection-faqs.md
• ../../state/ny.md — NY DFS stricter frequency rules
• ../../state/ma.md — MA 940 CMR 7.00 two-calls-per-7-days cap