Reg F § 1006.30 — Other prohibited practices (credit-reporting prerequisites; sale of certain debts; multiple debts; venue; deceptive forms)

Authority

12 CFR 1006.30 (Regulation F, Subpart B); enforced by the CFPB. § 1006.30(a) is a Reg F addition with no direct FDCPA analog; (b)–(e) implement FDCPA § 808(3), § 810, § 811, § 812. Text verified verbatim against the eCFR (current through 2026-07-01; fetched via the eCFR versioner API). Section source note: [85 FR 76887, Nov. 30, 2020, as amended at 86 FR 5854, Jan. 19, 2021] (compliance date Nov. 30, 2021). Supplement I last amended 88 FR 16538, Mar. 20, 2023.

Operative text

§ 1006.30(a) — required consumer contact BEFORE furnishing to a CRA ("no passive/parking debt collection")

(a) Required actions prior to furnishing information—(1) In general. Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, a debt collector must not furnish to a consumer reporting agency, as defined in section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)), information about a debt before the debt collector: (i) Speaks to the consumer about the debt in person or by telephone; or (ii) Places a letter in the mail or sends an electronic message to the consumer about the debt and waits a reasonable period of time to receive a notice of undeliverability. During the reasonable period, the debt collector must permit receipt of, and monitor for, notifications of undeliverability from communications providers. If the debt collector receives such a notification during the reasonable period, the debt collector must not furnish information about the debt to a consumer reporting agency until the debt collector otherwise satisfies this paragraph (a)(1). — 12 CFR 1006.30(a)(1)

(2) Special rule—information furnished to certain specialty consumer reporting agencies. Paragraph (a)(1) of this section does not apply to a debt collector's furnishing of information about a debt to a nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency that compiles and maintains information on a consumer's check writing history, as described in section 603(x)(3) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(x)(3)). — 12 CFR 1006.30(a)(2)

The 14-day mechanics live in the Official Interpretations, not the rule text — the rule says "reasonable period"; the commentary makes 14 days a safe harbor:

2. Reasonable period of time. … The reasonable period of time begins on the date that the debt collector places the letter in the mail or sends the electronic message. A period of 14 consecutive days after the date that the debt collector places a letter in the mail or sends an electronic message is a reasonable period of time. — Supplement I to Part 1006, comment 30(a)(1)-2

3. Notices of undeliverability. … A debt collector who does not receive a notice of undeliverability during the reasonable period and who thereafter furnishes information about the debt to a consumer reporting agency does not violate § 1006.30(a)(1) even if the debt collector subsequently receives a notice of undeliverability. — Supplement I to Part 1006, comment 30(a)(1)-3 (rule sentence; the comment's examples i–iii illustrate: undeliverable-then-furnish = violation; re-mail restarts the clock (May 11 → May 24 in example ii); late-arriving notice after a clean 14 days ≠ violation)

What counts as "about the debt":

1. About the debt. … Each of the actions includes conveying information "about the debt" to the consumer. The validation information required by § 1006.34(c), including such information if provided in a validation notice, is information "about the debt." — Supplement I to Part 1006, comment 30(a)(1)-1

§ 1006.30(b) — prohibition on sale/transfer/placement of certain debts

(b) Prohibition on the sale, transfer for consideration, or placement for collection of certain debts—(1) In general. Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, a debt collector must not sell, transfer for consideration, or place for collection a debt if the debt collector knows or should know that the debt has been paid or settled or discharged in bankruptcy. — 12 CFR 1006.30(b)(1)

Note: identity-theft debt is not in the (b)(1) list in the final text. The commentary routes it to the FCRA:

2. Debt that resulted from identity theft. Section 615(f)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m(f)(1)) states that no person shall sell, transfer for consideration, or place for collection a debt if such person has been notified under section 605B of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c-2) that the debt has resulted from identity theft. Nothing in § 1006.30(b)(1) alters a debt collector's obligation to comply with the prohibition set forth in section 615(f)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. — Supplement I to Part 1006, comment 30(b)(1)-2

Exceptions:

(2) Exceptions—(i) In general. A debt collector may transfer for consideration a debt described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section if the debt collector: (A) Transfers the debt to the debt's owner; (B) Transfers the debt to a previous owner of the debt, if the transfer is authorized under the terms of the original contract between the debt collector and the previous owner; or (C) Transfers the debt as a result of a merger, acquisition, purchase and assumption transaction, or a transfer of substantially all of the debt collector's assets. (ii) Secured claims in bankruptcy. A debt collector may sell, transfer for consideration, or place for collection a debt that has been discharged in bankruptcy if the debt is secured by an enforceable lien and the debt collector notifies the transferee that the consumer's personal liability for the debt was discharged in bankruptcy. (iii) Securitizations and pledges of debt. Paragraph (b)(1) of this section does not prohibit the securitization of a debt or the pledging of a portfolio of debt as collateral in connection with a borrowing. — 12 CFR 1006.30(b)(2)

§ 1006.30(c) — payment application across multiple debts

(c) Multiple debts. If a consumer makes any single payment to a debt collector with respect to multiple debts owed by the consumer to the debt collector, the debt collector: (1) Must not apply the payment to any debt that is disputed by the consumer; and (2) If applicable, must apply the payment in accordance with the consumer's directions. — 12 CFR 1006.30(c)

§ 1006.30(d)–(e) — venue; deceptive forms (for completeness)

(d) Legal actions by debt collectors—(1) Action to enforce interest in real property. A debt collector who brings a legal action against a consumer to enforce an interest in real property securing the consumer's debt must bring the action only in a judicial district or similar legal entity in which such real property is located. (2) Other legal actions. A debt collector who brings a legal action against a consumer other than to enforce an interest in real property securing the consumer's debt must bring such action only in the judicial district or similar legal entity in which the consumer: (i) Signed the contract sued upon; or (ii) Resides at the commencement of the action. (3) Authorization of actions. Nothing in this part authorizes debt collectors to bring legal actions. — 12 CFR 1006.30(d)

(e) Furnishing certain deceptive forms. A debt collector must not design, compile, and furnish any form that the debt collector knows would be used to cause a consumer falsely to believe that a person other than the consumer's creditor is participating in collecting or attempting to collect a debt that the consumer allegedly owes to the creditor. — 12 CFR 1006.30(e)

Plain English

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

• (a) bans "passive" or "parking" debt collection — dropping a tradeline on a consumer's credit report before ever telling them about the debt. Before furnishing, the collector must either (i) actually speak to the consumer (in person/phone — a voicemail is not "speaks to"), or (ii) mail a letter or send an electronic message about the debt and then wait out a reasonable period (14 consecutive days from the send date = safe harbor) while actively monitoring for bounce/undeliverable notices. Any undeliverability notice inside the window voids that attempt — start over. A notice arriving after a clean 14-day window doesn't retroactively taint furnishing already done.
• The communication must convey information about the debt — the validation notice qualifies, so the standard flow (mail validation notice → wait 14 days monitoring deliverability → furnish) satisfies (a).
• The only exception is check-writing-history specialty CRAs (e.g. bounced-check databases).
• (b) — if the collector knows or should know a debt is paid, settled, or discharged in bankruptcy, it can't sell it, transfer it for consideration, or place it for collection, except back to the owner/previous owner, in corporate M&A-type transfers, for lien-secured discharged debts (with notice to transferee), or in securitizations/pledges. Sending mere data about a debt (scrubbing, analytics, archiving, credit reporting a paid/settled/discharged status) is not a "transfer for consideration" (comment 30(b)(1)-1).
• (c) — a single payment across multiple debts: never apply it to a disputed debt, and follow the consumer's allocation instructions where given.

Traps / edge cases

• The "14-day wait" is a commentary safe harbor, not rule text. The rule requires a "reasonable period"; comment 30(a)(1)-2 blesses 14 consecutive days from mailing/ sending. Build to 14 days, but cite the comment, not (a)(1)(ii), for the number.
• The clock starts on the send date, not receipt (comment 30(a)(1)-2).
• Monitoring is mandatory, not optional: during the period the collector "must permit receipt of, and monitor for, notifications of undeliverability" — an email channel that discards bounces fails (a)(1)(ii) even if nothing bounced.
• A bounce resets, not merely pauses: after an undeliverability notice, the collector "must not furnish ... until the debt collector otherwise satisfies this paragraph (a)(1)" — i.e., a new qualifying contact/attempt with a fresh window (comment 30(a)(1)-3, example ii).
• Speaking ≠ leaving a voicemail. (a)(1)(i) requires speaking to the consumer about the debt in person or by telephone. Limited-content messages/voicemails don't satisfy it.
• Identity-theft debts: contrary to common summaries, ID-theft debts are NOT listed in the final § 1006.30(b)(1). The sale/transfer/placement ban for debts reported as identity theft under FCRA § 605B comes from FCRA § 615(f)(1) (15 U.S.C. 1681m(f)(1)) — a parallel obligation the Reg F commentary expressly preserves (comment 30(b)(1)-2). Enforce both, cite each correctly.
• (b)(1) has a knowledge standard ("knows or should know"); § 1006.26(b) (time-barred suits) does not. Don't cross-wire the two.
• (b)(2)(i)(A) is narrow: returning the debt to its owner is allowed, but the collector may not transfer it to another entity on the owner's behalf unless another exception applies (comment 30(b)(2)(i)(A)-1).
• (c)(1) is absolute for disputed debts — even a consumer direction can't route a payment onto a disputed debt ((c)(2) is "if applicable," (c)(1) has no qualifier).

Related

• overview.md
• ../fcra-furnishing.md — furnisher accuracy/dispute duties + FCRA §§ 605B, 615(f) identity-theft rules
• validation-notice.md — § 1006.34; the notice doubles as the (a)(1)(ii) qualifying communication
• ../fdcpa/unfair-practices.md — 15 U.S.C. 1692f(3) (statutory basis of (b))
• ../fdcpa/false-misleading.md — § 1006.18(c)(2) false credit information overlaps furnishing