Sending required disclosures (§ 1006.42) and record retention (§ 1006.100)

🚩 FLAG — no "§ 1006.42(d) alternative procedures" exist in current law. Internal notes reference "the § 1006.42(d) alternative procedures" for electronic delivery. Verified against the eCFR on 2026-07-03: current § 1006.42 contains only paragraphs (a) and (b) — there is no paragraph (c) or (d). (The CFPB's 2019 proposal contained detailed electronic-delivery alternatives, but the final rule as codified requires E-SIGN § 101(c) compliance for the covered disclosures, per § 1006.42(b) quoted below.) Do not build to a "(d) alternative procedures" path — for electronic delivery of the 5-day validation notice, verification, or original-creditor responses, the rule is E-SIGN consumer consent.

✅ VERIFIED — record retention is § 1006.100 ("Record retention", Subpart D — Miscellaneous). Three-year rule, quoted below.

Authority

12 CFR 1006.42 (Regulation F, Subpart B) — manner of sending disclosures required by the FDCPA and Part 1006. 12 CFR 1006.100 (Subpart D) — record retention. Issued and enforced by the CFPB. Source credit on the § 1006.42 eCFR page: [85 FR 76887, Nov. 30, 2020, as amended at 86 FR 5856, Jan. 19, 2021].

Operative text

The delivery standard — reasonably expected actual notice, retainable form

(a) Sending required disclosures —(1) In general. A debt collector who sends disclosures required by the Act and this part in writing or electronically must do so in a manner that is reasonably expected to provide actual notice, and in a form that the consumer may keep and access later. — 12 CFR 1006.42(a)(1)

Exceptions — mini-Miranda and opt-out notice, unless riding on a covered notice

(2) Exceptions. A debt collector need not comply with paragraph (a)(1) of this section when sending the disclosure required by § 1006.6(e) or § 1006.18(e) in writing or electronically, unless the disclosure is included on a notice required by § 1006.34(a)(1)(i) or § 1006.38(c) or (d)(2). — 12 CFR 1006.42(a)(2)

Electronic delivery of the covered notices — E-SIGN § 101(c)

(b) Requirements for certain disclosures sent electronically. To comply with paragraph (a) of this section, a debt collector who sends the notice required by § 1006.34(a)(1)(i)(B), or the disclosures described in § 1006.38(c) or (d)(2)(i), electronically must do so in accordance with section 101(c) of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN Act) (15 U.S.C. 7001(c)). — 12 CFR 1006.42(b)

Record retention — § 1006.100

(a) In general. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, a debt collector must retain records that are evidence of compliance or noncompliance with the FDCPA and this part starting on the date that the debt collector begins collection activity on a debt until three years after the debt collector's last collection activity on the debt. (b) Special rule for telephone call recordings. If a debt collector records telephone calls made in connection with the collection of a debt, the debt collector must retain the recording of each such telephone call for three years after the date of the call. — 12 CFR 1006.100

Plain English

Interpretation — the quotes above win on any conflict.

• Any written or electronic disclosure required by the FDCPA/Reg F must be sent so that the collector reasonably expects the consumer to actually receive it, in a form the consumer can keep and access later (printable/saveable — not, e.g., a self-expiring message).
• Two disclosures are carved out of that standard when sent standalone: the § 1006.6(e) electronic opt-out notice and the § 1006.18(e) debt-collector communication disclosure (mini-Miranda). The carve-out disappears when either rides on a validation notice or a § 1006.38 dispute/original-creditor response — then the full (a)(1) standard applies.
• Electronic delivery of the big three — the 5-day validation notice (§ 1006.34(a)(1)(i)(B)), original-creditor information (§ 1006.38(c)), and debt verification (§ 1006.38(d)(2)(i)) — additionally requires E-SIGN § 101(c) consumer consent: pre-consent disclosures, affirmative consent given or confirmed electronically in a way that reasonably demonstrates the consumer can access the format, hardware/software requirements, withdrawal rights, etc. (15 U.S.C. 7001(c)). Note: a validation notice sent in the initial communication under § 1006.34(a)(1)(i)(A) is not in the (b) list — but it still must satisfy (a)(1).
• Everything proving compliance (or noncompliance) is retained from first collection activity on the debt until 3 years after the last collection activity on it; call recordings, if made, are kept 3 years from the call date.

Traps / edge cases

• "Reasonably expected to provide actual notice" is a delivery-quality standard, not a receipt guarantee — but a channel known to be dead (bounced email, returned mail) defeats it.
• The retainable-form requirement rules out ephemeral delivery (expiring links with no save path, disappearing messages) for required disclosures.
• E-SIGN applies to the § 1006.42(b) list; an emailed validation notice inside the initial communication avoids the (b) E-SIGN trigger but still needs (a)(1) and the § 1006.6(d)(4) email safe-harbor procedures to avoid third-party-disclosure risk — see ./electronic-communications.md.
• Retention runs per-debt from the collector's own collection-activity window — not from placement date or account open date; last activity restarts nothing but extends the end.
• Consumer-only: Reg F applies to FDCPA consumer debt, not commercial claims.

Related

• ../fdcpa/validation.md
• ./validation-notice.md — what must be sent (§ 1006.34)
• ./disputes-original-creditor.md — the responses § 1006.42 governs (§ 1006.38)
• ./electronic-communications.md — email/SMS synthesis incl. § 1006.6(d)(4)–(5) safe harbors
• ./communications-opt-outs.md
• ./overview.md
• ../cfpb-guidance/debt-collection-faqs.md