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Reg F § 1006.22 — Unfair or unconscionable means

Effective 2021-11-30 · Verified 2026-07-03

Authority

12 CFR 1006.22 (Regulation F, Subpart B), implementing FDCPA § 808 (15 U.S.C. 1692f); enforced by the CFPB. Text verified verbatim against the eCFR (current through 2026-07-01; fetched via the eCFR versioner API). Section source note: no section-level amendment — carries the part-level source, 85 FR 76887, Nov. 30, 2020 (compliance date Nov. 30, 2021). Supplement I last amended 88 FR 16538, Mar. 20, 2023.

Operative text

General prohibition:

(a) In general. A debt collector must not use unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt, including, but not limited to, the conduct described in paragraphs (b) through (f) of this section. — 12 CFR 1006.22(a)

§ 1006.22(b) — fee/amount collection (the convenience-fee provision)

(b) Collection of unauthorized amounts. A debt collector must not collect any amount unless such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "any amount" includes any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation. — 12 CFR 1006.22(b)

§ 1006.22(c) — postdated payment instruments

(c) Postdated payment instruments. A debt collector must not: (1) Accept from any person a check or other payment instrument postdated by more than five days unless such person is notified in writing of the debt collector's intent to deposit such check or instrument not more than ten, nor less than three, days (excluding legal public holidays identified in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), Saturdays, and Sundays) prior to such deposit. (2) Solicit any postdated check or other postdated payment instrument for the purpose of threatening or instituting criminal prosecution. (3) Deposit or threaten to deposit any postdated check or other postdated payment instrument prior to the date on such check or instrument. — 12 CFR 1006.22(c)

§ 1006.22(d)–(e) — concealed-purpose charges; property

(d) Charges resulting from concealment of purpose. A debt collector must not cause charges to be made to any person for communications by concealment of the true purpose of the communication. Such charges include, but are not limited to, collect telephone calls and telegram fees. — 12 CFR 1006.22(d)

(e) Nonjudicial action regarding property. A debt collector must not take or threaten to take any nonjudicial action to effect dispossession or disablement of property if: (1) There is no present right to possession of the property claimed as collateral through an enforceable security interest; (2) There is no present intention to take possession of the property; or (3) The property is exempt by law from such dispossession or disablement. — 12 CFR 1006.22(e)

§ 1006.22(f) — communication-medium restrictions (postcards, envelopes, employer email, social media)

(f) Restrictions on use of certain media. A debt collector must not: (1) Communicate with a consumer regarding a debt by postcard. (2) Use any language or symbol, other than the debt collector's address, on any envelope when communicating with a consumer by mail, except that a debt collector may use the debt collector's business name on an envelope if such name does not indicate that the debt collector is in the debt collection business. (3) Communicate or attempt to communicate with a consumer by sending an email to an email address that the debt collector knows is provided to the consumer by the consumer's employer, unless the email address is one described in § 1006.6(d)(4)(i) or (iii). (4) Communicate or attempt to communicate with a person in connection with the collection of a debt through a social media platform if the communication or attempt to communicate is viewable by the general public or the person's social media contacts. — 12 CFR 1006.22(f)

Envelope commentary (what "language or symbol" excludes):

  1. Language or symbol. … For purposes of § 1006.22(f)(2), the phrase "language or symbol" does not include language and symbols that facilitate communications by mail, such as: The debtor's name and address; postage; language such as "forwarding and address correction requested"; and the United States Postal Service's Intelligent Mail barcode. — Supplement I to Part 1006, comment 22(f)(2)-1

§ 1006.22(g) — email/text safe harbor

(g) Safe harbor for certain emails and text messages relating to the collection of a debt. A debt collector who communicates with a consumer by sending an email or text message in accordance with the procedures described in § 1006.6(d)(3) does not violate paragraph (a) of this section by revealing in the email or text message the debt collector's name or other information indicating that the communication relates to the collection of a debt. — 12 CFR 1006.22(g)

Plain English

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

  • (b) is the fee rule: any amount beyond principal — interest, fees, charges, expenses, including payment "convenience fees" — is collectible only if (1) the underlying agreement expressly authorizes it, or (2) some law affirmatively permits it. The CFPB's advisory opinion on "pay-to-pay" fees reads "permitted by law" narrowly — silence in state law is not permission (see the pay-to-pay page in cfpb-guidance).
  • (c): postdated checks more than 5 days out require a written deposit notice delivered 3–10 business days (excluding federal holidays/weekends) before deposit; never deposit early; never solicit a postdated instrument as criminal-prosecution leverage.
  • (f)(1)–(2) are the classic mail rules: no postcards; envelopes may carry only the collector's address (plus a business name that doesn't reveal the debt-collection business, plus mail-facilitation markings like postage and USPS barcodes). Nothing on the outside may signal "this is about a debt."
  • (f)(3)–(4) and (g) are Reg F's modern-media additions: no known employer-provided email (unless the consumer used it with the collector, consented, or a prior collector lawfully cleared it via § 1006.6(d)(4)(i)/(iii)); no publicly viewable social-media contact; and a safe harbor for properly opt-in emails/texts that reveal the debt-collection nature of the message.

Traps / edge cases

  • (b) covers the collector's own convenience fees, not just contract interest — "any amount ... incidental to the principal obligation." A payment-processing fee charged to the consumer at pay time is squarely inside this. Third-party-processor structures do not automatically escape it (CFPB pay-to-pay advisory opinion).
  • "Permitted by law" ≠ "not prohibited by law." Do not treat state-law silence as authorization for a fee.
  • The postdated-instrument notice window counts business days only — the 3-to-10-day band excludes 5 U.S.C. 6103(a) holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays (§ 1006.22(c)(1)).
  • Envelope rule applies to the return-address block too: business name is allowed only if it does not indicate the debt-collection business — an agency named "ABC Debt Collection LLC" cannot put that name on the envelope.
  • Employer email exception mapping: (f)(3)'s outs are § 1006.6(d)(4)(i) (consumer used the address to communicate about the debt, or gave prior consent directly to the collector) and (iii) (address lawfully obtained from a prior collector). Sending via a (d)(4)(ii) procedure also complies because that procedure never permits known employer-provided addresses (comment 22(f)(3)-1).
  • Social media: private DMs are not banned by (f)(4), but § 1006.6(b) (time/place), § 1006.14(h) (medium opt-out), and § 1006.6(d)(1) (third-party disclosure if sent to the wrong person) still apply (comment 22(f)(4)-1).
  • (g)'s safe harbor only rescues the "revealing debt-collection info in email/text" theory under (a) — and only if the § 1006.6(d)(3) procedures were followed.

Related

Official sources on file

Pages that cite this one

Compiled from official sources only, with the operative text quoted verbatim. This is information, not legal advice — check it against the source before you act on it.