Indiana — Collection Agency Act (IC 25-11) + Deceptive Consumer Sales Act + SOL

Authority

Indiana has no standalone mini-FDCPA statute. Collections law is split across three instruments:

1. Ind. Code 25-11-1 — the Collection Agency Act. A licensing-and-bond entry gate administered by the Indiana Secretary of State, Securities Division through NMLS. Criminal penalty in §25-11-1-12; administrative civil penalty in §25-11-1-15.
2. Ind. Code 24-5-0.5 — the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act ("DCSA"). Since P.L.280-2019 the DCSA is Indiana's substantive debt-collection conduct statute: debt collection is a "consumer transaction," a debt collector is a "supplier," and a violation of the federal FDCPA is itself a state deceptive act (§24-5-0.5-3(b)(20)). Enforced by the Indiana Attorney General; see the trap below on the private-right-of-action carve-out.
3. Ind. Code 34-11 — limitations. §34-11-2-7 (accounts, oral contracts), §34-11-2-9 (promissory notes, written contracts for the payment of money), §34-11-2-11 (other written contracts), plus the accrual/tolling/revival chapters 34-11-3, -4, -5 and -9. Negotiable instruments run on Indiana's UCC 3-118 analog, Ind. Code 26-1-3.1-118.

Also in scope: Ind. Code 24-5-15.5 (debt buyers — pleading-documentation rule) and Ind. Code 24-5-14 (automatic dialing-announcing devices).

Verification note. iga.in.gov is a JavaScript app; the official statute text is served as static files at https://iga.in.gov/ic/<code year>/Title_<n>.html and per-section at https://iga.in.gov/ic/<year>/Title_<T>/Article_<A>/Chapter_<C>/<year>_IC_<cite>.html (the same URLs the IGA front end fetches). From this network those document paths returned the site's SPA fallback (HTTP 200, 691-byte index.html) instead of the file — a CDN-level block on our egress, not a missing file: the identical URLs return the real IGA-published statute HTML through a different egress, and the Internet Archive holds full-size captures of the same paths. All text quoted below was pulled from those official iga.in.gov URLs on 2026-08-11 through an alternate egress returning the file's raw bytes, and each response carries IGA's own document metadata header (T_ICSECTION_S_YEAR = 2026). Amendment history was established by pulling the same sections from the official 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 Indiana Code editions and diffing them. Re-verify directly against iga.in.gov when the egress block clears.

Operative text

Scope — the DCSA reaches debt collection (IC 24-5-0.5-2)

(1) "Consumer transaction" means a sale, lease, assignment, award by chance, or other disposition of an item of personal property, real property, a service, or an intangible, except securities and policies or contracts of insurance … However, the term includes the following: … (C) The collection of or attempt to collect a debt by a debt collector. … (3) "Supplier" means the following: (A) A seller, lessor, assignor, or other person who regularly engages in or solicits consumer transactions … (B) A debt collector. … (12) "Debt" has the meaning set forth in 15 U.S.C. 1692(a)(5). (13) "Debt collector" has the meaning set forth in 15 U.S.C. 1692(a)(6). The term does not include a person admitted to the practice of law in Indiana if the person is acting within the course and scope of the person's practice as an attorney. The term includes a debt buyer (as defined in IC 24-5-15.5). — Ind. Code 24-5-0.5-2(a)

Prohibited practices — the FDCPA hook (IC 24-5-0.5-3)

Sec. 3. (a) A supplier may not commit an unfair, abusive, or deceptive act, omission, or practice in connection with a consumer transaction. Such an act, omission, or practice by a supplier is a violation of this chapter whether it occurs before, during, or after the transaction. An act, omission, or practice prohibited by this section includes both implicit and explicit misrepresentations. (b) Without limiting the scope of subsection (a), the following acts … are deceptive acts: … (20) The violation by a supplier of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.), including any rules or regulations issued under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.). … (38) A violation of IC 24-5-15.5 (concerning collection actions of a plaintiff debt buyer), as set forth in IC 24-5-15.5-6. — Ind. Code 24-5-0.5-3 (version amended by P.L.145-2026, SEC.294, effective 7-1-2026)

Bona fide error defense, applicable chapter-wide:

(d) If a supplier shows by a preponderance of the evidence that an act resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid the error, such act shall not be deceptive within the meaning of this chapter. — Ind. Code 24-5-0.5-3(d)

Remedies — and the debt-collection carve-out (IC 24-5-0.5-4)

(a) A person relying upon an uncured or incurable deceptive act may bring an action for the damages actually suffered as a consumer as a result of the deceptive act or five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is greater. The court may increase damages for a willful deceptive act in an amount that does not exceed the greater of: (1) three (3) times the actual damages of the consumer suffering the loss; or (2) one thousand dollars ($1,000). … This subsection does not apply with respect to a deceptive act described in section 3(b)(20) of this chapter. … (b) [class actions] … This subsection does not apply with respect to a deceptive act described in section 3(b)(20) of this chapter. … (c) The attorney general may bring an action to enjoin an unfair, abusive, or deceptive act … including a deceptive act described in section 3(b)(20) of this chapter, notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b). … (l) If a court finds that a person has knowingly violated section 3(b)(20) of this chapter, the attorney general, in an action under subsection (c), may recover from the person on behalf of the state a civil penalty not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) per consumer. In determining the amount of the civil penalty … the court shall consider, among other relevant factors, the frequency and persistence of noncompliance by the debt collector, the nature of the noncompliance, and the extent to which the noncompliance was intentional. A person may not be held liable in any action by the attorney general for a violation of section 3(b)(20) of this chapter if the person shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error, notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid the error. A person may not be held liable in any action for a violation of this chapter for contacting a person other than the debtor, if the contact is made in compliance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. — Ind. Code 24-5-0.5-4 (emphasis added)

Other penalty levels in the same section: injunction violations $15,000 per violation (§24-5-0.5-4(f)); knowing violations of §3 generally $5,000 per violation but expressly not 3(b)(20) (§24-5-0.5-4(g)). Suit deadlines:

(b) … Any action brought under section 4(a) or 4(b) of this chapter may not be brought more than two (2) years after the occurrence of the deceptive act. An action brought under section 4(c) of this chapter may not be brought more than five (5) years after the occurrence of the deceptive act. — Ind. Code 24-5-0.5-5(b)

Entry gate — license + bond (IC 25-11-1)

Who is covered:

(b) The term "collection agency" means and includes all persons engaging directly or indirectly and as a primary or secondary object, business, or pursuit, in soliciting claims for collection, or in the collection of claims owed or due or asserted to be owed or due to another, including child support arrearages under IC 31-25-4. … The term "collection agency" shall also include, but not be limited to, any individual, firm, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation who uses a fictitious name, or any name other than the individual's or entity's name, in the collection of accounts receivable with the intention of conveying to the debtor that a third person has been employed. — Ind. Code 25-11-1-1(b)

Who is not:

Sec. 2. The term "collection agency" does not include the following: (a) Attorney at law. (b) Persons regularly employed on a regular wage or salary in the capacity of credit men or in a similar capacity except as an independent contractor. (c) Banks, trust departments, fiduciaries, financial institutions, licensees under IC 37-1 and IC 37-2, and licensees under IC 28-5-1. (d) Licensed real estate brokers. (e) Employees of licensees under this chapter. (f) Any person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation engaged in any business enterprise in the state whose primary object, business, or pursuit is not the collection of claims, as the term is defined by this chapter. (g) Any electric, gas, water, or telephone public utility … (h) Any express company regulated under IC 8-2.1 or IC 8-3. — Ind. Code 25-11-1-2

Fee and bond:

(c) Every original and renewal application of any person desiring to conduct a collection agency shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred dollars ($100) plus an additional fee of thirty dollars ($30) for each branch office operated by the applicant … (f) An original application or a renewal application under this section must be accompanied by the following: (1) An electronic corporate surety bond that is: (A) filed by the applicant collection agency; and (B) satisfactory to the commissioner; in an amount calculated to equal the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each office the applicant operates in Indiana. A collection agency's bond must run to the people of Indiana and must be furnished by a surety company authorized to do business in Indiana. A collection agency's bond must be conditioned upon the faithful accounting of all money collected upon accounts entrusted to the collection agency … A collection agency's bond must further be conditioned upon the provision that the applicant shall, not later than sixty (60) days from the date of the collection of any claim, render an account of and pay to the client … A collection agency's bond shall be filed through the NMLS. … any individual so injured or aggrieved may bring an action upon the bond. — Ind. Code 25-11-1-3

License term and the nonresident carve-out:

(a) … A license expires on the thirty-first day of December of the year in which the license was issued. … (d) A nonresident collection agency that has only incidental contact with a debtor is not required to be licensed under this chapter. As used in this subsection, "incidental contact" means contact on behalf of nonresident creditors using interstate communications, including telephone, mail service, or facsimile transmissions. — Ind. Code 25-11-1-5

Conduct duties attached to the license:

(a) It is unlawful for any person to conduct, within this state, a collection agency without first having applied for and obtained a license under the provisions of this chapter. (b) It is unlawful for any person conducting a collection agency within this state to fail to render an account of and pay to the client … within sixty (60) days from the date of the collection of any claim. (c) It is unlawful for any person conducting a collection agency, within this state, to fail to deposit with a local depository not less than one (1) time each week all money due and owing to clients collected by said person, and keep the same on deposit in such depository in a special account until remitted to the clients. … — Ind. Code 25-11-1-7

Penalty for operating without a license:

Sec. 12. (a) A person who violates this chapter commits a Class B misdemeanor. (b) The prosecuting attorney of any judicial circuit upon the complaint of the secretary of state, shall prosecute all violations of this chapter occurring within his jurisdiction. — Ind. Code 25-11-1-12

Sec. 15. (a) If the secretary of state determines, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, that a person has violated this chapter, the secretary of state may, in addition to or instead of all other remedies, impose a civil penalty upon the person in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation. … — Ind. Code 25-11-1-15

The Securities Division's own published requirements match the statute:

All filings and fees for a collection agency registration are made through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System ("NMLS"). … The non-refundable initial filing fee is one hundred dollars ($100) and is paid through the NMLS. … An Electronic Surety Bond must be submitted through NMLS. The bond must be equal to five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each office operated in Indiana. The sum for all offices should be aggregated into one Electronic Surety Bond and associated with the principal office. … Approved licenses expire on December 31. … Renewals must be timely submitted prior to January 1. — Indiana Secretary of State, Securities Division, "Collection Agency — General Information"

Debt buyers — mandatory pleading documentation (IC 24-5-15.5)

Sec. 3. (a) As used in this chapter, "debt buyer" means a person that is regularly engaged in the business of purchasing debt for collection purposes, regardless of whether the person: (1) collects the debt; (2) hires another person to collect the debt; or (3) hires an attorney for litigation connected to collection of the debt. (b) The term does not include a person that acquires a debt incidental to the purchase of a portfolio that predominantly consists of debt that has not been charged off. — Ind. Code 24-5-15.5-3

Sec. 5. (a) If a debt buyer brings an action on a debt, or an arbitration proceeding requesting a judgment on a debt, the plaintiff debt buyer shall attach with the initial pleading the following: (1) One (1) of the following: (A) If a signed contract or other writing evidencing the debtor's agreement to the debt exists, a copy of the contract or other writing. (B) If a signed contract or other writing evidencing the debtor's agreement to the debt does not exist, a copy of a document provided to the debtor while the account was active. However, for a revolving credit account, a copy of a charge off statement or the most recent monthly statement recording a purchase transaction, a last payment, or a balance transfer is sufficient to satisfy this requirement. (2) A chronological list of the: (A) names of all previous owners of the debt and date of each transfer of ownership of the debt, beginning with the name of the original charge off creditor; and (B) documentation, or a bill of sale, evidencing the assignment of the debt to the plaintiff debt buyer. (b) An initial pleading described in subsection (a) is sufficient if the plaintiff debt buyer complies with subsection (a)(1) and (a)(2). — Ind. Code 24-5-15.5-5

Sec. 6. Failure of a plaintiff debt buyer described in section 5 of this chapter to comply with section 5(a) of this chapter is a deceptive act that is actionable by the attorney general under IC 24-5-0.5 and is subject to the penalties listed in IC 24-5-0.5. — Ind. Code 24-5-15.5-6 (chapter applies "after December 31, 2019" — §24-5-15.5-1)

Call frequency and call-time window

Indiana has no numeric debt-collection call-frequency cap and no general debt-collection call-time window. Searched: IC 24 (consumer law, incl. arts. 4.7, 5, 5-14, 14), IC 25-11 (collection agencies), IC 34-11 (limitations). The only time restriction located is in the automatic dialing-announcing device ("ADAD") chapter, and it is doubly narrowed:

Sec. 5. (a) This section does not apply to any of the following messages: (1) Messages from school districts to students, parents, or employees. (2) Messages to subscribers with whom the caller has a current business or personal relationship. (3) Messages advising employees of work schedules. (b) A caller may not use or connect to a telephone line an automatic dialing-announcing device unless: (1) the subscriber has knowingly or voluntarily requested, consented to, permitted, or authorized receipt of the message; or (2) the message is immediately preceded by a live operator who obtains the subscriber's consent before the message is delivered. — Ind. Code 24-5-14-5

Sec. 8. (a) This section does not apply to messages described in section 5(a) of this chapter. (b) A caller may not use an automatic dialing-announcing device for commercial telephone solicitation so that a subscriber receives a telephone call before 9 a.m. or after 8 p.m. — Ind. Code 24-5-14-8

Statute of limitations

Accounts and oral contracts — 6 years:

Sec. 7. The following actions must be commenced within six (6) years after the cause of action accrues: (1) Actions on accounts and contracts not in writing. (2) Actions for use, rents, and profits of real property. (3) Actions for injuries to property other than personal property, damages for detention of personal property and for recovering possession of personal property. (4) Actions for relief against frauds. [Pre-1998 Recodification Citation: 34-1-2-1.] As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.6. — Ind. Code 34-11-2-7

Promissory notes and written contracts for the payment of money — 6 years, keyed to the instrument's execution date, not to any later amendment:

Sec. 9. (a) As used in this section, "deposit account" has the meaning set forth in IC 28-9-2-5. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c), an action upon promissory notes, bills of exchange, or other written contracts for the payment of money executed after August 31, 1982, must be commenced within six (6) years after the cause of action accrues. An action upon promissory notes, bills of exchange, and other written contracts for the payment of money executed on or after September 19, 1881, and before September 1, 1982, must be commenced within ten (10) years after the cause of action accrues. However, all contracts described in this section that have been executed before September 19, 1881, may be enforced within the time only as they have to run, before being barred under the law in effect at the time of their executions limiting the commencement of actions, and not afterward. (c) An action upon a deposit account must be commenced not later than two (2) years after the cause of action accrues, regardless of whether the action is brought by: (1) a depositor (as defined in IC 28-9-2-4); or (2) a depository financial institution (as defined in IC 28-9-2-6). [Pre-1998 Recodification Citation: 34-1-2-2(5).] As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.6. Amended by P.L.102-2021, SEC.2; P.L.77-2024, SEC.1. — Ind. Code 34-11-2-9

Written contracts other than those for the payment of money — 10 years:

Sec. 11. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), an action upon contracts in writing other than those for the payment of money, and including all mortgages other than chattel mortgages, deeds of trust, judgments of courts of record, and for the recovery of the possession of real estate, must be commenced within ten (10) years after the cause of action accrues. However, an action upon contracts in writing other than those for the payment of money entered into before September 1, 1982 … must be commenced within twenty (20) years after the cause of action accrues. … — Ind. Code 34-11-2-11

Residual period, where nothing else applies:

Sec. 2. (a) A cause of action that: (1) arises on or after September 1, 1982; and (2) is not limited by any other statute; must be brought within ten (10) years. … (c) This section does not apply whenever a different limitation is prescribed by statute. — Ind. Code 34-11-1-2

Negotiable instruments — Indiana's UCC §3-118 analog:

Sec. 118. (a) Except as provided in subsection (e), an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay a note payable at a definite time must be commenced within six (6) years after the due date or dates stated in the note or, if a due date is accelerated, within six (6) years after the accelerated due date. (b) Except as provided in subsection (d) or (e), if demand for payment is made to the maker of a note payable on demand, an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay the note must be commenced within six (6) years after the demand. If no demand for payment is made to the maker, an action to enforce the note is barred if neither principal nor interest on the note has been paid for a continuous period of ten (10) years. (c) Except as provided in subsection (d), an action to enforce the obligation of a party to an unaccepted draft to pay the draft must be commenced within three (3) years after dishonor of the draft or ten (10) years after the date of the draft, whichever period expires first. … (g) Unless governed by other law regarding claims for indemnity or contribution, an action: (1) for conversion of an instrument, for money had and received, or like action based on conversion; (2) for breach of warranty; or (3) to enforce an obligation, duty, or right arising under IC 26-1-3.1; and not governed by this section must be commenced within three (3) years after the cause of action accrues. — Ind. Code 26-1-3.1-118

Accrual, open accounts:

Sec. 1. In an action brought to recover a balance due upon a mutual, open, and current account between the parties, the cause of action is considered to have accrued from the date of the last item proved in the account on either side. — Ind. Code 34-11-3-1

Tolling — nonresidence, and the borrowing-statute analog:

Sec. 1. The time during which the defendant is a nonresident of the state is not computed in any of the periods of limitation except during such time as the defendant by law maintains in Indiana an agent for service of process or other person who, under the laws of Indiana, may be served with process as agent for the defendant. — Ind. Code 34-11-4-1

Sec. 2. When: (1) a cause of action arose outside of Indiana against a nonresident defendant; (2) the defendant does not maintain an agent in Indiana for service of process …; and (3) the cause is fully barred by the laws both of the place where the defendant resides and of the place where the cause of action arose; the bar of the cause of action under subdivision (3) is a defense. — Ind. Code 34-11-4-2

Concealment and disability tolling: IC 34-11-5-1 (period runs from discovery where the liable person conceals the cause of action); IC 34-11-6-1 (two years after a legal disability is removed).

Revival — acknowledgment, new promise, and partial payment (IC 34-11-9):

Sec. 1. An acknowledgment or promise is not evidence of a new or continuing contract, for the purpose of taking the case out of the operation of this article, unless the acknowledgment or promise is: (1) in writing; and (2) signed by the party to be charged by the acknowledgment or promise. — Ind. Code 34-11-9-1

Sec. 2. The acknowledgment or promise of one (1) joint contractor or executor or administrator does not render any other joint contractor, executor, or administrator liable under this chapter. — Ind. Code 34-11-9-2

Sec. 3. This chapter does not take away or lessen the effect of any payment made by any person. However, no endorsement or memorandum of any payment made: (1) upon any instrument of writing; and (2) by or on behalf of the party to whom the payment is purported to be made; is considered sufficient to exempt the case from this chapter. — Ind. Code 34-11-9-3

Plain English

Interpretation — the quotes above win on any conflict.

• Entry gate: a real license, not just a bond. A third-party agency collecting Indiana consumer debt must hold a Collection Agency license from the Secretary of State's Securities Division, filed through NMLS, with a $100 company fee (+$30 per branch) and an electronic surety bond of $5,000 per Indiana office, aggregated onto the principal office. Licenses expire December 31 every year and must be renewed before January 1. Operating without one is a Class B misdemeanor (§25-11-1-12) and exposes the firm to a Secretary of State civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation (§25-11-1-15).
• First-party creditors are outside the license — §25-11-1-2(f) exempts any business "whose primary object, business, or pursuit is not the collection of claims," and the §25-11-1-1(b) definition only reaches claims "owed or due … to another." But first-party creditors are inside the DCSA: §24-5-0.5-2(a)(3)(A) makes any regular supplier a "supplier," and the §3(a) unfair/abusive/deceptive prohibition applies "before, during, or after the transaction." The FDCPA-violation hook in §3(b)(20) is narrower — it keys off "supplier," and 3(b)(20) liability presupposes conduct the FDCPA itself reaches.
• Indiana's mini-FDCPA is a pointer, not a code. There is no Indiana list of prohibited collection practices. Instead, an FDCPA (or Reg F) violation is a state deceptive act. In practice that means Indiana adds an enforcement channel and a state penalty on top of the federal rules, rather than a separate compliance surface.
• Trust-account discipline is a real operational rule: client money must be deposited with a local depository at least weekly into a special account, and remitted with an accounting within 60 days of collection (§25-11-1-7(b)–(c); the bond is conditioned on it).
• No state call-frequency cap and no general state call-time window. Reg F's 7-in-7 presumption and the 8am–9pm FDCPA window are the operative limits in Indiana. The one Indiana time rule (9 a.m.–8 p.m., §24-5-14-8) applies only to automatic dialing-announcing devices used for commercial telephone solicitation, and §24-5-14-5(a)(2) exempts messages to subscribers with whom the caller has a current business relationship — which is the ordinary posture of a collection call on an existing account.
• SOL is 6 years for essentially all consumer collection paper. Open accounts and oral contracts: 6 (§34-11-2-7(1)). Promissory notes and written contracts for the payment of money executed after August 31, 1982: 6 (§34-11-2-9(b)). Negotiable notes: 6 from the due date or acceleration (§26-1-3.1-118(a)). The 10-year figure that circulates for Indiana is either the pre-September-1982 execution window in §34-11-2-9(b) or §34-11-2-11, which governs written contracts that are not for the payment of money — the wrong bucket for a debt.
• Revival is asymmetric. A written acknowledgment or promise restarts the clock only if it is in writing and signed (§34-11-9-1). A payment is carved out of that writing requirement: §34-11-9-3 preserves "the effect of any payment made by any person." Treat partial payment as capable of restarting an Indiana limitations period — the statute declines to strip payments of that effect — but the specific effect of a payment is common-law doctrine, not spelled out in the statute (labeled interpretation).
• Nothing bars filing suit on a time-barred Indiana debt, and Indiana imposes no time-barred-debt disclosure. No Indiana analog of Tex. Fin. Code §392.307 was located in IC 24, 25 or 34. The limitations period is an affirmative defense, and the only mandatory time-barred disclosure that applies is federal (Reg F, 12 CFR 1006.26).
• Debt buyers carry an extra litigation burden: the initial pleading must attach the account document (or, for a revolving account, the charge-off or a qualifying monthly statement) plus the full chain of title from the original charge-off creditor. Failing that is an AG-enforceable deceptive act.

Traps / edge cases

• The private right of action does not reach FDCPA-based claims. §24-5-0.5-4(a) and (b) both say they "do not apply with respect to a deceptive act described in section 3(b)(20)." A consumer cannot use the DCSA to convert an FDCPA violation into a state $500-minimum or class claim; only the Attorney General can act on 3(b)(20), capped at $1,000 per consumer, and even then a bona fide error defense applies (§24-5-0.5-4(l)). Independent DCSA theories (a §3(a) unfair/abusive/deceptive act pleaded on its own facts, or another §3(b) subdivision) are not carved out and do carry the private remedy — which is where consumer counsel will aim. Also in (l): no liability under the chapter for third-party contacts made in compliance with the FDCPA.
• The DCSA's private remedy has a notice precondition. Except for AG actions, a consumer must first give written notice of the deceptive act within the sooner of six months after discovery or one year after the transaction, and the act must have become an "uncured deceptive act" (§24-5-0.5-5(a)); a supplier's timely offer to cure caps its attorney-fee exposure (§24-5-0.5-4(j)–(k)). Deadlines: 2 years for private/class actions, 5 years for the AG (§24-5-0.5-5(b)).
• The "nonresident with incidental contact" exemption is narrower than it reads. §25-11-1-5(d) exempts a nonresident agency only where the contact is "on behalf of nonresident creditors" using interstate communications. A nonresident agency working paper for an Indiana creditor does not fit, even if every contact is by phone or mail. Do not treat "we never set foot in Indiana" as a licensing exemption.
• Debt buyers and the licensing definition. §25-11-1-1(b) reaches collection of claims owed "to another." A debt buyer collecting debt it owns is arguably outside that phrase, while §24-5-0.5-2(a)(13) expressly pulls debt buyers into the DCSA's "debt collector." No official text resolves the licensing question either way — flag for counsel before relying on a no-license posture for an Indiana debt-buyer entity (labeled interpretation, not authority).
• The open-account accrual rule may not fit a credit card. §34-11-3-1 keys accrual to the last item on either side, but only for a "mutual, open, and current account" — mutuality ordinarily implies reciprocal demands, which a one-way card balance may lack. Classification is case law, not statute (labeled interpretation). It does not change the number: a card debt is 6 years whether it lands in §34-11-2-7(1) as an account or §34-11-2-9(b) as a written contract for the payment of money.
• Deposit accounts dropped to 2 years in 2024. P.L.77-2024, SEC.1 carved deposit accounts out of the 6-year rule into the new §34-11-2-9(c). Confirmed by diffing the official 2023 edition (no subsection (c); deposit accounts sat inside the 6/10-year clause) against the 2024 edition (subsection (c) present). Relevant to any bank-originated deposit-overdraft paper.
• Nonresident tolling is broad on its face. §34-11-4-1 stops the clock for the entire period a defendant is a nonresident unless they maintain an Indiana agent for service. Read literally that would toll indefinitely against out-of-state debtors; federal and state courts have narrowed comparable statutes where the defendant remained amenable to service. Treat any tolling adjustment as attorney-review territory rather than automatic calculator behavior.
• Indiana's consumer credit code was recodified in 2026. P.L.115-2026 (SEA 169-2026) repealed IC 24-4.4 and IC 24-4.5 (the UCCC) and re-enacted them as the new Title 37 — Consumer Lending (IC 37-1, IC 37-2), expressly "as a recodification of prior law" that "does not affect the substantive operation and effect of the prior law" (IC 37-1-1-0.1). Two consequences here: the collection-agency exemption now cites IC 37-1 and IC 37-2 licensees (§25-11-1-2(c)), and the DFI's authority to enjoin "fraudulent or unconscionable conduct in the collection of debts arising from consumer credit sales, consumer leases, or consumer loans" moved from IC 24-4.5-6-111 to IC 37-2-7-12 (text otherwise unchanged). UNVERIFIED: the precise effective date of P.L.115-2026 was not confirmed against the enrolled act — the 2026 Indiana Code edition presents Title 37 as current law and IC 24-4.4/24-4.5 as repealed, with no future-effective note, but that is an inference from the code edition, not a quoted date.
• IC 24-5-0.5-3 currently exists in three official versions. The IGA text carries version notes: P.L.143-2026 SEC.1 (effective until 7-1-2026), P.L.145-2026 SEC.294 (effective 7-1-2026 — the version in force and quoted above), and P.L.100-2026 SEC.13 (effective 1-1-2027). Diffed all three: the debt-collection provisions — §3(a), §3(b)(20) and §3(b)(38) — are identical across them; the differences are unrelated cross-references and new subdivisions. Watch item, but no debt-collection change is scheduled.
• No Indiana medical-debt collection statute was located. Searched IC 24, 25 and 34 for a medical-debt-specific limitations period or collection restriction; none found. Medical debt runs on the ordinary account/contract periods. Recorded as a searched-and-absent finding, not a guarantee about other titles.

Related

• ../federal/fdcpa/overview.md — the FDCPA that §24-5-0.5-3(b)(20) incorporates wholesale
• ../federal/reg-f/call-frequency.md — 7-in-7 governs Indiana unmodified
• ../federal/fdcpa/legal-actions.md — venue/time-barred suit rules that fill Indiana's gap
• ./tx.md — the contrast case: bond-not-license, hard time-barred suit bar, no revival on payment
• ./_matrix.md