New Jersey — no mini-FDCPA; bond-only entry gate; 6-year SOL; medical-debt overlay

Authority

New Jersey has no general debt-collection practices statute — no mini-FDCPA, no collection-agency licensing act, no state call-frequency or call-time rule. Four instruments carry the whole state-law layer:

1. N.J.S.A. 45:18-1 to -6.1 — the entry gate: a $5,000 surety bond filed with the Secretary of State (administered by the Treasury Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, approved by the Attorney General). No license.
2. N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1 et seq. — statute of limitations (6 years), plus accrual, tolling, and the revival sections (2A:14-24, -25). Negotiable notes: N.J.S.A. 12A:3-118.
3. N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 et seq. — the Consumer Fraud Act ("CFA"), the general UDAP vehicle. Enforced by the Attorney General / Division of Consumer Affairs; treble damages and fee-shifting via a private action under §56:8-19.
4. N.J.S.A. 56:11-56 to -62 — the Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act (P.L.2024, c.48), the one New Jersey statute that regulates "debt collectors" by name. It is medical-debt-only and AG-enforced with no private right of action.

Verification note (retrieval method — read this before re-verifying)

The official statutes are published by the New Jersey Legislature at lis.njleg.state.nj.us in a Folio NXT viewer (the DB self-identifies as "NEW JERSEY GENERAL AND PERMANENT STATUTES (UPDATED THROUGH P.L.2025, c.405, and J.R.22)"). The landing page is a JS frameset and the section-number jump destinations (folio-destination-name) do not resolve. Text below was retrieved on 2026-08-11 by:

1. Hitting the search component directly — GET /nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1 with f=xhitlist, xhitlist_q=<query>, xhitlist_x=Simple, and (required, else HTTP 500) xhitlist_sel=title;path;content-type;home-title;item-bookmark. It returns XML <item> rows carrying a <path> such as statutes/1/112/303.
2. Fetching that path — GET /nxt/gateway.dll/<path>?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm$3.0 — which returns the full official section text.

The numeric paths are DB-internal indexes and will drift when the Legislature republishes the collection. Re-verification must re-run step 1 rather than reusing a stored path. Session-law text (P.L. chapter files) is separately available at pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/<year>/PL<yy>/<chapter>_.HTM, which is stable and was used for the P.L.2024, c.48 and P.L.2022, c.96 effective-date language. www.njconsumeraffairs.gov serves a ~1 KB JS shell to automated fetches and yielded no text; nothing on this page depends on it.

Negative findings and how they were established. Full-text searches of the official statutes DB for "debt collector", "debt collection", "collection agency", "time-barred", and "9 p.m." returned no general collection-practices statute, no call-frequency cap, no call-time window, and no time-barred-debt disclosure or suit bar. The only "debt collector" hits statewide are the medical-debt sections (56:11-57 to -62). Treat these as verified negatives, not as gaps.

Operative text

Entry gate — N.J.S.A. 45:18-1 to -6.1 (bond, not license)

No person shall conduct a collection agency, collection bureau or collection office in this state, or engage therein in the business of collecting or receiving payment for others of any account, bill or other indebtedness, or engage therein in the business of soliciting the right to collect or receive payment for another of any account, bill or other indebtedness, or advertise for or solicit in print the right to collect or receive payment for another of any account, bill or other indebtedness, unless such person, or the person for whom he may be acting as agent has on file with the secretary of state sufficient bond as hereinafter specified. — N.J.S.A. 45:18-1

The bond shall be in the sum of five thousand dollars and shall provide that the person giving the same shall, upon written demand, pay and turn over to or for the person for whom any account, bill or other indebtedness is taken for collection the proceeds thereof in accordance with the terms of the agreement upon which such account, bill or other indebtedness was received for collection. … and shall be for the term of one year from its date and must be renewed annually. No action on the bond shall be begun after two years from the expiration thereof. — N.J.S.A. 45:18-2

The bond mentioned in sections 45:18-1 and 45:18-2 of this Title shall be executed by the person filing the same to the State of New Jersey for the use of any party aggrieved with sufficient surety, to be furnished by any company or corporation authorized to transact such business in this State. The said bond shall be examined and approved by the Attorney-General and thereafter accepted and filed with the Secretary of State; provided, however, that cash may be accepted in lieu of sureties; and provided, further, that no such bond with individual sureties thereon may be approved, accepted or filed. — N.J.S.A. 45:18-3 (amended L.1946, c.293, s.1)

There shall be paid a filing fee of $25.00 to the Secretary of State for the filing of each bond. — N.J.S.A. 45:18-4

Any person, member of a partnership or officer of an association or corporation who fails to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for not more than three months, or both. — N.J.S.A. 45:18-5

This chapter shall not apply to an attorney at law duly authorized to practice in this state, a national bank, or any bank or trust company duly incorporated under the laws of this state. — N.J.S.A. 45:18-6

Any person who shall discontinue the operation of a collection agency, collection bureau or collection office in this State … shall file with the Secretary of State a notice of such discontinuance. — N.J.S.A. 45:18-6.1 (L.1959, c.141)

The administering agency confirms the mechanics on its own page:

Anyone who is operating a collection agency or is in the business of collecting or receiving payment for others of any account, bill, or other indebtedness must annually file a Collection Agency Bond Application. The application will attest that a $5,000 bond has been filed with the State of New Jersey as required by statute.

All business entities (including out-of-state businesses) must be on file with the State of New Jersey. The "Public Records Filing for New Business Entity" form must be on file before the collection agency bond application is submitted. … The fee for processing these documents is $25.00. … Once the application is reviewed by the Attorney General's office, the registration of the bond will be mailed to you. — NJ Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, "File Collection Agency Bonds" (nj.gov/treasury/revenue/filecollagbond.shtml, page dated "Last Updated: Thursday, 12/11/25")

Adjacent entry gates that are not collection-agency gates but are commonly confused with one:

No person shall engage in business as a consumer lender or sales finance company without first obtaining a license or licenses under this act. — N.J.S.A. 17:11C-3(a) (Dept. of Banking and Insurance; L.1996, c.157, s.3; amended 2009, c.53, s.42)

"Debt adjuster" means a person who either (a) acts or offers to act for a consideration as an intermediary between a debtor and his creditors for the purpose of settling, compounding, or otherwise altering the terms of payment of any debts of the debtor, or (b) who, to that end, receives money or other property from the debtor, or on behalf of the debtor, for payment to, or distribution among, the creditors of the debtor.

The following persons shall not be deemed debt adjusters: … (d) a person who is a creditor of the debtor, or an agent of one or more creditors of the debtor, and whose services in adjusting the debtor's debts are rendered without cost to the debtor … — N.J.S.A. 17:16G-1(c) (L.1979, c.16, s.1; amended 1986, c.184; 2009, c.173)

Prohibited practices — the Consumer Fraud Act (no collection-specific statute)

The act, use or employment by any person of any commercial practice that is unconscionable or abusive, deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, or the knowing, concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with intent that others rely upon such concealment, suppression or omission, in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise or real estate, or with the subsequent performance of such person as aforesaid, whether or not any person has in fact been misled, deceived or damaged thereby, is declared to be an unlawful practice … — N.J.S.A. 56:8-2 (L.1960, c.39, s.2; amended … 2022, c.96, s.1)

The 2022 amendment is the current operative change to §56:8-2 — P.L.2022, c.96 (A1556 1R) inserted "any commercial practice that is unconscionable or abusive" in place of the prior "unconscionable commercial practice" formulation:

5. Sections 1, 2, and 4 of this act shall take effect immediately and section 3 shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment. Approved August 5, 2022. — P.L.2022, c.96 (§1 amends C.56:8-2 ⇒ effective 2022-08-05)

Definitions that control the CFA's reach:

(c) The term "merchandise" shall include any objects, wares, goods, commodities, services or anything offered, directly or indirectly to the public for sale; (d) The term "person" as used in this act shall include any natural person or his legal representative, partnership, corporation, company, trust, business entity or association, and any agent, employee, salesman, partner, officer, director, member, stockholder, associate, trustee or cestuis que trustent thereof; — N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 (L.1960, c.39, s.1; amended 1967, c.301; 1999, c.298, s.2)

Call frequency and call-time window — none

Neither the statutes nor any collection-specific New Jersey regulation sets a call-frequency cap or a calling-hours window (see the negative-findings note above). Reg F's 7-in-7 presumption (12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2)) and the 8am–9pm consumer-local window (12 CFR 1006.6(b)(1)) are the operative limits in New Jersey. The only New Jersey frequency-shaped rule is the medical-debt 120-day pre-collection wait in §56:11-59(a), quoted below, which is a waiting period rather than a per-week cap.

Statute of limitations — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1 (6 years)

2A:14-1. a. Every action at law for trespass to real property, for any tortious injury to real or personal property, for taking, detaining, or converting personal property, for replevin of goods or chattels, for any tortious injury to the rights of another not stated in N.J.S.2A:14-2 and N.J.S.2A:14-3, or for recovery upon a contractual claim or liability, express or implied, not under seal, or upon an account other than one which concerns the trade or merchandise between merchant and merchant, their factors, agents and servants, shall be commenced within six years next after the cause of any such action shall have accrued.

b. This section shall not apply to any action for breach of any contract for sale governed by N.J.S.12A:2-725.

c. The period of time for the filing of a claim by a condominium association, cooperative corporation, or other planned real estate development association against a developer … shall be tolled until an election is held and the owners comprise a majority of the board …

L.1951 (1st SS), c.344; amended by L.1961, c. 121, p. 723, s. 1; amended 2021, c.379. — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1

Sale-of-goods contracts are carved out of the 6 years by subsection (b):

(1) An action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within four years after the cause of action has accrued. By the original agreement the parties may reduce the period of limitation to not less than one year but may not extend it. (2) A cause of action accrues when the breach occurs, regardless of the aggrieved party's lack of knowledge of the breach. … — N.J.S.A. 12A:2-725 (UCC §2-725; L.1961, c.120)

Instruments under seal — 16 years, with an express payment-restart and a 6-year carve-out for merchant/financial-institution plaintiffs:

Every action at law for rent or arrears of rent, founded upon a lease under seal, every action at law upon a single or penal bill under seal for the payment of money only, upon an obligation under seal conditioned for the payment of money only, upon a recognizance or upon an award … shall be commenced within 16 years next after the cause of any such action shall have accrued. If, however, any payment is made on any such lease, specialty, recognizance or award within or after such period of 16 years, an action thereon may be commenced within 16 years next after such payment, and not thereafter.

This section shall not apply to any action for breach of any contract for sale governed by N.J.S. 12A:2-725.

This section shall also not apply to any action founded upon an instrument under seal brought by a merchant or bank, finance company, or other financial institution. Any such action shall be commenced within 6 years next after the cause of any such action shall have accrued. — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-4 (L.1951 (1st SS), c.344; amended L.1961, c.121, s.2; L.1979, c.436, s.1, eff. 1980-02-14)

Negotiable instruments — the New Jersey UCC §3-118 analog:

a. Except as provided in subsection e. of this section, an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay a note payable at a definite time must be commenced within six years after the due date or dates stated in the note or, if a due date is accelerated, within six years after the accelerated due date.

b. Except as provided in subsection d. or e. of this section, 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 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 10 years.

c. … an action to enforce the obligation of a party to an unaccepted draft to pay the draft must be commenced within three years after dishonor of the draft or 10 years after the date of the draft, whichever period expires first.

d. An action to enforce the obligation of the acceptor of a certified check or the issuer of a teller's check, cashier's check, or traveler's check must be commenced within three years after demand for payment …

g. Unless governed by other law regarding claims for indemnity or contribution, an action for conversion of an instrument, for money had and received, or like action based on conversion, for breach of warranty, or to enforce an obligation, duty, or right arising under this chapter and not governed by this section must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues. — N.J.S.A. 12A:3-118 (L.1995, c.28, s.1)

Judgments — 20 years, with a shorter-of rule for foreign judgments:

A judgment in any court of record in this state may be revived by proper proceedings or an action at law may be commenced thereon within 20 years next after the date thereof, but not thereafter. An action may be commenced on a judgment obtained in any other state or country within 20 years next after the date thereof or within the period in which a like action might be brought thereon in that state or country, whichever period is shorter, but not thereafter. — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-5

Tolling

Non-residence / non-representation — conditioned on long-arm service being unavailable:

2A:14-22. a. If (1) any person against whom there is any of the causes of action specified in sections 2A:14-1 to 2A:14-5 and 2A:14-8 … is not a resident of this State when such cause of action accrues, or removes from this State after the accrual thereof and before the expiration of the times limited in said sections, or if any corporation or corporate surety not organized under the laws of this State … is not represented in this State by any person or officer upon whom summons or other original process may be served … and (2) it appears by affidavit of plaintiff's attorney or of any person having knowledge of the facts that, after diligent inquiry and effort, long-arm service cannot be effectuated, the time or times during which such person or surety is not residing within this State or such corporation or corporate surety is not so represented within this State shall not be computed as part of the periods of time within which such an action is required to be commenced …

b. A corporation shall be deemed represented for purposes of this section if the corporation has filed with the Secretary of State a notice designating a representative to accept service of process. c. A person shall be deemed a resident for purposes of this section if such person has filed with the Secretary of State a notice designating a representative to accept service of process. — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-22 (L.1951 (1st SS), c.344; amended 1984, c.131; 1991, c.387, s.1)

Death of the obligor — a flat 6-month exclusion:

If any person against whom there is any of the causes of action specified in sections 2A:14-1, 2A:14-2, 2A:14-4, 2A:14-5 and 2A:14-8 of this title … dies before the expiration of the time limited thereby, the space of 6 months next succeeding such death shall not be computed as a part of the period of time within which the action is required by the section to be commenced. — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-23

Minority / mental disability (creditor-side disability, rarely relevant to collections but part of the chapter):

2A:14-21. If a person entitled to commence an action or proceeding specified in N.J.S.2A:14-1 to N.J.S.2A:14-8 … is under the age of 18 years or a person who has a mental disability that prevents the person from understanding his legal rights or commencing a legal action at the time the cause of action … accrues, the person may commence the action or make the entry, within the time as limited by those statutes, after reaching majority or having the mental capacity to pursue the person's lawful rights. — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-21 (amended 2004, c.17, s.4; 2013, c.103, s.2)

Revival — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-24 and 2A:14-25 (this is the load-bearing pair)

In actions at law grounded on any simple contract, no acknowledgment or promise by words only shall be deemed sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract, so as to take any case out of the operation of this chapter, or to deprive any person of the benefit thereof, unless such acknowledgment or promise shall be made or continued by or in some writing to be signed by the party chargeable thereby.

Where there shall be 2 or more joint contractors … no such joint contractor, executor or administrator shall lose the benefit of this chapter so as to be chargeable in respect or by reason only of any written acknowledgment or promise signed by another or others of them. …

Nothing in this section shall take away, lessen or alter the effect of any payment of principal or interest made by any person whatsoever on the obligation in suit. — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-24

No indorsement or memorandum of any payment written or made upon a promissory note, bill of exchange or other writing, by or on behalf of the party to whom the payment is made, shall be deemed sufficient proof of such payment so as to take the case out of the operation of this chapter. — N.J.S.A. 2A:14-25 (L.1951 (1st SS), c.344)

Medical debt — the Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act (P.L.2024, c.48)

1. P.L.2024, c.48 (C.56:11-56 et seq.) shall be known and may be cited as the "Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act." — N.J.S.A. 56:11-56

Effective dates, from the session law:

9. Sections 3 and 7 of this act shall take effect immediately and the remainder of this act shall take effect one year following the date of enactment. Approved July 22, 2024. — P.L.2024, c.48 (A3861 2R)

⇒ §3 (C.56:11-58, credit-reporting ban) and §7 (C.56:11-62, void/penalties) effective 2024-07-22; §§4–6 (C.56:11-59 to -61 — the 120-day wait, interest cap, garnishment ban, appeal-pending restrictions) effective 2025-07-22.

Key definitions:

"Medical debt collector" means any person or entity that regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, medical debts originally owed, due, or asserted to be owed or due to another. A medical debt buyer is considered to be a medical debt collector for all purposes.

"Medical creditor" means any person or entity that provides health care services and to whom a patient owes money for health care services or the entity that provided health care services and to whom the patient previously owed money if the medical debt has been purchased by one or more debt buyers.

"Medical debt" means a debt arising from the receipt of health care services. "Medical debt" shall not include: debt charged to a credit card unless the credit card is issued under an open-end or closed-end credit plan offered solely for the payment of health care services or goods; debt arising from services provided by a veterinarian; debt charged to a home equity or general purpose line of credit; debt arising from an insurance payment for the health care provider's services, but retained by the subscriber; or secured debt.

"Collection action" means any action on the part of a medical creditor with respect to a medical debt, and includes, but is not limited to: selling a patient's debt to another party; reporting information about the patient to a consumer reporting agency; or actions related to the collection of a patient's debt to another party that require a legal or judicial process, including … placing a lien on a patient's property, attaching or seizing a patient's bank account or any other personal property, commencing a civil action against a patient, or garnishing a patient's wages. "Collection action" shall not include: reasonable attempts by a medical creditor to send an invoice or bill to a patient or reminders to pay an invoice or bill; or collecting a copayment, coinsurance, deductible, or payment from the patient at the point of service.

"Reasonable payment plan" means a structured repayment arrangement that satisfies the following: monthly payment amounts shall be set at a level that the patient can reasonably afford or not more than three percent of the patient's monthly income, if known …; the duration shall allow the patient to repay the debt in full within a reasonable timeframe, which shall include … between six months and five years …; the plan shall provide a grace period of at least 60 days for late payments; and the plan shall not charge an interest rate on a medical debt of more than three percent per annum. — N.J.S.A. 56:11-57 (L.2024, c.48, s.2)

Credit-reporting ban:

3. a. A medical creditor or medical debt collector shall not report a patient's medical debt to any consumer reporting agency for health care services performed on and after the effective date of P.L.2024, c.48 (C.56:11-56 et seq.). b. A consumer reporting agency shall not make any consumer report containing a patient's paid medical debt or a medical debt of less than $500 regardless of the date it was incurred. — N.J.S.A. 56:11-58 (L.2024, c.48, s.3; eff. 2024-07-22)

Pre-collection waiting period, notice, and the mandatory 14-point disclosure:

4. a. Notwithstanding any provision of law or regulation to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in subsection c. of this section, a medical creditor or medical debt collector shall not engage in any collection actions until 120 days after the first bill for a medical debt has been sent and the creditor or debt collector has offered the patient who owes the medical debt a reasonable payment plan.

b. At least 30 days before taking any collection actions, a medical creditor or medical debt collector shall provide to the patient at least one additional bill and a notice containing the following: (1) identifying the collection actions that will be initiated in order to obtain payment; and (2) providing a deadline after which such collection actions will be initiated, which date is no earlier than 30 days after the date of the notice.

c. Any communication made by a medical creditor or medical debt collector to a patient in the course of trying to collect a medical debt shall include a statement, in at least 14-point boldface font, that the medical creditor or medical debt collector has not reported the debt to a consumer reporting agency and that if the debt, or any part of it, has been reported to a consumer reporting agency, the portion reported is void.

d. A medical creditor shall not sell a patient's debt to another party unless, prior to the sale, the medical creditor has entered into a legally binding written agreement with the medical debt buyer … pursuant to which the medical debt buyer or collector is prohibited from engaging in any actions in paragraphs (2) and (3) of the definition of "collection action" … and from otherwise seeking to obtain payment for the health care service.

e. (1) A medical creditor or medical debt collector shall not engage in any collection actions against a patient who accepts and complies with the terms of a reasonable payment plan … shall not charge an interest rate of more than three percent per annum on late payments … and shall provide a grace period of at least 60 days for late payments. (2) Acceptance of a reasonable payment plan pursuant to this section by a patient shall not constitute an admission that the debt is valid. A patient who accepts a reasonable payment plan shall retain any legal defenses that would otherwise be available in a collection action. — N.J.S.A. 56:11-59 (L.2024, c.48, s.4; eff. 2025-07-22)

Interest cap and garnishment floor:

5. A medical creditor or medical debt collector shall not: a. charge an interest rate on a medical debt of more than three percent per annum. The interest rate that shall apply to any judgment on medical debt shall be calculated pursuant to applicable court rules but shall not exceed three percent; or b. garnish the wages of a patient with annual income less than 600 percent of the federal poverty level to collect medical debt owed by that patient. — N.J.S.A. 56:11-60 (L.2024, c.48, s.5; eff. 2025-07-22)

Insurance-appeal hold:

6. a. A medical creditor or medical debt collector that knows that an internal review, external review, or other appeal of a health insurance decision which provides the basis for a medical debt is pending shall not: (1) communicate with the patient regarding the unpaid charges for health care services for the purpose of seeking to collect the charges; or (2) initiate a lawsuit or arbitration proceeding against the patient …

b. If a medical debt has already been reported to a consumer reporting agency and the medical creditor or medical debt collector who reported the information learns of [a pending appeal], or learns that the medical debt has been paid, the medical creditor or medical debt collector shall instruct the consumer reporting agency to delete the information about the debt.

c. A medical creditor that knows about [a pending appeal] shall not refer, place, or send the unpaid charges for health care services to a medical debt collector, including by selling the debt to a medical debt buyer. — N.J.S.A. 56:11-61 (L.2024, c.48, s.6; eff. 2025-07-22)

Voiding, enforcement, and the express no-private-right-of-action clause:

7. a. Any portion of a medical debt that is furnished to a consumer reporting agency in violation of the provisions of P.L.2024, c.48 (C.56:11-56 et seq.) shall be void.

b. It shall be a violation of P.L.1997, c.172 (C.56:11-28 et seq.) for a medical creditor or medical debt collector to undertake a collection action in violation of the provisions of P.L.2024, c.48 …

c. In addition to the assessment of civil penalties, the Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee may, after a hearing and upon a finding of a practice in violation … order that any moneys or property, real or personal, which have been acquired by means of the practice in violation … be restored to any person in interest.

d. Notwithstanding any provision of P.L.1997, c.172 (C.56:11-28 et seq.) to the contrary, the Office of the Attorney General shall have sole and exclusive authority to enforce a violation of P.L.2024, c.48 … and nothing in P.L.2024, c.48 … shall be construed as providing the basis for a private right of action arising solely from a violation of P.L.2024, c.48 …

e. In any instance where the provisions of this section conflict with the provision of P.L.1997, c.172 (C.56:11-28 et seq.), the provisions of this section shall prevail. — N.J.S.A. 56:11-62 (L.2024, c.48, s.7; eff. 2024-07-22)

Penalties, private right of action, AG enforcement

Consumer Fraud Act — AG civil penalties:

Any person who violates any of the provisions of the act to which this act is a supplement shall, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, be liable to a penalty of not more than $10,000 for the first offense and not more than $20,000 for the second and each subsequent offense. The penalty shall be exclusive of and in addition to any moneys or property ordered to be paid or restored to any person in interest pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1966, c.39 (C.56:8-14) or section 3 of P.L.1971, c.247 (C.56:8-15). — N.J.S.A. 56:8-13 (L.1966, c.39, s.1; amended 1971, c.247, s.9; 1991, c.332; 1999, c.298, s.3; 2001, c.394, s.10)

Consumer Fraud Act — private action, mandatory treble damages and fee-shifting:

Any person who suffers any ascertainable loss of moneys or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment by another person of any method, act, or practice declared unlawful under this act … may bring an action or assert a counterclaim therefor in any court of competent jurisdiction. In any action under this section the court shall, in addition to any other appropriate legal or equitable relief, award threefold the damages sustained by any person in interest. In all actions under this section, including those brought by the Attorney General, the court shall also award reasonable attorneys' fees, filing fees and reasonable costs of suit. — N.J.S.A. 56:8-19 (L.1971, c.247, s.7; amended 1997, c.359)

New Jersey Consumer Reporting Act (P.L.1997, c.172) — the statute the medical-debt act routes violations into, and the state FCRA-furnishing analog:

11. a. Any person who willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this act with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of: (1) (a) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000; … (2) such amount of punitive damages as the court may allow; and (3) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorneys' fees … — N.J.S.A. 56:11-38 (L.1997, c.172, s.11)

12. a. Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this act with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of: (1) any actual damages sustained by the consumer …; and (2) … the costs of the action together with reasonable attorneys' fees … — N.J.S.A. 56:11-39 (L.1997, c.172, s.12)

14. a. Pursuant to subsection (c) of section 621 of the federal "Fair Credit Reporting Act," 15 U.S.C. s.1681s, the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety is designated as the agency in this State to enforce the provisions of the federal "Fair Credit Reporting Act," and this act. — N.J.S.A. 56:11-41 (L.1997, c.172, s.14)

Plain English

Interpretation — the quotes above win on any conflict.

• New Jersey has no mini-FDCPA. There is no state statute regulating collection communications, harassment, misrepresentation, or fees as such. The federal FDCPA and Reg F are effectively the whole conduct rulebook, with the Consumer Fraud Act sitting behind them as a general UDAP catch-all.
• The entry gate is a bond, not a license — structurally the same shape as Texas, but cheaper and annual. A third-party collector must have a $5,000 surety bond on file with the Secretary of State, AG-approved, renewed every year, $25 filing fee. Attorneys, national banks, and NJ-chartered banks/trust companies are exempt (§45:18-6). Operating without it is a $500 fine and/or 3 months' imprisonment (§45:18-5). There is no collections regulator, no examination regime, and no license to lose.
• The bond runs to the creditor, not the consumer. §45:18-2 conditions it on paying over collected proceeds "to or for the person for whom any account … is taken for collection" — it protects the client whose money the agency holds, not the debtor. (Contrast Texas §392.101(b), whose bond runs "in favor of any person who is damaged by a violation.")
• Original creditors are outside the bond requirement (it reaches collecting "for others" / "for another") but inside the CFA, which binds "any person" in connection with the sale of merchandise or "the subsequent performance of such person." Collection conduct on one's own consumer paper is therefore CFA-exposed even though no bond is owed.
• The CFA is the real enforcement risk in New Jersey: treble damages are mandatory ("the court shall … award threefold the damages"), plus attorneys' fees, filing fees, and costs — gated on the plaintiff showing an ascertainable loss. AG penalties run to $10,000 / $20,000 per offense.
• No call-frequency cap and no call-time window. Reg F's 7-in-7 presumption and 8am–9pm consumer-local window are the operative limits.
• No time-barred-debt disclosure, no suit bar, and no anti-revival statute. New Jersey has none of the three. Reg F §1006.26 is the only bar on suing on time-barred debt.
• SOL is 6 years across the board for ordinary consumer debt — written contracts, oral contracts, and open accounts all sit in §2A:14-1's single six-year bucket, and negotiable notes are separately 6 years under §12A:3-118(a). The number is the same four ways, which makes New Jersey unusually simple until you hit the carve-outs: sale-of-goods contracts are 4 years (§12A:2-725 via §2A:14-1(b)) and sealed instruments are 16 years unless the plaintiff is a merchant or financial institution, in which case back to 6 (§2A:14-4).
• Credit cards are 6 years, and that is statutory, not case law. §2A:14-1(a) reaches both "a contractual claim or liability, express or implied" and "an account other than one which concerns the trade or merchandise between merchant and merchant." A consumer card account lands in the six years under either clause. Which clause it lands in is interpretation; that the number is six is on the face of the statute.
• Revival: New Jersey is a payment-revives state, by negative implication in the statute. §2A:14-24 requires a signed writing for an acknowledgment or new promise to restart the clock — words alone never suffice — but its final paragraph expressly preserves "the effect of any payment of principal or interest." The statute regulates the writing requirement and then deliberately steps back from payment. §2A:14-25 adds an evidentiary guard: the creditor's own notation of a payment is not sufficient proof of it.
• Medical debt is the one carved-out category, and it is heavily regulated as of 2025-07-22. Reporting any medical debt for services on or after 2024-07-22 to a CRA is banned outright; collection actions require a 120-day wait after the first bill plus a reasonable payment plan offer plus a 30-day pre-action notice; interest is capped at 3% per annum; wages cannot be garnished below 600% of the federal poverty level; and every collection communication needs a 14-point boldface no-credit-reporting statement. Only the AG can enforce it.
• There is no medical-debt SOL in New Jersey. Medical debt runs on the ordinary 6-year §2A:14-1 clock. (Florida's 3-year medical SOL has no New Jersey counterpart — see traps.)

Traps / edge cases

• The bond is annual and lapses silently. §45:18-2 makes it a one-year instrument that "must be renewed annually," and §45:18-6.1 requires a discontinuance notice. A lapsed bond means every subsequent collection contact is made in violation of §45:18-1. Treat the bond expiry date as a hard operational gate, not an onboarding checkbox.
• Do not read "no license" as "no entry gate." New Jersey is frequently summarized as an unregulated state. §45:18-1 is real, current (the statutes DB is updated through P.L.2025, c.405), and actively administered — the Division of Revenue's application page was last updated 2025-12-11.
• §2A:14-22 tolling has a second prong that most summaries drop. Non-residence alone does not toll. Since the 1991 amendment the statute also requires an affidavit that "after diligent inquiry and effort, long-arm service cannot be effectuated," and subsections (b)–(c) deem a party "represented"/"resident" merely by designating an agent with the Secretary of State. For a modern consumer debtor who can be served by long-arm, this section will usually toll nothing. Never auto-extend a New Jersey SOL for an out-of-state debtor.
• Revival is asymmetric and easy to get backwards. A debtor's oral promise to pay does nothing (§2A:14-24 requires a signed writing). A debtor's payment does restart the clock. This is the opposite pairing from what a "written acknowledgment required" summary implies, and the opposite of Texas §392.307(d) and NY CPLR 214-i, where post-expiry payment revives nothing. New Jersey has no post-expiry cutoff at all — no statute says a payment on already-barred debt cannot revive it.
• §2A:14-25 is an evidence rule, not a revival rule. It says the creditor's own ledger endorsement is not proof of payment. It does not say payment fails to revive. Do not cite it as an anti-revival provision. (Colorado §13-80-115 and Georgia are the same shape.)
• Sealed instruments cut both ways. §2A:14-4 gives 16 years — with a payment-restart that runs 16 years from the payment, even a payment made after the original 16 years expired — but the 1979 amendment pulls merchant and bank/finance-company plaintiffs back to 6 years. A debt buyer's status under "merchant or bank, finance company, or other financial institution" is UNVERIFIED (no statutory definition in ch. 14, no quoted case law). Route sealed-instrument NJ paper to counsel; never print 16 years for a financial-institution plaintiff.
• Merchant-to-merchant accounts are carved out of §2A:14-1 and land nowhere obvious. The statute excepts "an account … which concerns the trade or merchandise between merchant and merchant, their factors, agents and servants" without supplying a replacement period. UNVERIFIED — no substitute limitation located. Irrelevant to consumer collections, but do not answer a B2B New Jersey SOL question from this page.
• "Medical debt" excludes general-purpose credit cards. §56:11-57 carves out debt charged to a credit card unless the card is issued under a plan "offered solely for the payment of health care services or goods," and also excludes HELOC/general lines of credit and secured debt. A CareCredit-style card is in; a Visa balance that happens to be a hospital bill is out. Classify by instrument, not by what was purchased.
• The 14-point disclosure applies to "any communication," not just the first one. §56:11-59(c) has no first-communication limiter — unlike Texas §392.307(e) or the Reg F time-barred disclosure. Every letter, every email, every script on New Jersey medical debt carries it.
• A "collection action" on medical debt includes selling the debt and reporting it, so the 120-day wait bars placement-for-sale and furnishing, not just dunning. Sending invoices and payment reminders is expressly not a collection action, so billing may continue during the 120 days.
• No private right of action on the medical-debt act — but the CFA is still available. §56:11-62(d) forecloses a private claim "arising solely from a violation of P.L.2024, c.48." Whether the same conduct independently supports a CFA claim under §56:8-2 is interpretation and unresolved on this page. Do not treat the AG-exclusivity clause as general immunity.
• The §56:11-62(a) voiding rule is self-executing and retroactive in effect: any portion of a medical debt furnished to a CRA in violation is void — not merely uncollectable via that channel. An improper furnish destroys the debt.
• §56:11-58(a) has an incurrence-date trigger; §56:11-58(b) does not. The furnishing ban applies to services performed on or after 2024-07-22, but the CRA-side ban on reporting paid medical debt or any medical debt under $500 applies "regardless of the date it was incurred."
• New Jersey has no borrowing statute for contract claims. Full-text search of the official statutes DB located no provision applying another state's shorter limitation period to a claim brought in New Jersey. Choice-of-law on an out-of-state account is common-law territory — attorney review, do not model.

Related

• ../federal/fdcpa/overview.md — the actual conduct rulebook in NJ
• ../federal/reg-f/call-frequency.md — 7-in-7 governs; no NJ cap
• ../federal/reg-f/time-barred-debt.md — §1006.26 is the only NJ suit bar
• ../federal/fcra-furnishing.md — the NJ medical-debt reporting ban layers on top
• ./ny.md · ./ma.md · ./tx.md · ./_matrix.md