A debt collector, under Regulation F (12 CFR § 1006.2(i)(1)), is any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or mail in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due, or asserted to be owed or due, to another. "Debt" there means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance, or services that are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not the obligation has been reduced to judgment (§ 1006.2(h)). The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act uses the same two tests (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)).
Two tests, either one: a person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or mail in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of debts, or a person who regularly collects or attempts to collect debts owed or due, or asserted to be owed or due, to another (§ 1006.2(i)(1)).
A creditor using another name: the definition includes any creditor that, in the process of collecting its own debts, uses any name other than its own that would indicate that a third person is collecting them (§ 1006.2(i)(1)).
It has to say so: except in a formal pleading made in connection with a legal action, a debt collector must disclose in its initial communication with a consumer that it is attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose, must make that disclosure again in its initial written communication if the initial communication was oral, and must disclose in each subsequent communication with the consumer that the communication is from a debt collector (§ 1006.18(e)).
Where you'll see it
On the validation notice. Under 12 CFR § 1006.34(c), the validation information a debt collector provides includes the debt collector communication disclosure required by § 1006.18(e); the debt collector's name and the mailing address at which it accepts disputes and requests for original-creditor information; the name of the creditor to whom the debt currently is owed; and, for a debt related to a consumer financial product or service, the name of the creditor to whom the debt was owed on the itemization date. The CFPB says that if a debt collector is contacting you for payment on a debt, there is certain information they usually must give you in the initial communication or within five days of that initial communication.
The rule behind it
Debt collector means any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or mail in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due, or asserted to be owed or due, to another. Notwithstanding paragraph (i)(2)(vi) of this section, the term debt collector includes any creditor that, in the process of collecting its own debts, uses any name other than its own that would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts.
Who the definition excludes (§ 1006.2(i)(2)), each with its own conditions: an officer or employee of a creditor while collecting debts for the creditor in the creditor's name; a person collecting only for persons related to it by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, if its principal business is not the collection of debts; a federal or state officer or employee collecting in the performance of official duties; a person serving or attempting to serve legal process in connection with the judicial enforcement of a debt; a nonprofit that, at the request of consumers, performs bona fide consumer credit counseling and assists consumers in liquidating their debts by receiving payment from such consumers and distributing such amounts to creditors; a person collecting a debt owed to another to the extent the activity is incidental to a bona fide fiduciary obligation or a bona fide escrow arrangement, concerns a debt that person originated, concerns a debt that was not in default at the time that person obtained it, or concerns a debt obtained as a secured party in a commercial credit transaction involving the creditor; and a private entity, to the extent it is operating a bad check enforcement program that complies with section 818 of the Act.
What the CFPB says
A debt collector is generally a person or company that regularly collects debts owed to others or who has the primary purpose of collecting debts. They’re likely contacting you because they’re trying to reach a person who may owe a specific debt.
Debt collectors can include collection agencies or lawyers who collect debts as part of their business. There are also companies that buy past-due debts from creditors or other businesses and then try to collect them. These companies are also often called debt collection agencies, debt collection companies, or debt buyers.
Original creditor vs. debt collector
Regulation F defines a creditor as any person who offers or extends credit creating a debt or to whom a debt is owed, but not a person to the extent it receives an assignment or transfer of a debt in default solely to facilitate collection of the debt for another (§ 1006.2(g)). The rule also uses the term "original creditor": a validation notice gives the mailing address at which the debt collector accepts requests for original-creditor information (§ 1006.34(c)(2)(i)). Per the CFPB, the original creditor is the company that gave you the loan or credit; it may attempt to collect a past due debt or account itself, or it may hire a debt collector, and it also may sell the debt or account to another party who may then collect the debt or place it with a different debt collector. Under the rule, a creditor's officer or employee collecting debts for the creditor in the creditor's name is excluded from the definition (§ 1006.2(i)(2)(i)), and so is a person collecting a debt owed or due to another, to the extent the activity concerns a debt that person originated (§ 1006.2(i)(2)(vi)(B)); a creditor that, in the process of collecting its own debts, uses any name other than its own that would indicate that a third person is collecting is included (§ 1006.2(i)(1)). A validation notice under § 1006.34(c)(2) includes the debt collector's name, the name of the creditor to whom the debt currently is owed, and, for a debt related to a consumer financial product or service, the name of the creditor to whom the debt was owed on the itemization date.
Questions people ask
What is a debt collector and why are they contacting me?
The CFPB lists several reasons: a creditor believes you are past due on a debt; a debt buyer has bought the debt and is collecting it themselves or through other debt collectors; or the collector is trying to locate someone you know, in which case, the CFPB says, the collector is not allowed to reveal that the consumer owes any debt.
Is the original creditor a debt collector?
The CFPB says a debt collector is generally a third party who has been contracted to collect your debt or account, and that an original creditor may attempt to collect a past due debt or account itself. Regulation F's "regularly collects" test covers debts owed or due, or asserted to be owed or due, to another, and the rule excludes a creditor's officers and employees while they collect debts for the creditor in the creditor's name (§ 1006.2(i)(2)(i)). A creditor that, in the process of collecting its own debts, uses any name other than its own that would indicate that a third person is collecting is a debt collector under § 1006.2(i)(1).
What is a debt buyer?
The CFPB uses the term for companies that buy past-due debts from creditors or other businesses and then try to collect them, and says they are also often called debt collection agencies or debt collection companies. Whether a particular buyer meets the Regulation F definition depends on the two tests and exclusions in § 1006.2(i); for example, the rule excludes a person collecting a debt owed or due to another to the extent the activity concerns a debt that was not in default at the time the person obtained it (§ 1006.2(i)(2)(vi)(C)).
Does a debt collector have to say it is a debt collector?
Under 12 CFR § 1006.18(e), except in a formal pleading made in connection with a legal action, a debt collector's initial communication with a consumer must disclose that it is attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose, and each subsequent communication with the consumer must disclose that it is from a debt collector.
Sources: 12 CFR § 1006.2 (Regulation F) · 12 CFR § 1006.18 · 12 CFR § 1006.34 · 15 U.S.C. § 1692a · CFPB: What is a debt collector and why are they contacting me? · CFPB: What is an original creditor and what is the difference between an original creditor and a debt collector? · CFPB: Debt collection key terms
Sources last checked: October 23, 2026.
Everything here is consumer information — not financial or legal advice. It covers what a rule says and where to find it; the decisions stay yours.