What is the Reg F 7-in-7 rule?
The 7-in-7 rule is the call frequency limit in Regulation F, the CFPB's rule implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. A debt collector is presumed to violate the law if it calls a person about a particular debt more than seven times within seven consecutive days, or within seven days after having a phone conversation with them about that debt.
Regulation F took effect on November 30, 2021 and applies to third-party debt collectors covered by the FDCPA. The limit is counted per debt, and a call counts toward it whether or not anyone answers. Staying under the limit creates a presumption of compliance, and going over creates a presumption of a violation, both of which can be rebutted.
Reg F also treats calls before 8am or after 9pm at the consumer's location as inconvenient unless the collector knows otherwise. Collections teams using AI agents set these limits as hard rules in the dialer, counted per debt and per consumer.