Yes, a debt collector can call your cell phone, but federal law sets firm limits on when they call, how often, and what technology they use, and it gives you clear ways to control or stop the calls. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act cover personal debts like credit cards, medical bills, and student loans. Business debts are outside these rules.1Federal Trade Commission. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
One threshold point before the rest: the FDCPA applies to third-party debt collectors, not to original creditors calling about their own accounts. Once the account is sold or handed off to a collection agency, everything below kicks in.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692a – Definitions
When Calls Are Allowed
Debt collectors cannot call at times they know or should know are inconvenient. The default assumption is that anything before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in your local time zone is off-limits.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection If other hours are also inconvenient for you, tell the collector and they have to respect that. A verbal request is enough.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1006.6 – Communications in Connection With Debt Collection
The CFPB also sets a call-frequency standard. A collector is presumed to be harassing you if they call more than seven times within seven consecutive days about the same debt, or if they call again within seven days after having an actual phone conversation with you about that debt.5eCFR. 12 CFR 1006.14 – Harassing, Oppressive, or Abusive Conduct The limit runs per debt, so a collector working three accounts could call about each one separately. Excessive calling across multiple debts can still cross into harassment.
Work calls have their own rule. If you tell a collector your employer doesn’t allow personal collection calls at work, they have to stop calling you there. You can say it out loud; nothing needs to be in writing.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection
Robocalls and Autodialed Calls Need Your Consent
The TCPA adds a separate layer for automated calls and texts to cell phones. If a debt collector uses an autodialer or a prerecorded voice, they need your prior express consent before calling your cell. Without it, the call violates federal law regardless of whether the underlying debt is legitimate.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
Since January 2025, the FCC’s one-to-one consent rule requires that consent be given directly to each individual company. Entering your number on a comparison-shopping site or lead-generation form that shares it with multiple businesses does not count as consent for any of them to robocall you. Each company needs its own permission.7Federal Communications Commission. One-to-One Consent Rule for TCPA Prior Express Written Consent
You can revoke consent at any time, using any reasonable method. Telling the caller during a conversation, replying “stop” to a text, or sending a letter all work. A collector cannot force you into one specific channel to revoke. After you revoke, any further robocall or autodialed text to your cell phone is a potential TCPA violation.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
How to Stop the Calls
You have two tools, and they do different things.
Stop Calling This Number
If you just want the cell calls to stop but don’t mind being reached another way, ask. Under the CFPB’s Debt Collection Rule, a collector cannot contact you through any communication method you’ve asked them not to use.5eCFR. 12 CFR 1006.14 – Harassing, Oppressive, or Abusive Conduct Say it clearly during a call: “Do not call this number again.” They can still send mail or use other numbers you haven’t restricted.
Stop All Contact
To shut down every form of contact from a collector, you need to send a written notice. The FDCPA requires that a full cease-communication demand be in writing; a phone call won’t cut it.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection Include your name, address, any account number, and a clear statement that you want all communication to stop. Send it certified mail with return receipt requested so you can prove they got it.
After they receive your letter, a collector can only contact you for three narrow reasons: to confirm they received the request and are stopping, to tell you they or the original creditor may pursue a specific legal remedy, or to notify you they intend to take a particular action such as filing a lawsuit.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection Anything outside those exceptions violates federal law.
Silence is not forgiveness. A cease-communication letter stops the calls; it does not erase the debt. The collector can still sue you, report the debt to credit bureaus, or sell the account to someone new who starts the process over.
What They Can Say to Other People
Debt collectors generally cannot discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, your attorney, or the original creditor.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection They can contact other people only to find your contact information, not to reveal that you owe money. If a collector tells your neighbor, parent, or coworker that you’re behind on a bill, that’s a federal violation.
Texts and Emails Follow the Same Rules
Time-of-day restrictions, frequency limits, and opt-out rights all apply to texts and emails from collectors, not just phone calls. For timing, an electronic message counts as sent when the collector transmits it, not when you open it.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1006.6 – Communications in Connection With Debt Collection Every electronic message from a collector must also include a clear opt-out method for that type of contact.
What You Can Collect If They Break the Rules
Under the FDCPA, you can sue for actual damages plus statutory damages of up to $1,000 per lawsuit. If you win, the collector also pays your attorney’s fees and court costs.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692k – Civil Liability The fee-shifting piece matters in practice: consumer rights lawyers often take these cases without charging you upfront.
TCPA damages are steeper. Each illegal robocall or autodialed text to your cell phone carries $500 in statutory damages, and if the court finds the violation willful, that triples to $1,500 per call.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment Twenty unlawful robocalls on a single account can put a collector on the hook for $10,000 to $30,000.
Filing a Complaint
Complaints go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Describe the problem, give dates and amounts, and attach documents like call logs or letters if you have them. The CFPB forwards the complaint to the company, which generally has 15 days to respond.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint Filing creates a record regulators can use to spot patterns, and it sometimes resolves things faster than a lawsuit.
You can also complain to the Federal Trade Commission and your state attorney general. Start documenting now. Save voicemails, screenshot call logs, and keep copies of every letter you send or receive. That paper trail becomes your evidence if you decide to pursue a claim.