By sending your debt validation letter within 30 days, you’re asking for this additional documentation, and the agency must stop collection activity while it works to validate your debt.

If you’re unsure what information you should include to a collection agency, the CFPB provides multiple free debt validation letter templates you can use, depending on your type of request.

Debt collectors are required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to mail a debt validation letter with information regarding the debt they want to collect from you.

Validation and verification letters can be helpful but won’t solve all debt collection problems. For example, a collector can continue trying to collect a debt that is past the statute of ...

Have you ever received a call from a collection agency or debt collector? While this can be quite alarming at first, it's important to stay calm. Check Out: You Can Get These 3 Debts Canceled ...

Debt collectors are legally obligated to send you a debt validation letter. If you don’t receive a debt validation letter, or it lacks detail, you can make a debt verification request.

Once you receive a debt validation letter, you have 30 days to dispute the debt. skynesher/Getty Updated Mar 25, 2025, 2:51 PM PT ...

Generally, you should send a debt validation request if you’re contacted by a collection agency and you don’t recognize the debt. Send a validation request within 30 days of receiving contact ...

The validation notice should state the debt collector’s mailing address. If it doesn’t, contact the collection agency directly to find out where to send your verification letter.