Massachusetts Debt Collection Laws and Your Rights

Massachusetts debt collection laws give you more protection than federal rules alone. Chapter 93, Section 49 makes unfair or deceptive collection a violation of the state consumer protection statute, Chapter 93A, and the Attorney General’s regulations at 940 CMR 7.00 spell out the details: what a collector must tell you, when and how often they can call, what tactics are off limits, and what you can recover when a collector breaks the rules.¹ Unlike the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which mostly reaches third-party collectors, the Massachusetts rules also apply to the original creditor.

What a Collector Must Tell You

Within five business days of first contacting you, a collector must send a written validation notice. It has to name the creditor, give the account number, state the current balance, and itemize how interest, fees, payments, and credits have moved that balance from a specific reference date.² The notice must also tell you that you have 30 days to dispute the debt and how to do it.

Send that dispute in writing within the 30-day window. Once the collector has your written dispute, it must stop collecting on the disputed amount until it verifies the debt and mails you supporting documentation.³ A collector that keeps calling or writing after receiving your dispute is violating state regulations, and each contact strengthens any later claim.

When and How Collectors Can Contact You

The Attorney General’s contact rule, 940 CMR 7.04, controls timing, frequency, and channels.

Hours and Home Visits

A collector cannot call at times it knows fall outside your normal waking hours. If it does not know your schedule, calls are limited to 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.⁴ The same hours apply to in-person visits, which are capped at one per 30-day period per debt. The collector must stay outside your home unless you invite them in.

Call Frequency

How often a collector can call depends on the number dialed. At your personal number (home, cell, or a number you gave them), the limit is two calls, texts, or voicemails in any seven-day period per debt. At any other number, the limit is two contacts per 30-day period per debt.⁴ Calls you place to the collector do not count.

Texts, Email, and Social Media

Collectors may use text, email, and direct messages, but texts and voicemails count against the same frequency limits as calls. They also cannot pass along their own communication costs to you, including long-distance charges, text messaging fees, or data usage.

Shutting Off Contact

You can stop calls to your workplace by telling the collector in writing not to call there. An oral request holds for ten days; a written follow-up within seven days makes it permanent. If you hire a lawyer and notify the collector, the collector must route communication through your attorney and can contact you directly only to preserve legal rights such as filing suit.³

Tactics That Are Off Limits

Certain collection tactics are automatically unfair or deceptive in Massachusetts. Any one of them is a Chapter 93A violation.

Threatening arrest or seizure of wages or property without also saying that a court order is required before any of that can happen.⁴
Threatening any action the collector cannot legally take or does not actually intend to take.
Using profane or obscene language during a collection contact.
Telling anyone about your debt other than you, your spouse, or your attorney without your written permission. Even wording on an envelope that hints at a debt is an illegal disclosure.¹
Sending letters or notices designed to look like court papers or official government documents.¹
Contacting you by postcard, since anyone handling it can read it.³

How Long a Collector Has to Sue You

For most consumer debts in Massachusetts, including credit cards and both written and oral contracts, a creditor or collector has six years from the date of your last payment to file suit.⁵ Once that window closes, the debt is time-barred and a court should dismiss any lawsuit on it.

Watch the revival trap. Making even a single payment on an old debt, or signing a written promise to pay, can restart the six-year clock from that date.³ A small “good faith” payment can hand the collector another six years to sue for the full balance. Collectors are still allowed to ask for voluntary payment on a time-barred debt, and Massachusetts courts have held that asking is not by itself illegal.⁵ What they cannot do is sue on it or threaten to. Before you pay or acknowledge anything, confirm the date of your last payment.

What a Judgment Creditor Can Reach

If a creditor wins a judgment, it can try to take wages and property. State law shields a lot of both.

Wages

Massachusetts protects the greater of 85 percent of your gross wages, or 50 times the state or federal minimum wage (whichever is higher) for each week the wages cover. At the current $15.00 state minimum wage, the weekly floor is $750 in protected wages. Most workers see no more than 15 percent of gross pay garnished for consumer debts, and for lower-income workers the minimum-wage multiplier can shield the entire paycheck. These caps do not apply to child support or alimony, which follow separate federal rules. Pensions and retirement accounts, including 401(k)s, IRAs, and ERISA-covered accounts, are generally exempt.⁶

Your Home

Every Massachusetts homeowner automatically has $125,000 in equity protection in a primary residence, no paperwork required. Filing a formal homestead declaration with the registry of deeds raises that to $1,000,000.⁷ A judgment creditor can lien the property but cannot force a sale while your equity stays within the protected amount. Filing the declaration is straightforward and worth doing if you own a home.

Bank Accounts

State law protects $2,500 in a bank account from trustee process. If the money in the account is all from protected sources like Social Security or disability payments, the full balance may be exempt. Keeping protected income in a separate account makes it easier to prove.

If You Are Sued

Ignoring a debt collection lawsuit is the most expensive mistake you can make. If you do not answer, the court enters a default judgment, and the collector can garnish wages, freeze bank accounts, and place liens on your property, with a judgment enforceable for 20 years.

After you are served with a complaint, you have 20 days to mail a written answer to the plaintiff, then five more days to mail the original answer to the court. Missing either deadline can produce a default judgment even when you have solid defenses.⁸

Your answer should respond to each claim and raise every defense you have. Common defenses include:

The statute of limitations has run because more than six years have passed since your last payment.
The debt is not yours, or the collector cannot prove you owe it.
The balance is wrong because of unauthorized fees, miscalculated interest, or unposted payments.
The collector broke Massachusetts collection rules, which supports a Chapter 93A counterclaim.

Many consumer debt cases end up in small claims court, which handles disputes of $7,000 or less. The process is less formal than regular civil court and you do not need a lawyer. If you bring a consumer protection counterclaim, the court can award double or triple damages that exceed the usual $7,000 cap.⁸

Enforcing Your Rights Under Chapter 93A

Any violation of Chapter 93, Section 49 or the 940 CMR 7.00 regulations is automatically an unfair or deceptive practice under Chapter 93A.¹ That link is where the leverage comes from.

Send a Demand Letter First

Before you sue under Chapter 93A, you have to send the collector a written demand letter at least 30 days ahead. The letter must identify you, describe the unfair practice, and explain the harm.⁹ Skip the letter and your case is dismissed. The 30-day window also gives the collector a chance to make a reasonable settlement offer, and refusing a fair offer can cap your damages later.

What You Can Recover

A winning consumer gets the greater of actual damages or $25. If the court finds the violation was willful or knowing, it must award between two and three times actual damages.⁹ A collector that ignores your demand letter or knew it was breaking the rules is exposed to that multiplier almost by definition. The court also awards reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the winning consumer, which is why many lawyers will take these cases on contingency.

The Attorney General as Backup

A court can order a collector to stop the illegal behavior. The Attorney General’s office has its own authority to investigate complaints, bring enforcement actions, and impose penalties, and those actions often produce refunds and mandated changes in business practices.⁹ Filing a complaint with the AG, even without suing personally, creates a record that can feed broader investigations.

A Note on Medical Debt

In January 2026, Governor Healey announced a plan to file new regulations barring medical debt from appearing on credit reports.¹⁰ As of early 2026, the regulations have been announced but not finalized. Until they take effect, all of the collection rules above apply to medical debt the same as to any other consumer debt.

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93 Section 49 – Debt Collection in an Unfair, Deceptive or Unreasonable Manner
2
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Information Does a Debt Collector Have to Give Me About a Debt
3
Mass.gov. 940 CMR 7.00 Debt Collection Regulations
4
Legal Information Institute. 940 CMR 7.04 Contact with Debtors
5
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Law About Debt Collection
6
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 246 Section 28 – Wages and Pensions; Exemptions; Exceptions
7
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Law About Homestead
8
Mass.gov. Small Claims Court
9
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A Section 9 – Civil Actions and Remedies
10
Mass.gov. Governor Healey Announces Plan to Ban Medical Debt from Showing Up on Credit Reports