All terms

7-in-7

7-in-7 — 7-in-7 is the Regulation F telephone-frequency rule under which a debt collector is presumed to comply with the FDCPA's harassment prohibition if it places no more than seven calls to a particular person about a particular debt within seven consecutive days, and none within seven days after a telephone conversation about that debt.

The two prongs sit at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)(i)(A) and (B); exceeding either flips the presumption against the collector under § 1006.14(b)(2)(ii). The exclusions at § 1006.14(b)(3) matter operationally: calls placed with the person's prior consent within the following seven days, calls that do not connect to the dialed number, and calls to the parties listed in § 1006.6(d)(1)(ii)–(vi) do not count. Note the unit of measurement is per person per debt, not per account or per phone number, which is why dialer configuration and account-level call counters have to be reconciled before an oversight review.

See also

• Limited-content messageA limited-content message is a voicemail for a consumer that contains only the content Regulation F permits and, because it is defined not to be a "communication" in connection with debt collection, can be left without triggering the mini Miranda or risking a third-party disclosure.
• Right-party contactA right-party contact, or RPC, is a live conversation with the consumer actually obligated on the account, as opposed to a wrong number, a third party, or an unanswered attempt.
• Disposition codeA disposition code is the standardized value a collector or system writes to an account after a contact attempt, recording the outcome — right-party contact, wrong number, no answer, refusal, promise to pay, dispute, attorney representation — and driving the next scheduled action.

Where this appears

• Migrating from Collection-Master
• Collection-Master alternatives: what a replacement has to carry
• Collection-Master vs CollectMax: ownership, architecture and pricing model
• Regulation F's 7-in-7 rule in practice
• Collection-Master firms: the questions to ask Vertican
• Operational guides for collections law firms
• How Does the 7-in-7 Call Frequency Rule in 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2) Actually Count?

Last reviewed 2026-07-29

This is an informational reference, not legal advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. Limitations periods turn on facts this page cannot know — which state's law governs, the contract type, when the claim accrued, and whether anything tolled or revived it. Confirm against the primary source and your own counsel before acting.