Key takeaways

• On December 3, the New York Department of Financial Services issued its final regulations on debt collection by third-party debt collectors and debt buyers, which impose significant new requirements upon these entities.
• The regulations go beyond the existing requirements in the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and would require, among other things, additional initial disclosures to consumers, disclosures on debt for which the statute of limitations may be expired and requirements related to the substantiation of consumer debts.
• Although the regulations do not extend to creditors, these entities likely will be impacted by having to provide additional required information to any third-party debt collectors and debt buyers with whom they do business.