Title 15 — Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73

§1692p Exception for certain bad check enforcement programs operated by private entities

Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 41— - CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER V— - DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES › § 1692p

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

A private company will not be treated as a "debt collector" when it runs a pretrial diversion program for people accused of writing bad checks, as long as the program is created by a State or district attorney and the company works under a contract and under the prosecutor’s direction, supervision, and control. The company must follow state criminal laws and the contract, must not act as a prosecutor on its own, and may contact a person only after the prosecutor finds probable cause and the person failed to pay after a lawful demand. The company’s first written notice must clearly say that the person can dispute the claim; that if the check may be due to theft, forgery, identity theft, or other fraud they may report a crime; and that if the person sends a written dispute within 30 days of first contact, the prosecutor or an authorized employee must determine whether there is probable cause before any further restitution steps. The company may only charge fees allowed by the contract. Definitions: "State or district attorney" = the chief local prosecutor for a county, district, city, or similar area (including state attorneys general acting in that role). "Check" = the meaning given in 12 U.S.C. 5002(6). "Bad check violation" = a state crime for writing a dishonored check.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §1692p

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Subject to paragraph (2), a private entity shall be excluded from the definition of a debt collector, pursuant to the exception provided in section 1692a(6) of this title, with respect to the operation by the entity of a program described in paragraph (2)(A) under a contract described in paragraph (2)(B).

(2)Paragraph (1) shall apply if—

(A)a State or district attorney establishes, within the jurisdiction of such State or district attorney and with respect to alleged bad check violations that do not involve a check described in subsection (b), a pretrial diversion program for alleged bad check offenders who agree to participate voluntarily in such program to avoid criminal prosecution;

(B)a private entity, that is subject to an administrative support services contract with a State or district attorney and operates under the direction, supervision, and control of such State or district attorney, operates the pretrial diversion program described in subparagraph (A); and

(C)in the course of performing duties delegated to it by a State or district attorney under the contract, the private entity referred to in subparagraph (B)—

(i)complies with the penal laws of the State;

(ii)conforms with the terms of the contract and directives of the State or district attorney;

(iii)does not exercise independent prosecutorial discretion;

(iv)contacts any alleged offender referred to in subparagraph (A) for purposes of participating in a program referred to in such paragraph—

(I)only as a result of any determination by the State or district attorney that probable cause of a bad check violation under State penal law exists, and that contact with the alleged offender for purposes of participation in the program is appropriate; and

(II)the alleged offender has failed to pay the bad check after demand for payment, pursuant to State law, is made for payment of the check amount;

(v)includes as part of an initial written communication with an alleged offender a clear and conspicuous statement that—

(I)the alleged offender may dispute the validity of any alleged bad check violation;

(II)where the alleged offender knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that the alleged bad check violation is the result of theft or forgery of the check, identity theft, or other fraud that is not the result of the conduct of the alleged offender, the alleged offender may file a crime report with the appropriate law enforcement agency; and

(III)if the alleged offender notifies the private entity or the district attorney in writing, not later than 30 days after being contacted for the first time pursuant to clause (iv), that there is a dispute pursuant to this subsection, before further restitution efforts are pursued, the district attorney or an employee of the district attorney authorized to make such a determination makes a determination that there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed; and

(vi)charges only fees in connection with services under the contract that have been authorized by the contract with the State or district attorney.

(b)A check is described in this subsection if the check involves, or is subsequently found to involve—

(1)a postdated check presented in connection with a payday loan, or other similar transaction, where the payee of the check knew that the issuer had insufficient funds at the time the check was made, drawn, or delivered;

(2)a stop payment order where the issuer acted in good faith and with reasonable cause in stopping payment on the check;

(3)a check dishonored because of an adjustment to the issuer’s account by the financial institution holding such account without providing notice to the person at the time the check was made, drawn, or delivered;

(4)a check for partial payment of a debt where the payee had previously accepted partial payment for such debt;

(5)a check issued by a person who was not competent, or was not of legal age, to enter into a legal contractual obligation at the time the check was made, drawn, or delivered; or

(6)a check issued to pay an obligation arising from a transaction that was illegal in the jurisdiction of the State or district attorney at the time the check was made, drawn, or delivered.

(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)The term “State or district attorney” means the chief elected or appointed prosecuting attorney in a district, county (as defined in section 2 of title 1), municipality, or comparable jurisdiction, including State attorneys general who act as chief elected or appointed prosecuting attorneys in a district, county (as so defined), municipality or comparable jurisdiction, who may be referred to by a variety of titles such as district attorneys, prosecuting attorneys, commonwealth’s attorneys, solicitors, county attorneys, and state’s attorneys, and who are responsible for the prosecution of State crimes and violations of jurisdiction-specific local ordinances.

(2)The term “check” has the same meaning as in section 5002(6) of title 12.

(3)The term “bad check violation” means a violation of the applicable State criminal law relating to the writing of dishonored checks.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 1692p

Title 15 — Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73