New York City Releases SHIELD Rule FAQ Ahead of October Compliance Webinar
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has released a new FAQ addressing its amended debt collection regulations, known as the SHIELD Rule, and announced an Oct. 5 compliance webinar for regulated businesses preparing for the rule’s Jan. 1, 2027 effective date.
The additional guidance comes after DCWP postponed the rule’s effective date from Sept. 1, 2026, giving debt collectors and other covered businesses more time to make operational changes and address compliance questions.
DCWP Webinar Set for Oct. 5
DCWP will host a “DCWP 101” webinar on the SHIELD Rule at 2 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 5.
Debt collectors and other regulated entities can submit general compliance and operational questions to [email protected]. Questions concerning the newly released FAQ should be submitted before Oct. 5 if stakeholders want them considered for the webinar presentation.
The webinar gives ARM industry professionals an opportunity to seek additional clarification while reviewing their compliance programs ahead of implementation.
FAQ Provides Additional SHIELD Rule Guidance
The FAQ covers 15 subject areas and provides clarification on several requirements likely to affect collection operations.
Among the topics addressed are the rule’s three-contact limit per account during a seven-day period, consent requirements for electronic communications, validation notices, consumer disputes and verification, medical debt, time-barred debt, recordkeeping and account transfers.
The guidance also clarifies that closing an account after receiving a dispute does not necessarily eliminate the obligation to issue a Notice of Unverified Debt when required. For time-barred debts, collectors generally must mail the required notice and wait at least 14 consecutive days before contacting the consumer about the debt.
With the FAQ now available and the October webinar approaching, companies collecting from New York City consumers have additional resources to evaluate their policies, technology and account-level procedures before the SHIELD Rule takes effect Jan. 1.
