Write to the address on the agency’s notice, by the end date printed on your validation notice. The letter says only what you tick, and nothing is ticked to start.
Sample letter to a medical collection agency
It fills in as you type. Anything you leave empty stays in brackets, so you can see what is still missing. It says only what you tick.
Based on the CFPB’s sample letters. CFPB, what to do when a debt collector contacts you.
Your notice sets your actual date.
It reminds you 14 days before, when that day is still to come, and on the day, at 9 in the morning. The calendar file says “A date for your medical bill” and links to MedBillCheckup. It names no provider, amount or person, and nothing you type here is sent to us.
Before you send it
- If your written dispute reaches a collection agency within the dispute period printed on its validation notice, it must pause collecting the amount you dispute until it sends you verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment. (15 U.S.C. 1692g(b), disputed debts; 12 CFR 1006.38(c) and (d)(2))
- A request for the name and address of the original creditor, submitted in writing within the same period, pauses collection too, until the agency sends them. (15 U.S.C. 1692g(b), disputed debts; 12 CFR 1006.38(c) and (d)(2))
- If it reports a disputed debt to a credit bureau, it must say it is disputed. (15 U.S.C. 1692e(8))
- Disputing does not cancel the debt. You still might be sued or have the debt reported to a credit bureau. (adapted from CFPB sample letter 1; and letter 3, which say it of stopping contact)
- These rules cover collection agencies, not the hospital’s own billing office. (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6), who is a debt collector)
- If you do not dispute the debt, that is not an admission that you owe it. (15 U.S.C. 1692g(c))
- You can also tick the response form at the bottom of the agency’s notice. (12 CFR 1006.34(c)(4), the response form)
The date printed on your validation notice is the one that counts. We show the date you type and never work out our own.
This letter is not legal advice. It is based on the CFPB’s sample letters, which the CFPB also says are not legal advice. (CFPB, what to do when a debt collector contacts you)
How a dispute works from the start, and what to write to the billing office as well: How to dispute a medical bill. Every official step after the billing office, with its usual deadline: What to do if the billing office says no.
Where to send it
- Use the address for billing questions or correspondence, not the “remit to” or payment address: it is for payments, and a letter sent there may not reach the people who answer questions. If the bill gives only a payment address, call the number on the bill and ask where written questions go.
- If a collection agency has the bill, write to the address on its notice, before the date the notice gives. (CFPB rule, 12 CFR 1006.34)
- For your insurer, use the address on the denial notice or the Explanation of Benefits (EOB).
How to send it
- A message in the patient portal, or an email: free, and dated. Ask for a written answer.
- A fax: free online fax services exist. Keep the confirmation page.
- Certified Mail with an electronic return receipt, bought at a post office: $9.28 in all. That is $5.55 for Certified Mail, $2.91 for the receipt and $0.82 postage for a 1 oz letter. A paper green card costs $4.65 instead of $2.91. The receipt is proof it arrived. (USPS Notice 123, prices from October 4, 2026; USPS, Certified Mail basics)
- Certified Mail nobody collects is held at the post office for 15 days, then returned to you. USPS keeps its record for 2 years. (USPS, Certified Mail basics; USPS, tracking basics)
- A Certificate of Mailing proves the day you sent it, not that it arrived: $2.45 plus postage, $3.27 in all. (USPS Notice 123, prices from October 4, 2026)
- Keep a copy of your letter and your proof. Send copies of documents, never originals. (CMS: “Don’t mail any original documents”)
Send it so you can prove when it arrived, keep a copy, and send copies of documents, never originals.
Credit reports
- You can get your credit reports free every week at AnnualCreditReport.com. (FTC, free credit reports)
- By their own voluntary policy, announced in 2022 and 2023, the three nationwide credit bureaus leave off credit reports the medical collections that were paid in full or that started under $500, and an unpaid medical collection waits a year before it appears. It is their policy, not a law, and they can change it. (The three credit bureaus’ news release, April 11, 2023)
- To dispute something on a credit report, write to the credit bureau that shows it and to the company that reported it. The CFPB has a sample letter for each. (CFPB, sample letters to dispute information on a credit report; 15 U.S.C. 1681i, disputes with a credit bureau)
- Once you dispute a debt with the company that reported it, that company must say it is disputed whenever it reports it. (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(3))
Your state may have a law limiting medical debt on credit reports
Federal suits say Colorado’s and Maine’s laws are preempted by federal law, and an October 2025 CFPB interpretive rule says federal law generally preempts state laws like these. A court may decide a state’s law does not apply. (CFPB interpretive rule, October 28, 2025; a suit about Colorado’s law; a suit about Maine’s law)
| State | The law | Source |
|---|---|---|
| California | Civil Code 1785.27 (as amended by AB 1521, from January 1, 2026); Health and Safety Code 127425(f)(1) (SB 1061, from January 1, 2025) No one may furnish information about a medical debt to a credit bureau. A hospital, or a collection agency or debt buyer that holds its patient debt, may not report adverse information to one. | Civil Code 1785.27; Health and Safety Code 127425 |
| Colorado | HB23-1126 (signed June 5, 2023) A credit bureau may not make a credit report with adverse information it knows or should know concerns medical debt. | Colorado General Assembly, HB23-1126 |
| Connecticut | Public Act 24-6 (from July 1, 2024) A health care provider or collection entity doing business in the state may not report any part of a medical debt to a credit bureau. | Public Act 24-6 |
| Delaware | 6 Del. C. 2507J No one may report a medical debt to a credit bureau, and a credit bureau may not make a report it knows or should know holds medical debt information. | Delaware Code, title 6, chapter 25J |
| Maine | 10 MRSA 1310-H(4) A credit bureau may not report medical debt, and a medical creditor, debt collector or debt buyer may not report it to one. | Maine Revised Statutes, title 10, section 1310-H |
| Maryland | HB 1020, chapter 121 of 2025 A credit bureau may not include adverse information about medical debt in a credit report, or keep information about medical debt in a person’s file. | Maryland General Assembly, HB 1020 (2025) |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Statutes 332C.03 A collecting party may not report medical debt to a credit bureau, and a credit bureau may not make a report that holds it. | Minnesota Statutes 332C.03 |
| New York | General Business Law 380-j(a)(3) A credit bureau may not report or keep information about a medical debt. | New York General Business Law 380-j |
| Vermont | 9 V.S.A. 2466d A credit bureau may not report or keep information about a medical debt. | Vermont Statutes, 9 V.S.A. 2466d |
| Virginia | Code of Virginia 59.1-444.4 Health care facilities, licensed providers and collection entities may not report a medical debt to a credit bureau. | Code of Virginia 59.1-444.4 |
| Washington | RCW 19.16.250(28)(a)(iii) A licensed collection agency collecting a medical debt may not report adverse information to a credit bureau. | RCW 19.16.250 |
Ask about the bill itself too
Ask the hospital for an itemized bill with the free itemized bill letter, and open it in MedBillCheckup. It is read on your device, never uploaded, and the free check shows how many things are worth asking the billing office about. The full list, with the exact questions to ask, is $6.99 for one bill, or included with Pro at $9.99 a month. Can’t pay it? The financial assistance letter asks the hospital for its policy and the application form.
Check my bill, freeQuestions
What is a debt validation letter?
It is what people often call a letter like this one. When a collection agency first contacts you about a debt, it must give you validation information: the debt, the amount, and how to dispute it and by when. That notice is the validation notice. Your letter disputes the debt, asks the agency for verification, or both (12 CFR 1006.34).
By when should I send it?
By the end date printed on your validation notice: the date printed on your validation notice is the one that counts, and we never work it out for you. If your written dispute reaches the agency within that period, it must pause collecting the amount you dispute until it sends you verification or a copy of a judgment (15 U.S.C. 1692g(b); 12 CFR 1006.38). You can still write after that date. The pause covers a written dispute submitted within the period, so send it early enough to arrive by the date printed on your notice.
Does this letter pause collection or change my credit report?
A written dispute submitted within the period pauses collection of the amount you dispute, once the agency receives it, until the agency sends verification. It does not cancel the debt. The law’s text does not say whether the agency may report the debt during that pause, so we make no promise about your credit report. If the agency reports a debt it knows is disputed, it must say it is disputed (15 U.S.C. 1692e(8)).
The hospital still has the bill, not an agency. Is this the right letter?
No. These rules cover collection agencies, not a hospital collecting its own bill (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)). Write to the billing office instead: our free itemized bill letter asks for every charge, and the guide What to do if the billing office says no lists the next official steps.
Is this legal advice?
No. The letter says only what you tick, and it is based on the CFPB’s public sample letters, which the CFPB also says are not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, a legal aid office or a lawyer can help.
Know someone a collection agency wrote to about a medical bill?
MedBillCheckup provides informational assistance only. It does not determine whether a charge is medically necessary, fraudulent, illegal, or definitively incorrect, and it is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer, doctor, insurer, or certified medical billing specialist.