If a creditor has a priority his debt must be paid when the debtor becomes insolvent before other debts. For example, Congress has granted priority to debts owed the federal government. See Federal Tax Lien Act. The final type of creditor is one who has neither a lien against the debtor's property or is the subject of a statutory priority. Tort law, such as defamation, provides a means for state courts to limit private means of debt collection.
States also regulate debt collection through statute.
Congress has enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to regulate some debt collectors. Creditors use judicial and statutory process to have a debt satisfied. Attachment is a limited statutory remedy whereby a creditor has the property of a debtor seized to satisfy a debt. Replevin allows a creditor to seize goods that he has a property interest in, for example a security interest, to satisfy the debt. Receivership involves the appointing of a third party by a court to dispose of the debtor's property in order to satisfy his debt.