IB 
Union Calendar No. 690 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5082 
[Report No. 115–892] 
To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude law firms and 
licensed attorneys who are engaged in activities related to legal pro-
ceedings from the definition of a debt collector, to amend the Consumer 
Financial Protection Act of 2010 to prevent the Bureau of Consumer 
Financial Protection from exercising supervisory or enforcement authority 
with respect to attorneys when undertaking certain actions related to 
legal proceedings, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 23, 2018 
Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia (for himself and Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Fi-
nancial Services 
AUGUST 7, 2018 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 
and ordered to be printed 
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A BILL 
To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude 
law firms and licensed attorneys who are engaged in 
activities related to legal proceedings from the definition 
of a debt collector, to amend the Consumer Financial 
Protection Act of 2010 to prevent the Bureau of Con-
sumer Financial Protection from exercising supervisory 
or enforcement authority with respect to attorneys when 
undertaking certain actions related to legal proceedings, 
and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Practice of Law Tech-
nical Clarification Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF LAW FIRMS AND ATTORNEYS FROM 
THE DEFINITION OF DEBT COLLECTOR WHEN 
ENGAGED IN THE PRACTICE OF LAW. 
Section 803(6) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as sub-
paragraph (G); and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(F) any law firm or licensed attorney, to 
the extent that— 
‘‘(i) such firm or attorney is engaged 
in litigation activities in connection with a 
legal action in a court of law to collect a 
debt on behalf of a client, including— 
‘‘(I) serving, filing, or conveying 
formal legal pleadings, discovery re-
quests, or other documents pursuant 
to the applicable statute or rules of 
civil procedure; 
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‘‘(II) communicating in, or at the 
direction of, a court of law (including 
in depositions or settlement con-
ferences) or in the enforcement of a 
judgment; or 
‘‘(III) any other activities en-
gaged in as part of the practice of 
law, under the laws of a State in 
which the attorney is licensed, that re-
late to the legal action; and 
‘‘(ii) such legal action is served on the 
defendant debtor, or service is attempted, 
in accordance with the applicable statute 
or rules of civil procedure; and’’. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO BUREAU AUTHORITY WITH RE-
SPECT TO PRACTICE OF LAW. 
Section 1027(e)(2)(B) of the Consumer Financial 
Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5517(e)(2)(B)) is 
amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 
‘‘, unless such financial product or service is provided by 
a licensed attorney who is not a debt collector as described 
under section 803(6)(F) of the Fair Debt Collection Prac-
tices Act.’’. 
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