Year in Review 2025: Key Federal and Florida Legal Changes Impacting Creditors’ Rights

Q: 1. Is medical debt still reportable on credit reports?

Yes—if it is unpaid, over $500, and at least one year old. The three national credit bureaus have voluntarily removed paid medical collections, collections under $500, and those less than 365 days old. The CFPB’s 2025 rule that would have banned most medical debt reporting was vacated in July 2025, so there is no federal regulatory ban in force.

Q: 2. Did Florida ban lawsuits on medical debt?

No. Florida’s HB 7089 shortened the statute of limitations to three years for certain facility-based medical debts and restricted “extraordinary collection actions” until facilities meet transparency and financial-assistance prerequisites. Lawsuits are still permitted within the three-year window, and reporting remains governed by FCRA and bureau policies.

Q: 3. What happened to the overdraft and credit card late fee caps?

The CFPB rules that would have sharply limited overdraft fees and capped most credit card late fees at $8 were undone in 2025—one via the Congressional Review Act and presidential signature, and the other via a federal district court vacating the rule. Banks and issuers may continue to charge fees consistent with existing federal law and contractual disclosures.

Q: 5. Is the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2025 in effect?

No. The CBRA is proposed federal legislation that would consolidate Chapters 7 and 13 into a new Chapter 10 and expand consumer relief, but it has not been enacted. Creditors should monitor it and model potential impacts but continue to operate under the existing Code for now.

Q: 7. What is the Florida judgment interest rate right now?

In 2025, the annual judgment interest rate has ranged from 9.38% (Q1) to 8.65% (Q4), set quarterly by the CFO under §55.03, Fla. Stat. This makes judgments a relatively high-yield asset, increasing the value of timely enforcement for creditors.

Q: 8. How do BNPL changes affect creditors?

FICO is rolling out FICO® Score 10 BNPL and 10T BNPL in fall 2025, which incorporate BNPL data into scoring. Lenders who adopt these models can better differentiate risk among BNPL-heavy consumers. For creditors, that means improved segmentation for underwriting and collections, though adoption will likely be gradual and co-exist with older scoring models.

Last updated: November 17, 2025

2025 has been a volatile but opportunity-rich year for creditors. In Washington, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been reshaped by new leadership and court challenges. Several high-profile federal rules affecting overdraft fees, credit card late fees, and medical debt reporting have been rolled back or vacated. At the same time, long-scheduled bankruptcy dollar adjustments quietly changed who can file which chapter and on what terms.

In Florida, targeted statutory updates—especially in medical debt, judgment interest, and debt collection communications—have sharpened the tools available to creditors, while also imposing new procedural limits in specific sectors like healthcare.

This review is written from a creditors’ rights perspective. It is designed for lenders, servicers, debt buyers, landlords, and other institutional creditors operating in or against assets located in Florida. It is general information, not legal advice; individual cases still require fact-specific analysis and counsel.

1. Federal Enforcement Climate: CFPB Retrenches, States Step Forward

The single biggest macro-shift for creditors in 2025 has been the change in the federal enforcement climate.

In early 2025, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra was removed, and leadership changed hands under the Trump administration.
Court and budget battles have led to the CFPB’s operations being significantly curtailed, with plans disclosed in litigation to fire a large share of its roughly 1,700 employees.
The administration has also attacked CFPB’s funding structure and moved to dismantle or sharply restrict the agency’s authority.

For creditors, that translates into:

Reduced risk of aggressive, theory-driven enforcement actions (e.g., disparate-impact or purely statistical theories).
Higher importance of state enforcement, especially in consumer-friendly states, and private plaintiff activity under state UDAP and debt collection statutes.
Greater room to innovate with AI, digital collections, and pricing models—but with the expectation that obvious, concrete consumer harm can still draw scrutiny.

Bottom line: federal pressure has eased, but litigation risk has not disappeared—it has shifted to state regulators, state AGs, and class action plaintiffs. Creditors who operate nationally need a state-by-state risk map rather than assuming federal preemption will carry the day.

2. Medical Debt & Credit Reporting: Narrower, Not Gone

2.1 National Framework After the CFPB Rule Was Vacated

In January 2025, the CFPB finalized a rule that would have removed most medical bills from credit reports and barred their use in credit decisions, with an estimated $49 billion in medical debt to be wiped from reports for about 15 million Americans.

However, in July 2025, a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas vacated that rule in its entirety, holding that the CFPB exceeded its authority under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This means:

There is no federal regulatory ban currently in effect that prevents medical debt from appearing on credit reports or being considered by lenders.
The statutory framework reverts to the FCRA and existing case law, subject to other federal and state limitations.

2.2 Voluntary Credit Bureau Policies

Even without the CFPB rule, the three nationwide credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—have adopted voluntary nationwide limits on medical collection reporting:

Paid medical collections are removed from credit reports.
One-year grace period: medical collection debt does not appear until it is at least 365 days old.
Small-balance exclusion: medical collections under $500 are not reported.

Practically, that means:

Only unpaid medical debt, over $500, and more than one year old is generally reported today.
Once such debt is paid, it must be removed under bureau policies.

For creditors, this creates a narrower but still potent reporting channel. Medical debt continues to be a lawful tradeline under the FCRA, but only for a subset of accounts.

2.3 Florida’s Medical Debt Law (HB 7089)

Florida’s HB 7089 (effective 2024) reshaped medical debt collections at the state level, primarily by regulating how and when licensed facilities may pursue “extraordinary collection actions” (ECAs).

Key points affecting creditors:

Three-year statute of limitations for actions to collect medical debt related to services provided by hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and certain urgent care facilities—running from the date the debt is referred to a third-party collection agency.
Restrictions on ECAs (such as liens, garnishments, foreclosures, bank account seizures, and civil actions) until the facility:
- Provides required price transparency and estimates; and
- Completes internal review of financial assistance eligibility and charge disputes.
Enhanced exemptions for certain personal property in actions on hospital medical debt.

Importantly, HB 7089 does not ban credit reporting. Once a qualifying medical debt meets the bureaus’ voluntary criteria (unpaid, over $500, older than one year), it can still be reported consistent with the FCRA. The Florida statute limits timing and methods of enforcement, not the existence of tradelines themselves.

2.4 Practical Takeaways for Creditors

Segment your medical portfolio. Identify accounts that (a) exceed $500, (b) are at least 365 days old, and (c) have cleared HB 7089 pre-ECA prerequisites—those are your most viable reporting and litigation candidates.
Tighten documentation. Because ECAs are conditioned on internal review and notice processes, Florida facilities and their third-party collectors should maintain meticulous records of estimates, financial assistance screening, and grievance handling.
Revisit credit risk models. With medical debt once again legally usable but practically limited, lenders can cautiously reincorporate medical tradelines into underwriting where appropriate, while recognizing that the reported universe is narrower and potentially “cleaner” than in prior years.

3. Overdraft & Late Fees: Caps Rolled Back

Two high-profile CFPB initiatives aimed at “junk fees” were effectively neutralized in 2025, to the benefit of banks and card issuers:

A Biden-era overdraft fee rule that would have capped fees at $5 for large institutions was overturned under the Congressional Review Act and then repealed when President Trump signed the CRA resolution in May 2025.
The CFPB’s credit card late fee rule, which sought to cap most late fees at $8, was vacated by a federal district court in April 2025, following a joint motion between the CFPB and industry challengers.

For creditors:

Existing fee schedules remain largely intact, subject to CARD Act and UDAP/UDAAP limits.
Revenue from overdraft and late fees is more stable than it would have been under the vacated rules.
There is still a need to monitor “abusive” or deceptive design—especially when layering AI-driven nudging or dynamic pricing on top of traditional fee structures.

4. Bankruptcy: Inflation Adjustments and a Potential Code Rewrite

4.1 2025 Inflation Adjustments (Effective April 1, 2025)

Every three years, key dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code are automatically adjusted for inflation. The 2025 adjustments—effective for cases filed on or after April 1, 2025—amount to roughly a 13% increase across most categories.

Highlights for creditors:

Chapter 13 debt limits increased:
Unsecured debt limit rose from $465,275 to approximately $526,700, and secured debt limit from $1,395,875 to about $1,580,125.
Subchapter V small business debt limit increased from $3,024,725 (after a 2024 sunset) to approximately $3,424,000.
Preference thresholds and exemption amounts (including the minimum for preference actions under §547(c)(9)) also increased, which can shrink the universe of economically viable clawback litigation.

For creditors and servicers, these adjustments mean:

More debtors qualify for Chapter 13, potentially increasing repayment plan filings instead of straight Chapter 7 liquidations.
Some small business debtors remain within Subchapter V, which can streamline reorganizations and impact recovery strategies.
Low-dollar preference claims may no longer be cost-effective, and internal thresholds for pursuing clawbacks should be recalibrated.

4.2 The Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2025 (Proposed)

The Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2025 (CBRA) remains a bill, not enacted law, but it would be a radical rewrite if passed. It would consolidate Chapters 7 and 13 into a new Chapter 10, remove means testing, and expand discharge eligibility.

From a creditor’s perspective, CBRA would:

Make it easier for many consumers to qualify for relief.
Potentially narrow nondischargeability and raise burdens of proof on creditors.
Limit use of reaffirmation agreements and certain reaffirmation-based workout strategies.

Even though it is only proposed legislation, prudent creditors should:

Run scenario analyses on portfolios heavily exposed to consumer unsecured or lightly secured debts.
Accelerate pre-bankruptcy workout strategies and documentation improvements that will remain valuable under any regime.
Monitor committee reports and industry commentary; if CBRA gains traction, operational changes might need to be implemented quickly.

5. Restructuring & “Uptier” Transactions: Serta Simmons and Beyond

The long-running litigation over Serta Simmons’ 2020 “uptier” financing produced a major decision from the Fifth Circuit in late 2024/early 2025. The court held that Serta’s transaction—offering select lenders priority treatment at the expense of others—did not qualify as a permissible “open market purchase” under the credit agreement’s exception to pro rata sharing.

Key creditor takeaways:

Courts are willing to look beyond formalistic drafting to the commercial reality of whether a transaction remains “open market” and pro-rata in spirit.
Minority lenders have stronger litigation leverage to challenge opportunistic uptier and liability management exchange (LME) structures that dilute their recovery.
New syndicated credit agreements are being re-drafted with tighter definitions and consent rights, which Florida lenders should be reviewing carefully when participating in new deals or amendments.

For Florida-based creditors and servicers, Serta is a signal to:

Audit existing portfolio documentation for ambiguous amendment and “open market purchase” language.
Preserve communications and deal files in any distressed situation where a subset of lenders is being favored.
Consider early involvement of restructuring counsel when faced with aggressive LME proposals.

6. Florida-Specific Developments in 2025

6.1 FCCPA “Quiet Hours” & Email (SB 232)

Florida’s Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) has long prohibited debt collection communications between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. in the debtor’s time zone. In 2025, SB 232 amended §559.72(17) to clarify that the “quiet hours” restriction does not apply to email communications.

For creditors, this is one of the most creditor-friendly clarifications of the year:

You may send collection emails 24/7 without violating the statutory quiet hours—so long as the emails themselves are not harassing, deceptive, or otherwise unlawful.
Phone calls, texts, and other “real-time” communications are still subject to the 9 p.m.–8 a.m. restriction.
Well-designed email campaigns can expand contact windows and reduce FDCPA/FCCPA risk compared to repeated calls.

6.2 Judgment Interest Rates: Still High in 2025

Florida’s statutory judgment interest rate is set quarterly by the Chief Financial Officer under §55.03, Fla. Stat. In 2025, the rates have remained elevated:

January 1, 2025: 9.38% per annum
April 1, 2025: 9.15% per annum
July 1, 2025: 8.90% per annum
October 1, 2025: 8.65% per annum

This high-rate environment:

Rewards timely judgment enforcement—each quarter that passes accrues interest at a relatively rich rate.
Makes early negotiated resolutions attractive for many debtors once judgment is entered, especially in larger cases.
Justifies continued investment in judgment domestication and post-judgment remedies for multi-state creditors with Florida-based debtors or assets.

6.3 UCRERA: Mature but Increasingly Important for Secured Creditors

Although the Uniform Commercial Real Estate Receivership Act (UCRERA) became effective in Florida in 2020, 2025 has seen a noticeable uptick in commentary and use, particularly as interest rates and commercial defaults put pressure on income-producing properties. UCRERA is codified in Chapter 714, Florida Statutes.

For secured creditors, UCRERA offers:

Clear, codified standards for appointing a receiver in commercial real estate disputes.
Expanded receiver powers to operate, stabilize, and monetize collateral while foreclosure or other litigation proceeds.
A framework that is often faster and more predictable than bankruptcy for protecting and maximizing value in distressed CRE assets.

If you are a Florida secured creditor in the commercial real estate space, UCRERA should be an integral part of your default and workout playbook.

7. Credit Scoring, BNPL, and Data: How Lenders’ Risk Models Are Changing

Credit decisioning tools also evolved in 2025 in ways that matter to creditors:

BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) data enters mainstream scoring. FICO announced new models—FICO® Score 10 BNPL and 10T BNPL—that incorporate BNPL trade lines, expected to roll out beginning in fall 2025.
These changes are designed to capture “phantom debt” and better risk-rank consumers who rely heavily on BNPL but have thin traditional credit files.
Adoption will likely be gradual, as many lenders still rely on older FICO models or VantageScore versions.

For creditors and servicers, this matters because:

New entrants to your portfolio may have materially different risk profiles once BNPL data is fully integrated.
Collections prioritization can leverage enhanced scores, distinguishing consumers who are chronically overextended from those facing temporary liquidity shocks.
When combined with internal AI models, BNPL-aware scores can support more precise segmentation, settlement, and workout strategies.

8. AI, Automation, and Data Privacy in Collections

Regulators and courts are still catching up to AI-driven collection tools. In the meantime, 2025 illustrates both opportunity and risk for creditors adopting automation:

The CFPB’s pivot toward focusing on concrete, provable harm rather than abstract statistical theories gives well-run creditors more room to deploy AI scoring and digital outreach—so long as it is not deceptive or demonstrably abusive.
Large-scale automation increases the risk of systemic misreporting or repeated, high-frequency contact that can be characterized as harassment.
Congress has moved toward stricter data broker and credit bureau privacy obligations, with higher penalties for failures (developments that will come into fuller force in 2026).

Practical steps for creditors:

Maintain human-in-the-loop oversight over AI-driven communication strategies.
Document decision logic for scoring and outreach to defend against claims of arbitrary or discriminatory treatment.
Align FDCPA/FCCPA compliance with your technology stack—e.g., capping contact attempts, logging consent, and honoring opt-outs across channels.

9. Action Checklist for Florida Creditors Going into 2026

Update your medical debt playbook to reflect:
- Bureau policies on paid/under-$500/under-1-year debts;
- HB 7089’s three-year limitations period and ECA prerequisites; and
- The vacatur of the CFPB’s medical debt reporting ban.
Recalibrate default and settlement strategies for consumer portfolios in light of:
- Overdraft and late fee rules being rolled back;
- Higher bankruptcy dollar thresholds; and
- Potential future CBRA enactment.
Leverage Florida-specific advantages:
- Use email strategically under SB 232’s FCCPA amendment;
- Factor high judgment interest rates into valuation and negotiation; and
- Deploy UCRERA receiverships in distressed commercial real estate cases.
Modernize your data and AI governance to handle:
- BNPL-aware scoring models;
- AI-driven collections and communication; and
- Emerging federal and state privacy requirements.

For institutional creditors in Florida, 2025 has been a year of regulatory tailwinds with targeted headwinds. Those who refine their policies now—especially around medical debt, email communications, bankruptcy strategy, and AI—will be best positioned to protect and enhance their recovery rates in 2026 and beyond.

FAQ: 2025 Legal Changes Affecting Creditors’ Rights

1. Is medical debt still reportable on credit reports?

Yes—if it is unpaid, over $500, and at least one year old. The three national credit bureaus have voluntarily removed paid medical collections, collections under $500, and those less than 365 days old. The CFPB’s 2025 rule that would have banned most medical debt reporting was vacated in July 2025, so there is no federal regulatory ban in force.

2. Did Florida ban lawsuits on medical debt?

No. Florida’s HB 7089 shortened the statute of limitations to three years for certain facility-based medical debts and restricted “extraordinary collection actions” until facilities meet transparency and financial-assistance prerequisites. Lawsuits are still permitted within the three-year window, and reporting remains governed by FCRA and bureau policies.

3. What happened to the overdraft and credit card late fee caps?

The CFPB rules that would have sharply limited overdraft fees and capped most credit card late fees at $8 were undone in 2025—one via the Congressional Review Act and presidential signature, and the other via a federal district court vacating the rule. Banks and issuers may continue to charge fees consistent with existing federal law and contractual disclosures.

4. How did bankruptcy thresholds change in 2025?

Effective April 1, 2025, many dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code increased by about 13%. For example, Chapter 13 debt limits rose to approximately $526,700 (unsecured) and $1,580,125 (secured), and the Subchapter V small business debt cap increased to about $3,424,000. These changes expand eligibility for certain debtors and can alter creditors’ recovery scenarios.

5. Is the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2025 in effect?

No. The CBRA is proposed federal legislation that would consolidate Chapters 7 and 13 into a new Chapter 10 and expand consumer relief, but it has not been enacted. Creditors should monitor it and model potential impacts but continue to operate under the existing Code for now.

6. Can Florida creditors send collection emails at night?

Yes, generally. Florida’s 2025 amendment to the FCCPA clarifies that the 9 p.m.–8 a.m. “quiet hours” restriction does not apply to email communications, though calls and other live contact remain restricted. Emails must still comply with all other FCCPA and FDCPA provisions (no harassment, false representations, etc.).

7. What is the Florida judgment interest rate right now?

In 2025, the annual judgment interest rate has ranged from 9.38% (Q1) to 8.65% (Q4), set quarterly by the CFO under §55.03, Fla. Stat. This makes judgments a relatively high-yield asset, increasing the value of timely enforcement for creditors.

8. How do BNPL changes affect creditors?

FICO is rolling out FICO® Score 10 BNPL and 10T BNPL in fall 2025, which incorporate BNPL data into scoring. Lenders who adopt these models can better differentiate risk among BNPL-heavy consumers. For creditors, that means improved segmentation for underwriting and collections, though adoption will likely be gradual and co-exist with older scoring models.

This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Creditors should consult qualified counsel about specific situations or questions under Florida and federal law.

Year in Review: Key Florida Legal Changes Impacting Creditors’ Rights