Unfair and Deceptive Practices (UDAP)

The consumer-protection laws, one federal and one in every state, that make it illegal for a business to mislead you or treat you unfairly - and the state versions are the ones a consumer can actually sue under.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

"UDAP" is shorthand for unfair or deceptive acts or practices, the conduct that consumer-protection statutes prohibit. A practice is deceptive when a representation or omission is likely to mislead a reasonable consumer about something that matters to their decision - a false claim, a hidden fee, a misleading picture, a material fact left out. A practice is unfair when it causes substantial injury that consumers cannot reasonably avoid and that is not outweighed by benefits, which is a broader and more contested idea. Neither requires proof that the business meant to mislead anyone.

The federal statute is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and gives a consumer no right to sue on their own. The right to sue comes from state law: every state has a consumer-protection statute of its own, variously called a UDAP act, a consumer fraud act, an unfair trade practices act or a consumer legal remedies act. They differ in what they cover, whether a consumer must show reliance or actual loss, and what can be recovered - many allow multiplied damages and attorney's fees, which is what makes a small claim viable.

These statutes are the general-purpose tool of consumer law. Where a specific law exists for the problem - debt collection, credit reporting, warranties - it usually applies first, and a UDAP claim is pleaded alongside it. Where no specific law fits, the UDAP statute is frequently the only claim available.

Where this comes from

When people hire a lawyer for this

This is the claim to ask about when something felt wrong and no specific statute seems to name it - a fee that was never disclosed, a service that was not what was advertised, a contract term you were told meant something else. A lawyer's first task is which state statute applies and what it requires you to show, since the answer decides whether the claim is worth a demand letter, a small-claims filing, or nothing.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Consumer Protection law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Consumer Rights” has no Consumer Protection listing yet and opens the broader page.

• Alabama (Birmingham)
  +1 other city

  • Montgomery
• Alaska (Anchorage)
• Arizona (Chandler)
  +6 other cities

  • Gilbert
  • Glendale
  • Mesa
  • Phoenix
  • Scottsdale
  • Tucson
• Arkansas (Little Rock)
• California (Fontana)
  +19 other cities

  • Anaheim
  • Bakersfield
  • Chula Vista
  • Fremont
  • Fresno
  • Irvine
  • Long Beach
  • Los Angeles
  • Riverside
  • San Bernardino
  • San Diego
  • Santa Ana
  • and 7 more with fewer listed firms
• Colorado (Aurora)
  +2 other cities

  • Colorado Springs
  • Denver
• Connecticut (Bridgeport)
• Delaware (Wilmington, Consumer Rights)
• District of Columbia (Washington)
• Florida (Hialeah)
  +5 other cities

  • Jacksonville
  • Miami
  • Orlando
  • St Petersburg
  • Tampa
• Georgia (Atlanta)
• Hawaii (Honolulu, Consumer Rights)
• Idaho (Boise, Consumer Rights)
• Illinois (Chicago)
• Indiana (Fort Wayne)
  +1 other city

  • Indianapolis
• Iowa (Des Moines)
• Kansas (Wichita)
• Kentucky (Lexington)
  +1 other city

  • Louisville
• Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
  +2 other cities

  • New Orleans
  • Shreveport
• Maine (Portland)
• Maryland (Baltimore)
• Massachusetts (Boston)
• Michigan (Detroit)
• Minnesota (Minneapolis)
  +1 other city

  • Saint Paul
• Mississippi (Jackson)
• Missouri (Kansas City)
  +1 other city

  • St. Louis
• Montana (Billings)
• Nebraska (Lincoln)
  +1 other city

  • Omaha
• Nevada (Henderson)
  +2 other cities

  • Las Vegas
  • North Las Vegas
• New Hampshire (Manchester)
• New Jersey (Jersey City)
  +1 other city

  • Newark
• New Mexico (Albuquerque)
• New York (Buffalo)
  +2 other cities

  • New York City
  • Rochester
• North Carolina (Charlotte)
  +5 other cities

  • Durham
  • Fayetteville
  • Greensboro
  • Raleigh
  • Winston-Salem
• North Dakota (Fargo, Consumer Rights)
• Ohio (Cincinnati)
  +3 other cities

  • Cleveland
  • Columbus
  • Toledo
• Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
  +1 other city

  • Tulsa
• Oregon (Portland)
• Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
  +1 other city

  • Pittsburgh
• Rhode Island (Providence)
• South Carolina (Columbia)
• South Dakota (Sioux Falls, Consumer Rights)
• Tennessee (Nashville)
  +1 other city

  • Memphis
• Texas (Houston)
  +12 other cities

  • Arlington
  • Austin
  • Corpus Christi
  • Dallas
  • El Paso
  • Fort Worth
  • Garland
  • Irving
  • Laredo
  • Lubbock
  • Plano
  • San Antonio
• Utah (Salt Lake City, Consumer Rights)
• Vermont (Burlington)
• Virginia (Richmond)
  +3 other cities

  • Chesapeake
  • Norfolk
  • Virginia Beach
• Washington (Seattle)
  +1 other city

  • Tacoma
• West Virginia (Charleston)
• Wisconsin (Madison)
  +1 other city

  • Milwaukee
• Wyoming (Cheyenne)

Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

• Automatic Renewal and Negative Option SubscriptionsThe federal and state rules on subscriptions that keep charging until you cancel - what a seller must disclose and obtain before enrolling you, the cancellation mechanism it must offer, and where the law currently stands.
• Billing Error Dispute (Credit Card Chargeback)The federal procedure for disputing a charge on a credit card statement - a written process with deadlines on both sides that the card issuer must follow, not a courtesy it may offer.
• Class ActionOne lawsuit brought by named plaintiffs on behalf of a larger group with the same injury.
• Cooling-Off Rule (Canceling a Door-to-Door Sale)The federal right to cancel certain sales made at your home or away from the seller's regular place of business, the notice the seller must give you, and the many sales it does not reach.
• Credit Freeze and Fraud AlertTwo free federal tools for stopping identity thieves from opening accounts in your name - one that locks your credit file, one that warns lenders to check who they are dealing with.
• Credit Report DisputeThe federal process for forcing a credit bureau and the company that reported an item to investigate information you say is wrong.
• Data Breach Notification RightsWhat a business must tell you when your personal information is exposed, which laws require it, what the notice must say, and what a person whose data was breached can actually claim.
• Debt Validation Notice and Disputing a DebtThe written notice a debt collector must send when it first contacts you, what it must contain, and the dispute right it opens - during which the collector must stop until it verifies the debt.
• Fair Debt Collection (Collector Conduct Rules)Federal limits on what a third-party debt collector may say and do - including a written demand that stops contact, and a 30-day right to make them verify the debt.
• Gift Card and Prepaid Card RulesThe federal limits on gift card expiration and fees, the state laws that go further, and the separate protections for reloadable prepaid cards used like bank accounts.
• Identity Theft Recovery RightsThe federal rights a victim of identity theft can use to remove fraudulent accounts from a credit report, obtain the records of what the thief did, stop the debts being collected, and limit liability for the charges.
• Implied Warranty and the Magnuson-Moss ActThe promises the law reads into a sale whether or not anyone wrote them down, and the federal act that limits how a seller can take them away.
• Mandatory Arbitration ClauseA term in a consumer contract that sends any dispute to a private arbitrator instead of a court, usually alone rather than as part of a class - and federal law makes most of them enforceable.
• Right of Rescission (Home Loans)A federal right to cancel certain loans secured by your home during a short window after signing - and for much longer if the lender failed to give the required disclosures.
• Robocalls and the TCPAThe federal law that restricts automated and prerecorded calls and texts to your phone, gives you a Do Not Call right, and lets you sue for a fixed amount per illegal call.
• Time-Barred DebtA debt so old that the statute of limitations bars a lawsuit to collect it - what a collector may and may not do about it, how a payment can revive it, and why the credit-reporting clock is a different clock.
• Unauthorized Debit Card and Electronic Transfers (Regulation E)The federal rules that limit a consumer's loss from an unauthorized debit card, ATM, ACH or payment-app transfer, require the bank to investigate an error, and decide who bears a loss the consumer was tricked into sending themselves.
• Vehicle RepossessionA lender's right to take back a financed car after default without going to court - subject to rules about how it is taken, how it is sold, and what you can still be made to pay afterwards.
• Wage GarnishmentA legal order requiring an employer to withhold part of someone's pay and send it to a creditor.

« All glossary terms