CFPB Rescinds Amendments to Rules of Practice for Adjudication Proceedings
The CFPB published a final rule on Oct. 29, 2025, rescinding two sets of amendments to the Rules of Practice for Adjudication Proceedings (Rules of Practice). The amendments, initially published on Feb. 22, 2022, and March 29, 2023 (the 2022 and 2023 Amendments), will be rescinded in accordance with the CFPB's notice of proposed rulemaking published on May 13, 2025.
The 2022 and 2023 Amendments "expanded parties' opportunities to conduct depositions in adjudication proceedings" in addition to modifying "timing and deadlines, the content of answers, the scheduling conference, bifurcation of proceedings, the process for deciding dispositive motions, and requirements for issue exhaustion," among other technical changes. Although no administrative proceedings were conducted under the Rules of Practice since the 2022 and 2023 Amendments were adopted, the CFPB expressed concern for the provisions of the amendments that "transferred authority to decide dispositive motions from the hearing officer who is presiding over the proceeding (normally an administrative law judge) to the Director."
The proposed rule was drafted to be substantively identical to the Rules of Practice in place prior to the 2022 and 2023 Amendments. The CFPB requested comments on the scope of the Amendments as it relates to the centralized authority of the director and whether the Rules of Practice successfully enhance efficiency. The CFPB received six comments generally in support of the proposed rule. Commenters, as was the CFPB, were primarily concerned that the 2022 and 2023 Amendments improperly concentrated power in the director by allowing the director to rule on dispositive motions. Three individual commenters opposed rescinding the 2022 and 2023 Amendments due to the lack of evidence to support rescission and because the 2022 and 2023 Amendments served to enhance transparency and fairness. For example, one commenter noted the benefits that use of depositions brings to discovery proceedings and argued that this procedural enhancement helps to "ensure fair, transparent, and efficient adjudication" by allowing the parties to sufficiently develop the factual record.
Overall, the CFPB concluded that the amendments being rescinded concentrated decision-making authority in the director (rather than the hearing officer) in a way that could raise due-process and fairness concerns. By clarifying the procedural framework under which adjudication proceedings are conducted – ensuring transparency, consistent deadlines and protections for fairness – this rule also reduces uncertainty and potential legal risk by restoring clearer roles for hearing officers (rather than consolidating power in the director) in proceedings that could impact regulatory exposure.
In light of these comments and the CFPB's analysis, the 2022 and 2023 Amendments are rescinded, but the CFPB will retain "certain narrow amendments related to procedure and nomenclature." Specifically, amendments related to disclosures required for scheduling conferences, bifurcation of proceedings, subpoenas and depositions, and issue exhaustion will be rescinded, but amendments concerning construction of time limits, availability of documents for inspection and copying, and certain global technical nomenclature will be retained in order to promote clarity, transparency and efficiency.
The CFPB has been actively reviewing rules and guidance documents since it committed to utilizing the rulemaking process as a means to curtail the scope of the agency in May 2025. Moreover, and as Holland & Knight previously reported, this development demonstrates that the agency is tackling the matters it presented in its semiannual Unified Rulemaking Agenda on Aug. 15, 2025. As uncertainty looms regarding the future of the agency and the degree of operational activity, this final rule indicates that the CFPB will continue forward to achieve its goal of deregulation.
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