(a) Form of disclosures—(1) General.

1. (i) The creditor shall make the disclosures required by this subpart clearly and conspicuously.

2. (ii) The creditor shall make the disclosures required by this subpart in writing, in a form that the consumer may keep, except that:

   1. (A) The following disclosures need not be written: Disclosures under § 1026.6(b)(3) of charges that are imposed as part of an open-end (not home-secured) plan that are not required to be disclosed under § 1026.6(b)(2) and related disclosures of charges under § 1026.9(c)(2)(iii)(B); disclosures under § 1026.9(c)(2)(vi); disclosures under § 1026.9(d) when a finance charge is imposed at the time of the transaction; and disclosures under § 1026.56(b)(1)(i).
   2. (B) The following disclosures need not be in a retainable form: Disclosures that need not be written under paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(A) of this section; disclosures for credit and charge card applications and solicitations under § 1026.60; home-equity disclosures under § 1026.40(d); the alternative summary billing-rights statement under § 1026.9(a)(2); the credit and charge card renewal disclosures required under § 1026.9(e); and the payment requirements under § 1026.10(b), except as provided in § 1026.7(b)(13).
3. (iii) The disclosures required by this subpart may be provided to the consumer in electronic form, subject to compliance with the consumer consent and other applicable provisions of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act) (15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.). The disclosures required by §§ 1026.60, 1026.40, and 1026.16 may be provided to the consumer in electronic form without regard to the consumer consent or other provisions of the E-Sign Act in the circumstances set forth in those sections.

4. (2) Terminology.

   1. (i) Terminology used in providing the disclosures required by this subpart shall be consistent.
   2. (ii) For home-equity plans subject to § 1026.40, the terms finance charge and annual percentage rate, when required to be disclosed with a corresponding amount or percentage rate, shall be more conspicuous than any other required disclosure. The terms need not be more conspicuous when used for periodic statement disclosures under § 1026.7(a)(4) and for advertisements under § 1026.16.
   3. (iii) If disclosures are required to be presented in a tabular format pursuant to paragraph (a)(3) of this section, the term penalty APR shall be used, as applicable. The term penalty APR need not be used in reference to the annual percentage rate that applies with the loss of a promotional rate, assuming the annual percentage rate that applies is not greater than the annual percentage rate that would have applied at the end of the promotional period; or if the annual percentage rate that applies with the loss of a promotional rate is a variable rate, the annual percentage rate is calculated using the same index and margin as would have been used to calculate the annual percentage rate that would have applied at the end of the promotional period. If credit insurance or debt cancellation or debt suspension coverage is required as part of the plan, the term required shall be used and the program shall be identified by its name. If an annual percentage rate is required to be presented in a tabular format pursuant to paragraph (a)(3)(i) or (a)(3)(iii) of this section, the term fixed, or a similar term, may not be used to describe such rate unless the creditor also specifies a time period that the rate will be fixed and the rate will not increase during that period, or if no such time period is provided, the rate will not increase while the plan is open.

5. (3) Specific formats.

   1. (i) Certain disclosures for credit and charge card applications and solicitations must be provided in a tabular format in accordance with the requirements of § 1026.60(a)(2).
   2. (ii) Certain disclosures for home-equity plans must precede other disclosures and must be given in accordance with the requirements of § 1026.40(a).
   3. (iii) Certain account-opening disclosures must be provided in a tabular format in accordance with the requirements of § 1026.6(b)(1).
   4. (iv) Certain disclosures provided on periodic statements must be grouped together in accordance with the requirements of § 1026.7(b)(6) and (b)(13).
   5. (v) Certain disclosures provided on periodic statements must be given in accordance with the requirements of § 1026.7(b)(12).
   6. (vi) Certain disclosures accompanying checks that access a credit card account must be provided in a tabular format in accordance with the requirements of § 1026.9(b)(3).
   7. (vii) Certain disclosures provided in a change-in-terms notice must be provided in a tabular format in accordance with the requirements of § 1026.9(c)(2)(iv)(D).
   8. (viii) Certain disclosures provided when a rate is increased due to delinquency, default or as a penalty must be provided in a tabular format in accordance with the requirements of § 1026.9(g)(3)(ii).

(iii) Telephone purchases. Disclosures required by § 1026.6 may be provided as soon as reasonably practicable after the first transaction if:

1. (A) The first transaction occurs when a consumer contacts a merchant by telephone to purchase goods and at the same time the consumer accepts an offer to finance the purchase by establishing an open-end plan with the merchant or third-party creditor;
2. (B) The merchant or third-party creditor permits consumers to return any goods financed under the plan and provides consumers with a sufficient time to reject the plan and return the goods free of cost after the merchant or third-party creditor has provided the written disclosures required by § 1026.6; and
3. (C) The consumer's right to reject the plan and return the goods is disclosed to the consumer as a part of the offer to finance the purchase.

(ii) Timing requirements—(A) Credit card accounts under an open-end (not home-secured) consumer credit plan. For credit card accounts under an open-end (not home-secured) consumer credit plan, a card issuer must adopt reasonable procedures designed to ensure that:

(1) Periodic statements are mailed or delivered at least 21 days prior to the payment due date disclosed on the statement pursuant to § 1026.7(b)(11)(i)(A); and

(2) The card issuer does not treat as late for any purpose a required minimum periodic payment received by the card issuer within 21 days after mailing or delivery of the periodic statement disclosing the due date for that payment.

(B) Open-end consumer credit plans. For accounts under an open-end consumer credit plan, a creditor must adopt reasonable procedures designed to ensure that:

(1) If a grace period applies to the account:

(i) Periodic statements are mailed or delivered at least 21 days prior to the date on which the grace period expires; and

(ii) The creditor does not impose finance charges as a result of the loss of the grace period if a payment that satisfies the terms of the grace period is received by the creditor within 21 days after mailing or delivery of the periodic statement.

(2) Regardless of whether a grace period applies to the account:

(i) Periodic statements are mailed or delivered at least 14 days prior to the date on which the required minimum periodic payment must be received in order to avoid being treated as late for any purpose; and

(ii) The creditor does not treat as late for any purpose a required minimum periodic payment received by the creditor within 14 days after mailing or delivery of the periodic statement.

(3) For purposes of paragraph (b)(2)(ii)(B) of this section, “grace period” means a period within which any credit extended may be repaid without incurring a finance charge due to a periodic interest rate.