1. STEPS TOWARD
COMPLIANCE WITH
CFPB GUIDELINES

2. UNDERSTAND YOUR
AUDIENCE’S NEEDS
• Who are the consumers who
will read what you write?
• What do they need to know?
• What do they need to do?
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3. CATEGORIZE YOUR INFORMATION
BY TYPE AND PURPOSE
• Separate different types
of information
• Separate “need to know” from
“nice to know” information
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4. ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION
FROM THE CONSUMER’S
PERSPECTIVE
• Is it sequenced in the order that
consumers need?
• Are new concepts explained for
novices– and can experts skip them?
• Are important cautions and warnings
prominent, and not obscured or buried?
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5. CHECK FOR
CONSISTENCY
4• Are you using terms, acronyms and
abbreviations consistently?
• Have you formatted each type of
information consistently?

6. HELP CONSUMERS FIND
THE INFORMATION
THEY NEED
• Make titles and labels descriptive
and distinct
• Make information available when
and where it’s needed
• Use access aids– TOCs, indexes
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7. LOOK FOR
REUSABLE INFORMATION
• Use small units of information that can be
easily repurposed
• Think of these units as “building blocks” you
can use to assemble multiple documents
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