Editorial policy

Sourcing standards

When we cite a rate, rule, or figure, we work from primary sources wherever possible: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Reserve, and the published disclosures of individual lenders. We avoid restating a figure we have not traced back to one of these sources, and we prefer an official source over a secondary summary of it.

Where a claim comes from a lender's own marketing material rather than a regulatory source, we say so, and we treat it as the lender's claim rather than as a fact we are asserting. When sources disagree, we note the disagreement rather than picking whichever figure is easiest to write around.

We also try to avoid citing a source at more than one remove. If a figure is attributed to "industry data" without a named origin, we either trace it back to where it came from or leave it out.

How figures are dated

Rates, terms, and program details change. Every article that cites a rate or figure is marked "rates as of" a specific date. We review published articles on a regular cadence to check whether cited figures are still current, and we update the article and its "last updated" date when a figure has changed.

An article we have not reviewed recently should be read with that in mind. Rates in particular move faster than our review cycle can always keep up with, so readers should confirm current terms directly with the lender before acting on anything they read here.

Corrections policy

If you find an error in something we've published, whether it's a factual mistake, an outdated figure, or a broken link, email us at help@smartdebtrelief.org. Tell us the article, the specific claim, and, if you have it, the source that shows the correct figure.

We review every report we receive. When a correction is warranted, we update the article and note the date it was corrected. We do not quietly edit a published article to remove a substantive error without noting that a correction was made. Minor fixes, like a typo or a broken link, are made without a separate note.

Separation of editorial and partner revenue

Smart Debt Relief earns a referral fee when a reader submits a request through our loan request form that a lender accepts, and it may earn affiliate commissions from some lender links in our articles. Full detail on both is on our how we make money page.

The people who write and edit our articles do not set or negotiate our partner agreements, and payment from a partner does not determine what we write about them. An article's conclusions are based on the lender's own published terms and disclosures, not on the size of a referral fee or commission attached to it.

How lenders get mentioned

Being mentioned in an article is not something a lender can purchase. We select which lenders and products to discuss based on relevance to the topic and on publicly available terms, not on which partners pay us. A lender with no financial relationship with us can still be discussed on its merits, and a lender that does have a relationship with us does not receive favorable treatment because of it. Where we do have a partner relationship, we disclose it on the page rather than leaving it implicit.

AI-assistance disclosure

Some of our drafts start with the help of AI research or writing tools. Every article that uses AI assistance is reviewed and edited by our editorial team before publication: facts are checked against the primary source cited, structure and tone are edited for clarity, and the final wording reflects our editorial judgment rather than an unreviewed model output. We do not publish AI-drafted content without this review step.

Accessibility and feedback

We try to write in plain language and to structure articles so they are easy to scan and to use with assistive technology: clear headings, short paragraphs, and descriptive link text rather than "click here."

If part of the site is hard to read, get around, or use with a screen reader, tell us at help@smartdebtrelief.org and we will look into it. General feedback on our content is also welcome at the same address, or through our contact form. We read every message, even when we can't reply to each one individually.