Bill Collection Agency Licensing
States Licensed
29
of 50 states and D.C.
Burden Rank
64th
for average burdens 1st is worst
Combined Rank
47th
for states licensed x average burdens 1st is worst
Change from 2017 to 2022, if any:
- ↑
- Burden increased
- ↓
- Burden decreased
- ↕
- Mixed burden change
- N
- New license
- E
- Eliminated license
2022 Licensing Burden Rank
How does my state compare to others?
Compare NowDefinition
Bill collection agencies locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone or personal visit to solicit payment. They receive payment and post amount to a customer’s account; prepare statements to a credit department if a customer fails to respond; initiate repossession proceedings or service disconnection; and keep records of collection and status of accounts. This report looks at what is required to run one’s own bill collection agency only.2022 Snapshot
- 22 unlicensed states
- Days lost range from 0 (22 states) to 1,095 (Idaho)
- Fees range from $25 (Louisiana) to $1,675 (Arizona)
- 4 states require 1+ exam
- 8 states set minimum age
- 3 states set minimum grade
Changes Since 2017
- No licenses created or removed
- Fees changed most often and usually increased; Illinois eliminated its experience requirement
- Burden rank stayed the same and combined rank worsened 1 spot, largely because other occupations improved more
2022 Licensing Burden in Detail
Data Notes: 2022 data collected between February 3, 2020, and March 18, 2022. Fees include charges for application review and license issuance; exams; background checks, credit reports and fingerprinting; recovery fund contributions; third-party certification; and certain fees for training courses. Calendar days lost were estimated based on required education and experience; except for amounts smaller than one day, days lost are rounded to whole days and thus may not reflect very small changes between 2017 and 2022. Appendix A details methods for estimating days lost and calculating burden ranks. Complete data, including revised 2017 data, are available at https://ij.org/report/license-to-work-3/ltw3-data/.