Effective October 3, 2011 - Collection Agency
2-Year Licensing Fee Will Increase From $400 to $700
ADVISORY
Notice of Final Action
Effective October 3, 2011, a license fee payable by a collection
agency to do business in Maryland will increase from $400 to
$700 for a two - year license. The new regulations setting the
fees were proposed by the State Collection Agency Licensing
Board at its meeting on May 11, 2011. The final regulations
were approved at the Board's meeting on August 17, 2011. See
Code of Maryland Regulations, 09.03.13.01 and .02.
The purpose of this regulatory action is to
offset the cost of regulating collection practices in the State
of Maryland. The regulation of collection practices in the State
has increased in the past decade for several reasons, including
(i) growth in the number of third-party collection agencies
and the volume of debt collected in Maryland; (ii) evolution
and diversification of collection practices; (iii) increase
in the complexity of laws governing collections; (iv) growth
in the volume of complaints from consumers; and (v) increase
in enforcement activity. The level of current licensing
fees was set in 1996 and has not kept up with the cost of regulation.
Having found that the fee level was no longer sufficient to cover the cost of regulation in accordance with the provisions of Title 7, Subtitle 1, Business Regulation Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, the Board has approved a final regulation increasing initial license fee and the bi-annual license renewal fee from $400 to $700.
*** PLEASE NOTE ***
- Any person or entity applying for an original Maryland Collection
Agency License on or after October 3, 2011 will be subject to
the new license fee.
- Any person or entity applying for the renewal
of the Maryland Collection Agency License that expires on or
after October 3, 2011 will be subject to the new license fee.
If you have any questions with the contents of this Advisory,
please contact Kelly Mack, Administrative Officer to the Board
at (410) 230-6079. Thank you.
|