At the request of Receivables Management Association, the Oregon Division of Consumer & Business Services (DCBS) has issued written guidance regarding when a debt collector should maintain a “collection agency” registration as opposed to a “debt buyer” license in Oregon. The answer essentially depends on the title holder of the debt. If you are collecting a debt “due or asserted to be owed or due to another person” then you need to be registered as a collection agency. If you are “purchasing charged-off debt for the purpose of collecting the charged-off debt or hiring another person to collect or bring legal action to collect the charged-off debt” then you need to be licensed as a debt buyer. If you engage in both activities, then you need both the registration and the license.

The answer, while not surprising, will hopefully ease the fears of debt buying companies who have maintained an Oregon collection agency registration over the years (despite not being required to do so) who now wish to drop the registration in favor of the newly enacted debt buyer license.

Below are some links to resources you may find helpful:

For questions, contact David Reid, RMA’s Director of Government Affairs & Policy, at (916) 779-2492 or [email protected].

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