Debt collection agencies in Connecticut
On the Connecticut Department of Banking's list of licensed consumer collection agencies dated November 2, 2026, counting each company's main office license once. 350 of them could be matched to exactly one active Connecticut Business Registry entry, and only those can be ranked.
Source: portal.ct.gov · Last checked: November 5, 2026
What is the Connecticut license rule for debt collectors?
Connecticut requires anyone acting as a consumer collection agency in the state to hold a license from the Banking Commissioner for its main office and for each branch office (Connecticut General Statutes Section 36a-801). Debt buyers are included. Members of the Connecticut bar, banks, servicers of current accounts and some others are not consumer collection agencies (Section 36a-800). Every license ends on December 31 unless it is renewed. An agency that does not only buy debt files a $50,000 surety bond for each office (Section 36a-802). The Department of Banking publishes a list of current licensees, with no license dates.
You can check any agency yourself on the Department of Banking’s list of licensees, or follow our step-by-step verification guide. The rule itself is quoted from the statute on our Connecticut debt law page.
Source: portal.ct.gov · Last checked: November 3, 2026
How Connecticut is ranked
Connecticut’s Department of Banking publishes a list of licensed consumer collection agencies. The list gives no license dates, and the Department publishes only its current list, so it does not show how long any company has held its license. Instead, we rank by a date in the Connecticut Business Registry, kept by the Secretary of the State: for a company from another state, the date the registry records it began doing business in Connecticut (or, if none is recorded, the date it registered here); for a Connecticut company, the date it was formed. This date does not show when a company was licensed, or that it has been licensed or registered without a break. We rank a company only when it has exactly one registry entry under the same name, in the same city and state as its license, and that entry is active: 350 of the 507 companies on the Department’s list dated November 2, 2026. Branch office licenses are not counted separately. The other companies will be listed below the ranking, unranked.
Who is not a consumer collection agency in Connecticut?
Section 36a-800 says a consumer collection agency does not include an individual on the staff of a licensed agency or exempt creditor, escrow holders not mainly in collection, public officers and anyone acting under a court order, any member of the Connecticut bar, a servicer that handles current accounts as well as delinquent ones, a bank or out-of-state bank, and a bank’s subsidiary or affiliate that is not mainly in the business of buying and collecting delinquent debt other than debt secured by real property. An original creditor collecting its own accounts under its own name is not one either.
So a business can be collecting lawfully in Connecticut and be absent from the Department’s list. That is a different thing from a collector who should be licensed and is not, and this directory does not treat the two the same. Absence from the list is never published here as a finding against a company. The exclusions are quoted from the statute on the Connecticut debt law page.
Which Connecticut debt collection agencies have the oldest registry dates?
Ranked on positive public-record measures only. Rankings are never for sale.
No Connecticut profile is published yet. An agency appears here on the day its license passes the same checks every other state’s profiles pass: identity and license checked against the Department of Banking’s own list, with a source link on every fact and a last-checked date where a check has run. Nothing is published ahead of that check. Agencies will be grouped by how long ago their Connecticut Business Registry date falls, on the same boundaries used in every state this site covers, and agencies without a confirmed registry entry will be listed separately, unranked.
Common questions about Connecticut debt collection
Do debt collectors have to be licensed in Connecticut?
Yes, for each office. Connecticut General Statutes Section 36a-801 says "No person shall act within this state as a consumer collection agency, directly or indirectly, unless such person has first obtained a required consumer collection agency license for such person's main office and for each branch office where such person's business is conducted." The license is issued by the Banking Commissioner. Debt buyers need it too. Section 36a-800 leaves out, among others, members of the Connecticut bar, banks and servicers that handle current accounts as well as delinquent ones.
How do I check whether a collection agency is licensed in Connecticut?
Download the Department of Banking's list of licensed consumer collection agencies from its website and search it for the company's legal name. It gives each license's number, type and address, with a separate number for each office. The Department also directs readers to NMLS Consumer Access to verify a license. The list carries current licensees only, with no license dates.
How are Connecticut agencies ranked on this site?
By a date in the Connecticut Business Registry, kept by the Secretary of the State, because the Department of Banking's list gives no license dates. For a company from another state it is the date the registry records it began doing business in Connecticut, or, if none is recorded, the date it registered there; for a Connecticut company, the date it was formed. It is not a license date, and it does not show that a company has been licensed or registered without a break. We rank a company only when it has exactly one active registry entry under the same name, in the same city and state as its license: 350 of the 507 companies on the list dated November 2, 2026. The rest will be listed, unranked.
What happens when a company leaves the Connecticut list?
Its page stays. It says the Department of Banking's list no longer shows its license, and the date of the last list it was on. The list does not say why a license has left it, and neither does this site.
How long can a debt be collected in Connecticut?
For a lawsuit on an account or a contract, generally six years: Connecticut General Statutes Section 52-576 says "No action for an account, or on any simple or implied contract, or on any contract in writing, shall be brought but within six years after the right of action accrues". An express contract never put in writing has three years, and a sale of goods four. For a debt that was bought, Section 36a-814 says a payment after the period has expired does not extend it. The rules are quoted on the Connecticut debt law page.
Does a Connecticut collection agency also need a bond?
Yes, unless it only buys debt. Section 36a-802 requires a bond of $50,000 for the main office and $50,000 for each branch office, conditioned on the agency accounting for all funds it collects. The list records the license, which is why this site describes Connecticut agencies as licensed rather than bonded.