Debt collection agencies in Florida
Data last checked: August 18, 2026
How far back Florida's public register of consumer collection agencies reaches. Every agency doing business in the state as a consumer collection agency must register with the Office of Financial Regulation and renew that registration each year, and the register records every past term, so continuous registration can be traced year by year.
Source: leg.state.fl.us · Last checked: August 18, 2026
What is the Florida registration rule for debt collectors?
Florida requires a consumer collection agency to register with the Office of Financial Regulation before doing business in the state, and to renew that registration every year (Florida Statutes, Sections 559.553 and 559.555). Florida issues a registration rather than a license, and no surety bond appears anywhere in Chapter 559, Part VI, the part of the statute that governs consumer collection practices: an applicant submits an application form, a $200 fee and fingerprints for each control person. Every registration renews in the same window, between October 1 and December 31. Nine categories are exempt from registering, including original creditors, members of The Florida Bar, financial institutions and their subsidiaries, and certain out-of-state collectors, so a business can be collecting lawfully in Florida and be lawfully absent from this register.
You can check any agency yourself in the Office of Financial Regulation's public register, or follow our step-by-step verification guide. The rule itself is quoted from the statute on our Florida debt law page.
Source: leg.state.fl.us · Last checked: August 18, 2026
Who does not have to register in Florida?
Nine categories are exempt by statute, among them original creditors, members of The Florida Bar, banks and their wholly owned subsidiaries, insurance companies, and out-of-state collectors who do not solicit accounts from credit grantors with a Florida business presence.
So a business can be collecting lawfully in Florida and be lawfully absent from this register. That is a different thing from a collector who should be registered and is not, and this directory does not treat the two the same. Absence from the register is never published here as a finding against a company. The exemptions are quoted in full, from the statute itself, on the Florida debt law page.
Which debt collection agencies have the longest verified record in Florida?
Ranked on positive, verified measures only. Rankings are never for sale.
The first Florida profiles are in verification now. An agency appears here on the day its registration record passes the same human verification every Texas and New York profile passes: identity and registration history checked against the state's own register, with a source link and a last-checked date on every fact. Nothing is published ahead of that check. The bands will group agencies by years continuously registered, on the same boundaries used in every state this site covers.
Common questions about Florida debt collection
Do debt collectors have to register in Florida?
Yes. Florida Statutes Section 559.553 says a person may not engage in business in the state as a consumer collection agency without first registering, and thereafter maintaining a valid registration. The registration is with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and is renewed every year. Florida requires a registration rather than a license, and no surety bond appears anywhere in the part of the statute governing consumer collection.
How do I check whether a collection agency is registered in Florida?
Search the agency name in the Office of Financial Regulation's public register, reached from its Verify a License page, which lists Collection Agencies among the types you can search. An approved registration means the agency meets the state requirement. Every registered agency we list links to that same public record.
Can a company collect in Florida without appearing on the register?
Yes, lawfully, in nine defined cases. Section 559.553(3) exempts original creditors, members of The Florida Bar, financial institutions and their wholly owned subsidiaries and affiliates, licensed real estate brokers, insurance companies, consumer finance companies and their subsidiaries, persons licensed under chapter 520, certain out-of-state collectors, and FDIC-insured institutions and their affiliates. So absence from this register is not by itself evidence of wrongdoing. It is a different thing from a collector who should be registered and is not, and this directory does not treat the two the same.
Why do all Florida registrations expire on the same date?
Because the statute sets a shared renewal window. Section 559.555(6) requires that renewal be made between October 1 and December 31 of each year, with no proration of the fee. Every registration therefore runs to 31 December and the whole industry renews in the same period. During the autumn, an agency that has not yet renewed is early in the window rather than lapsed, which is worth knowing before reading anything into a status.
How long can a debt be collected in Florida?
For a lawsuit it depends on the kind of debt. Florida Statutes Section 95.11 gives five years on a contract founded on a written instrument and four years on one that is not, including store accounts. Medical debt from a facility licensed under chapter 395 has its own three-year period, which runs from the date the facility refers the debt to a third party for collection rather than from the treatment. This is general legal information, not advice: when a limitations period starts or pauses depends on the facts of the account.
Related pages
Florida debt collection laws
The registration rule, the nine exemptions and the three-year medical debt clock, quoted from the statutes.
Verify a Florida registration
The free five-minute check against the state register, and who is lawfully exempt from it.
How to choose an agency
What to verify, how fees work, and the questions worth asking.
Multi-state coverage
Which agencies hold a current record in more than one state we cover.
States covered
Which states this directory covers and what verified means in each.
Methodology
Exactly how the rankings work, and what is never for sale.