How to choose a debt collection agency in Colorado
By Kai Greenspan, Founding Editor
Owed money? Get up to three agencies licensed in Colorado for your kind of debt, free, from two quick questions about the debt.
Get a free shortlistThe bond a Colorado collection agency keeps under Section 5-16-124, or a savings account, deposit or certificate of deposit of the same sum instead: $12,000, plus $2,000 for each $10,000 or part of $10,000 by which the average monthly sums remitted or owed to its clients during the previous year exceed $15,000, up to $20,000 in total. A debt buyer that does not also collect for others needs none.
Source: olls.info · Last checked: November 5, 2026
The five steps, in order
| Step | What to do, and why it comes in this order |
|---|---|
| 1. Verify the license on the Department of Law's own register | A collection agency collecting consumer debts in Colorado must hold a license: Section 5-16-118 of the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says "Any person acting as a collection agency must possess a valid license issued by the administrator in accordance with this article 16 and any rules adopted pursuant thereto." Search the agency in the Department of Law's public license reports, https://licensing.coag.gov/s/public-reports, and find the license recorded as Active. Licenses that are no longer Active stay on the register, so one company can have several records. The Department says a license whose renewal has been submitted does not expire until the renewal is decided, so if the license shows as Expired since the last July 1, ask the Department whether a renewal is pending. |
| 2. Match the agency to your debt type | Consumer debt, owed by individuals for personal, family or household purposes, is federally regulated under the FDCPA. Its conduct rules apply to a collection agency collecting for clients, and to a debt buyer when the buyer meets the FDCPA's definition of a debt collector, which collecting its own purchased accounts does not do by itself (Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, 2017). Colorado's act covers consumer debts only, and it makes debt buyers collection agencies too, so a licensed Colorado agency may collect for clients, buy debt, or both. For business debts the Department of Law says an agency collecting only commercial, business, investment and agricultural debts needs no Colorado license. Ask which kind of accounts the agency actually works. |
| 3. Check that your own paperwork allows what you want added | Under Section 5-16-108 a collector may not collect any interest, fee, charge or expense on top of the debt unless it is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law. So whether collection costs or interest can be added depends on your own contract with your customer, not on the agency. On debts owed to the state or a local government, Section 5-16-111.5 caps fees and costs at 18 percent in total, excluding interest and court costs, unless a court awards further reasonable attorney fees; the cap does not apply once the state or local government has sold the debt. |
| 4. Read the public complaint record in context, and check any certifications at source | Search the agency in the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database and read the count in context: the CFPB says its database “is not a statistical sample of consumers’ experiences in the marketplace”, and each complaint records how the company responded and whether it responded on time. Certifications are checked against the issuing body, never the agency’s own claim. Where the Department of Law has acted against a licensee, its own order is the document to read. |
| 5. Only then talk fees, and get everything in writing | Collection work is often priced on contingency: the agency keeps an agreed share of what it recovers. The state register records no rates, and this site knows of no trustworthy public benchmark for the percentage, so ask each agency for its rate in writing, by debt age band, and pin down the cases that cause disputes: direct payments made to you after placement, part payments, recalled accounts and legal costs, and when the agency will pay you what it collects. |
Step-by-step register instructions: verify a Colorado license. The grouped list, by years on the register: Colorado agencies. The register itself: the Department of Law’s public license reports.
Source: licensing.coag.gov · Last checked: October 26, 2026
The questions worth asking before you sign
Once an agency has passed the public checks, the remaining risk lives in the agreement, and the disputes that sour agency relationships often turn on more than the headline rate. Ask each shortlisted agency, in writing:
- What is your Colorado license number, and what is its start date? Both are on the Department of Law’s register.
- Do you collect for clients, buy debt, or both? Colorado’s act covers both, and the answer changes what the relationship is.
- Is your bond in force today? A Colorado agency must keep one (or a deposit of the same sum) at all times unless it is a debt buyer that does not collect for others.
- When and how will you pay us what you collect? Write the remittance terms into the agreement.
- What is your rate, by debt age band, in writing? Ask about direct payments made to you after placement, part payments, recalled accounts and legal costs, because that is where disputes start.
- If you sue, where and how? Section 5-16-111 says where a collector may sue a consumer, and a debt buyer that sues must attach the chain of ownership.
Sources: Colorado Revised Statutes Sections 5-16-103, 5-16-108, 5-16-111, 5-16-111.5, 5-16-115, 5-16-118 and 5-16-124 · quoted November 5, 2026
Common questions about choosing in Colorado
Does a collection agency have to be licensed in Colorado?
Yes, to collect consumer debts. The Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Colorado Revised Statutes Section 5-16-118, says "Any person acting as a collection agency must possess a valid license issued by the administrator in accordance with this article 16 and any rules adopted pursuant thereto." Debt buyers are collection agencies under the act. Attorneys who regularly collect debts in Colorado are exempt from its licensing provisions, and the act does not cover business debts.
The agency we want to use is not on the Colorado register. Is that a problem?
It is a question to resolve before you sign. If your accounts are consumer debts and the agency is not an attorney or otherwise exempt, it needs a Colorado license, and running a collection agency without one is unlawful under Section 5-16-115. Ask the agency whether it holds a Colorado license and, if not, why it says it does not need one.
What does the bond cover?
Section 5-16-124 requires a bond of $12,000, or a savings account, deposit or certificate of deposit of the same sum, plus more where the average monthly sums remitted or owed to its clients exceed $15,000, up to $20,000 in total. It covers all matters placed with the agency during the license and any renewal: a client owed money the agency collected can file a verified claim with the administrator, who can demand payment from the agency, its surety, or both. Section 5-16-124 says the bond is "in favor of the attorney general of the state of Colorado for use of the people of the state of Colorado and the administrator". A debt buyer that does not also collect for others needs none.
Can we add collection costs to what our customers owe?
Only if your agreement with the customer expressly allows it or the law permits it. Section 5-16-108 makes it an unfair practice to collect "any amount, including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation, unless the amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law".
Does Debt Collection Index rank Colorado agencies by how much they recover?
No, and no state page on this site does. The state register records no recovery rates, and the bands measure only the register, so we do not publish recovery rates or rank on them. Colorado agencies are grouped by years continuously licensed on the state register, with every fact sourced (and dated where a check has run), and listed alphabetically within each band.