Debt collection agencies in Texas

Texas does not issue a collection license. Instead, every third-party debt collector must file a $10,000 surety bond with the Texas Secretary of State before collecting, under Texas Finance Code Chapter 392, Section 392.101. Collecting without a bond violates Chapter 392 and can be a criminal offense.

Search the agency name on the Texas Secretary of State public Debt Collector Search. An active bond filing means the agency meets the Chapter 392 requirement. Our step-by-step guide walks through the search, and every bonded agency we list links to that same public record.

Collecting consumer debt in Texas without the required surety bond violates Finance Code Chapter 392, which carries civil penalties and can be a criminal offense. Buyers should treat an unbonded collector as a serious red flag and verify the bond before engaging any agency.

You, among others. The bond a third-party debt collector must file with the Texas Secretary of State is required by statute to be in favor of "any person who is damaged by a violation of this chapter" and of the state for such a person’s benefit. In plain terms, it is a financial guarantee standing behind the collector’s legal conduct, not a paperwork formality. That is why an active bond filing is this site’s minimum bar for ranking an agency, and why checking the register before engaging any collector is worth five minutes.

For a lawsuit, generally four years. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.004 requires suit on a debt to be brought "not later than four years after the day the cause of action accrues". After that, a claim is generally time barred. Collection efforts short of suit are a separate matter, but the four-year window is one reason recovery professionals urge acting while debts are fresh. This is general legal information, not advice: accrual dates and events affecting the period are fact specific, so take advice on any debt approaching the boundary.

Texas Finance Code Chapter 392 is written around consumer debt: it defines consumer debt as "an obligation, or an alleged obligation, primarily for personal, family, or household purposes" and debt collection as collecting consumer debts. The Secretary of State’s guidance describes the bond requirement for third-party debt collectors without drawing a consumer-versus-commercial distinction. What Chapter 392 means for a purely business-to-business collector is a legal question this site does not answer; what a buyer can rely on is the public register itself, which shows who has filed the bond.