Debt collection agencies in Tennessee
The year of the oldest original licensure dates among the collection service licenses recorded as Active on the Tennessee Collection Service Board's register, read on 28 October 2026. That license history is what the bands on this page measure, read from the register itself.
Source: search.cloud.commerce.tn.gov · Last checked: October 28, 2026
What is the Tennessee license rule for debt collectors?
Tennessee requires a collection service license from the Collection Service Board before anyone may commence, conduct or operate a collection service business in the state (Tenn. Code Ann. 62-20-105). The Act lists nine kinds of business it does not apply to, among them attorneys at law, banks and credit unions, and it does not require anyone collecting only its own unpaid accounts to be licensed (62-20-103). A license lasts 24 months from issuance or renewal, with sixty days allowed for a late renewal (62-20-112), and an application must carry a surety bond or certificate of deposit of $15,000 to $25,000, set by the number of employees (62-20-106).
You can check any agency yourself on the Department of Commerce and Insurance’s license search, or follow our step-by-step verification guide. The rule itself is quoted from the statute on our Tennessee debt law page.
Source: advance.lexis.com · Last checked: October 28, 2026
Who does not have to be licensed in Tennessee?
Section 62-20-103 lists nine kinds of business the Act does not apply to: anyone handling claims under order of a court, attorneys at law, a business collecting debts from its own normal course of business (unless it holds itself out as a collection service), banks and savings institutions, credit unions, industrial loan and thrift companies, small business development corporations, anyone servicing debts secured by a consensual lien on a home, and a debt owner that collects only through a licensed collection agency or a Tennessee attorney. It adds that nothing in the Act requires a business collecting only its own unpaid accounts to be licensed.
So a business can be collecting lawfully in Tennessee and be lawfully absent from this register. 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 register is never published here as a finding against a company. The exemptions are quoted from the statute on the Tennessee debt law page.
What the register’s status words mean here
The Board’s register keeps ended licenses on the record with their status words, so one company can appear several times: a current license beside older ones that expired, were surrendered or were closed. A new owner needs a new license, so a business that changed hands has a newer number. This site treats a Tennessee license as in force only when the register records it as Active and its expiration date has not passed, and counts years from that license’s original licensure date. Records worded as an application were never a license. Where the Board has acted against a licensee, it appears on this site only as an enforcement record quoted from the regulator’s own document, never inferred from a status word. Tennessee also requires a bond with the application, but the register records the license, so no Tennessee page here says “bonded”.
Which debt collection agencies have the longest verified record in Tennessee?
Ranked on positive, verified measures only. Rankings are never for sale.
No Tennessee profile is published yet. An agency appears here on the day its license record passes the same register checks every Texas, New York, Florida, California and Illinois profile passes: identity and license history checked against the Board’s own register, with a source link on every fact and a last-checked date where a check has run. Nothing is published ahead of that check. The bands will group agencies by years continuously licensed, on the same boundaries used in every state this site covers.
Common questions about Tennessee debt collection
Do debt collectors have to be licensed in Tennessee?
Yes, unless the business is exempt. The Tennessee Collection Service Act, Tennessee Code Section 62-20-105, says "No person shall commence, conduct or operate any collection service business in this state unless the person holds a valid collection service license issued by the board under this chapter or prior state law." The license is issued by the Tennessee Collection Service Board. Section 62-20-103 lists nine kinds of business the Act does not apply to, including attorneys at law, banks, credit unions and home loan servicers, and says nothing in the Act requires a business collecting only its own accounts to be licensed.
How do I check whether a collection agency is licensed in Tennessee?
Use the Department of Commerce and Insurance's public license search and choose the Collection Service Board. Each record shows the license number, its status, its expiration date and its original licensure date, and ended licenses stay on the record. Only a license recorded as Active, with an expiration date still in the future, is in force.
What do the status words on the Tennessee register mean?
The register keeps ended licenses on the record with their status words, so a search often returns several records for one company: its current license beside older ones that expired, were surrendered or were closed. This site treats a license as in force only when the register records it as Active and its expiration date has not passed. Records worded as an application, denied, withdrawn or expired, were never a license. Where the Board has taken action against a licensee, this site publishes it only as an enforcement record quoted from the regulator’s own document, never inferred from a status word.
How far back does the Tennessee register go?
Among the licenses recorded as Active on the register read on 28 October 2026, the oldest original licensure dates are in 1975, and the register keeps ended licenses on the record too. The bands on this page measure how long each agency has been continuously licensed, counted from the original licensure date of its license. A change of ownership needs a new license, so a long-established business can carry a younger license than its age.
How long can a debt be collected in Tennessee?
For a lawsuit on a contract, generally six years: Tennessee Code Section 28-3-109 lists "Actions on contracts not otherwise expressly provided for" among actions that "shall be commenced within six (6) years after the cause of action accrued". A court judgment can be enforced for ten years under Section 28-3-110. Some debts have their own periods elsewhere in the Code. Which period applies to a particular account, and when it started, are questions for a lawyer. The rules are quoted on the Tennessee debt law page.
Does a Tennessee collection agency also need a bond?
Yes, with its license application. Section 62-20-106 requires a surety bond made payable to the state, or a certificate of deposit instead, of $15,000 to $25,000 depending on the number of employees. It protects the agency’s clients: Section 62-20-110 lets an injured client sue on it. The register records the license, which is why this site describes Tennessee agencies as licensed rather than bonded.