Collection agency licenses issued by the State of Arkansas expire annually on June 30 at midnight.  We accept applications for license renewals from April 1 until June 30.  If you fail to submit your completed renewal forms, fees, and related documents by June 30, you may experience a lapse in licensure.   

(Note:  New collection agency licenses issued on or after March 1 do not expire until June 30 of the following year. For example, a new collection agency license obtained on or after March 1, 2023, will remain active until June 30, 2024.)

REQUIRED FORMS

A.)  License Renewal Application Form – The renewal application must be completed in its entirety.  Licenses may be renewed using the online  “Renew Your License” link at the bottom of this page. 

B.)  Surety Bond – We must have a copy of the required surety bond. 

       Collection agencies with 0 – 5 collectors / solicitors must provide a $10,000 bond. 

       Collection agencies with 6 – 12 collectors / solicitors must provide a $20,000 bond. 

       Collection agencies with 13 or more collectors / solicitors must provide a $25,000 bond. 

(You may skip this item if: (a) your current bond has remained in effect continuously, with no lapse in coverage and (b) no changes have been made in the name or address and (c) the bond premium has been paid for the current year.)

C.)  Proposed Manager Application Form – If there has been a change in location manager, you must first complete a Proposed Manager Application.  The new manager must be approved before your license renewal application can proceed.

D.)  Other Maintenance Forms – If your collection agency has had a change of address, officers, or ownership, please complete the appropriate form to update our records.

FEES

The renewal license fee is $125 for each agency location, plus a $20 registration fee for the location manager and for each collector and/or solicitor.  (Be sure not to “double count” the manager as a collector.)  You may pay the licensing fees using Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit cards or an electronic check.  Our technology partner collects a processing fee is 3% of your total renewal fee plus $1.  (The Board does not receive this fee and has no control over it.)  

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

We generally consider every location from which debt collection activities are conducted to be a separate collection agency.  If your company has more than one location or branch, you will have a separate account, username, and password for each license, and you will need to renew each of them individually. 

DEADLINE

The annual deadline to submit a completed license renewal application is at the close of business (4:30PM CDT) each year on June 30.  In years when June 30 falls on a weekend, the deadline shall be at close of business on the previous business day. (The online portal will continue to accept renewal applications until 11:59PM on June 30, but waiting until after close of business may result in a lapse in licensure.) We no longer accept late renewals.  A collection agency that continues to operate without a valid license after June 30th may be subject to penalties of $50 to $500 per day.  If your license expires, you will need to obtain a new license prior to contacting, dunning, or otherwise attempting to collect a debt from any Arkansas resident.  

RENEW YOUR LICENSE