Collection Agencies, Managers, and Repossessors:
Collection Agencies, Managers, and Repossessors covers all third party debt collection in New Mexico. Each debt collection business is required to submit an initial and annual license applications, along with the appropriate fees to the Director of the Financial Institutions Division.
Collection Agency
A "collection agency" means any person engaging in business for the purpose of collecting or attempting to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another, where such person is so engaged by two or more creditors. The term also includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts.
Collection Agency Manager
A "Collection Agency Manager" means a natural person who qualifies under the Collection Agency Regulatory Act to be in full-time charge of a licensed collection agency, and to whom a manager’s license has been issued by the director.
Repossessor
A "repossessor" means a person engaged solely in the business of repossessing personal property for others for a fee. The term does not include a duly licensed collection agency.
Notices:
COVID-19 Essential Business Guidance for all Licensed and Regulated Finanical Institutions, Dated March 24, 2020
COVID-19 Temporary Regulatory Guidance Regarding Work From Home due to COVID-19 Concerns, Dated March 25, 2020
Collections and Repossessors License Renewal Period:
The collections licensing renewal process is open. Please be aware that due to the 2019 legislative changes affecting collections licensing, for the 2020 renewal period only, all original and renewal collections agency, manager, and branch licenses will be valid for six months instead of twelve, pursuant to § 61-18A-7 NMSA 1978.
This change is due to the anticipated migration of the entire collections licensing process to the National Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), which is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2021. As such, the corresponding 2020 fees will be one-half of their normal amount. To this effect, all the application templates have been modified and are now available for download in the Forms and Applications section.
We ask that when the renewal period opens, the new application formats be used, and that the fees sent to the Division be for the correct amount, as shown in the corresponding application, in order to minimize errors. When licensees are migrated to the NMLS system starting in 2021, the licensing process, including applicable fees, will return to the normal 12-month cycle, with licenses having a duration from January 1 to December 31 of each year.
Regulatory Alerts:
Regulatory Actions:
Case No: 2015-11 CFS2, Inc.
Operation Collection Protection:
On November 4, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission and several federal, state, and local law enforcement partners announce nationwide crackdown against abusive debt collectors. Federal Trade Commission press release.
List of National Participants
List of Announced Federal Regulatory Actions
List of Announced State Regulatory Actions