Licence to engage in debt collection

The following documentation shall be enclosed with the application for a personal debt collection licence:

• The applicant must submit a criminal record certificate no older than 3 months.
• Practice in collection of monetary claims shall be confirmed in writing by the employer(s) and show that the applicant's experience is of sufficient duration and has provided training in the whole process relating to the collection of monetary claims.

The following documentation shall be enclosed with the licence application for firms that collect overdue monetary claims on behalf of others:

• Company certificate from the Norwegian Population Register.
• The company's business plan (the enterprise's first year of operations).
• Monthly budgets for first year of operations.
• Number of employees upon start-up and number of planned hires in the first year of operations.
• Information on the type of claims the company plans to recover.
• Auditor's declaration confirming positive book equity.
• (Companies that, at the time of application, are under the supervision of the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, do not have to document this. In the case of newly formed companies (younger than two months), it is sufficient that the company certificate shows that the share capital has been paid up.)
• Furnishing of surety in accordance with the Debt Collection Act Section 29.
• Criminal record certificates for the de facto manager, general manager and board members.
• Shareholder information. Information shall be provided, down to the personal level, about which shareholders have significant holdings, i.e. ownership interests of 10% or more.
• Declaration from legal manager that the person in question shall assume responsibility for the debt collection business.
• The legal manager must confirm that he/she has read and familiarised him/herself with the duties and responsibilities of the legal manager in the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway's Circular no. 9/2012.
• Confirmation from the company's board that equity is considered adequate. Grounds must be provided for the assessment.

The following documentation shall be enclosed with the licence application for firms that buy overdue monetary claims and collect them on their own behalf:

• Company certificate from the Norwegian Population Register.
• The company's business plan (the enterprise's first year of operations).
• Monthly budgets for first year of operations.
• Number of employees upon start-up and number of planned hires in the first year of operations.
• Criminal record certificates for the de facto manager, general manager and board members.
• Shareholder information. Information shall be provided, down to the personal level, about which shareholders have significant holdings, i.e. ownership interests of 10% or more.
• The de facto manager must complete a suitability form to be enclosed with the application. Here, it must be demonstrated that the de facto manager has a record of good conduct.
• Declaration from legal manager that the person in question shall assume responsibility for the debt collection business.
• The legal manager must confirm that he/she has read and familiarised him/herself with the duties and responsibilities of the legal manager in the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway's Circular no. 9/2012.

Norwegian Act No 26 of 13 May 1988 relating to debt collection and other recovery of of overdue pecuniary claims (the Debt Collection Act) Section 4 ff.

Norwegian Regulations No 562 of 14 July 1989 relating to the Debt Collection Act etc.

The Debt Collection Act regulates three different types of licences. All licences are granted pursuant to the Debt Collection Act Section 5. The three types of licences are:

Licences to enterprises that collect overdue monetary claims on behalf of others.

Licences to enterprises that buy overdue monetary claims and collect them on their own behalf.

Personal debt collection licences.

The law does not permit an enterprise to both collect overdue monetary claims on behalf of another party and buy overdue monetary claims from the same party and then collect them on its own behalf, cf. the Debt Collection Act Section 4 second paragraph. The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway recommends that the type of business that the enterprise will engage in be specified in the enterprise's articles of association /statutes.

Criteria/conditions:

Criteria/conditions for granting a personal debt collection licence:

The applicant is required to have a record of good conduct.
The applicant is required to be suitable as the de facto leader of the debt collection business.The applicant is required to have at least three years' practical experience of collecting monetary claims in the course of the last ten years.

Criteria/conditions for granting a licence to an enterprise that collects overdue monetary claims on behalf of others:

The licence is conditional on prior registration in the Register of Business Enterprises.
The firm is required to have a permanent establishment within the EEA.
There is a requirement for the furnishing of surety.
The de facto manager is required to have a record of good conduct.
The de facto manager is required to have a personal debt collection licence.
Board members, the general manager and owners with significant holdings are required to be deemed to be suitable to run the enterprise in accordance with laws and regulations and good debt collection practices, cf. The Debt Collection Act § 5 first paragraph letter b.

Criteria/conditions for granting a license to an enterprise that buys overdue monetary claims and collects them on its own behalf:

The licence is conditional on prior registration in the Register of Business Enterprises.
The firm is required to have a permanent establishment within the EEA.
The de facto manager is required to have a record of good conduct.
Board members, the general manager, de facto manager and owners with significant holdings are required to be deemed to be suitable to run the enterprise in accordance with laws and regulations and good debt collection practices, cf. the Debt Collection Act § 5 third paragraph letter a

Further information about the scheme is available on the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway's website.

Remarks:

Debt collection agencies are not allowed to engage in both debt collection on behalf of others and debt collection on their own behalf, cf. Section 4 second paragraph first sentence of the Debt Collection Act.

Fee:

A fee of NOK 4688,- is charged for processing the application, cf. the Debt Collection Regulations Section 5-1 and the Debt Collection Act Section 5.

Case processing deadlines:

For applications for a debt collection license under the Debt Collection Act § 5, the processing deadline is three months, as stated in the Debt Collection Regulation § 5-2 first paragraph. The Service Act § 11 second paragraph, which stipulates that permission is deemed granted when the processing deadline has expired, does not apply to applications for a debt collection license, cf. the Debt Collection Regulation § 5-2 second paragraph.

Right of appeal:

Decisions on granted debt collection licenses can be appealed within three weeks after the decision has been received. The appeal should be sent to the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway. The Appeals Board for auditor, accountant, and debt collection cases is the appeals authority.