Uniform Debt-Management Services Act

The Uniform Debt-Management Services Act regulates companies that provide debt-management services to consumers, covering both credit counseling arranged through debt-management plans that seek concessions from creditors and debt settlement work paid for through settlement fees. Its central mechanism is mandatory registration with a state regulator: a provider must apply, disclose specified information about itself and its operations, pay fees, post a surety bond, and carry insurance, and the regulator may grant, deny, or issue a temporary certificate within a set review period, with renewal, cancellation, and reinstatement handled on the same track. The act also builds a supporting framework around that registration — definitions of the regulated activities and participants, including certified counselors and debt specialists and the trust accounts through which consumer funds pass; continuing duties to report changes in registration information; rules on which of that information the regulator publishes and which stays confidential; and an alternative application route for providers already licensed or certified elsewhere.

Editorial summary generated from the text of this act. It is not part of the statute — read the sections below for the operative language.