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Recovery ratesAny single number you're quoted is an average of portfolios that aren't yours. Here's what moves the rate, what the public data says and how to measure it on your own accounts.
As of October 2026, there's no reliable industry-wide recovery rate for collection agencies. Results swing with account age, balance, debt type and how many agencies worked the account before. Public figures run from low single digits on old, many-times-placed debt upward on fresh accounts. Measure net-back by placement month on your own accounts instead of trusting a quoted average.
TSI (Transworld Systems Inc.) publishes it. TSI provides Accounts Receivable Management (ARM), Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), CXBPO and Loan Servicing (via UAS). DebtNext, a TSI company, makes recovery management software for creditors. Some options this page describes compete with services TSI sells. Each figure names its publisher and date so you can check it yourself.
Recovery rate is the share of placed dollars an agency collects over a set period. Four things move it before the agency makes a single call.
Account age at placement. A 90-day account and a 3-year-old account are different products. The FTC's 2013 study of debt buying shows how fast value falls: buyers paid an average 7.9 cents per dollar for card debt under 3 years old that had never been placed, 3.1 cents for debt 3 to 6 years old and 2.2 cents for debt 6 to 15 years old.
Balance. Small balances often resolve at higher rates; large ones take longer and settle more.
Debt type. In the same FTC data, medical debt sold for 3.0 cents less per dollar than card debt, and utility debt for 3.6 cents less.
Prior placements. Each agency that has already worked an account takes the easiest dollars with it. The FTC found previously placed debt sold for 1.4 cents less than the baseline.
Then there's the measuring. A rate quoted at 6 months and one quoted at 24 months can describe the same work. So can a gross rate (before fees) and a net rate (after them).
| Figure | Source | What it covers | Why it doesn't transfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.8% of assigned dollars collected, April 2017 to March 2024 | TIGTA, December 2024 | Private agencies collecting inactive federal tax debt for the IRS | Aged, previously worked government receivables with special rules |
| 2.2 to 7.9 cents per dollar paid for portfolios | FTC, January 2013 | Prices debt buyers paid for 2006 to 2009 portfolios | A price, set below what buyers expect to collect, on old data |
| Age-based "collectability" charts (for example, half of accounts collectible at about 6 months) | Repeated on agency websites, often credited to trade groups | Unclear | We couldn't find a primary source with a method and date, so we don't use them |
TIGTA's report gives a useful floor for very old debt. Private agencies collected more than $2.4 billion of the more than $64.9 billion assigned to them, and commissions came to about 17% of collections (TSI calculation from TIGTA's figures).
Track every agency the same way, on the same accounts.
Each month's placements form a pool. Never mix new placements into an old pool.
Record gross dollars collected for each pool at 30, 60, 90, 180 and 365 days. This is the stair-step, or static-pool, view.
Net-back = gross collections − fees − other costs you pay, divided by dollars placed. That's the number that reaches your books.
Same placement months, similar account mix, same age. The fairest test splits similar accounts at random between agencies.
Here's how a stair-step looks with illustrative numbers. Agency B starts slower and catches up; a 90-day snapshot alone would pick the wrong one.
| $1,000,000 placed in March | 30 days | 90 days | 180 days | 365 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency A, gross collected | $22,000 | $58,000 | $84,000 | $105,000 |
| Agency B, gross collected | $15,000 | $52,000 | $90,000 | $121,000 |
| A net-back at 365 days, 25% fee | 7.9% | |||
| B net-back at 365 days, 28% fee | 8.7% |
Agency B charges more and still nets more by month 12 (TSI calculation on illustrative inputs). What collection agencies charge goes deeper into fee against liquidation, and selling or placing charged-off accounts compares placement with a sale price.
Results vary by portfolio, including account age, balance and type, and by client program.
For accounts like yours: what age, balance and type, and how many prior placements?
Over what period, gross or net, and counted from placement or from first contact?
Can you see the stair-step by placement month, with the dollars placed behind each line?
Will they run a split placement against your current agency? How to choose a collection agency sets one up.
One that beats your alternatives on the same accounts: your in-house team, another agency or a sale. Because rates depend so heavily on age, type and prior placements, compare agencies on your own accounts over the same months.
They're often used the same way: collections divided by dollars placed over a period. Some agencies mean net of fees, others gross. Ask which, and over how many months.
They measure different portfolios over different periods, and some count accounts resolved instead of dollars collected. A rate without the account mix and period behind it can't be compared.
Yes. Each earlier agency collects the easiest dollars first. The FTC's debt-buying data shows previously placed accounts selling for less, which reflects lower expected collections.
General information, current as of Nov 5, 2026. It isn't legal advice. Rules change and differ by state, so check the sources linked here and talk to your own counsel before you act on it.
The Recovery Performance Diagnostic builds net-back curves by placement month on one portfolio or segment, and designs a carve-out to test an agency against them.
