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Collections"Licensed in all 50 states" is easy to say and harder to prove. Here's what the phrase should mean, how to check any agency's licenses yourself, and what to ask for before an agency makes your invite list.
No public list names the agencies licensed in all 50 states, because licensing is state by state and not every state licenses collectors. "Licensed in all 50 states" should mean licensed or registered everywhere a state requires it. To verify, get the agency's license inventory and check each entry with the state regulator or on NMLS Consumer Access.
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.
The National Consumer Law Center puts it plainly: "Not all states require debt collectors to be licensed" (NCLC, State Policy Resources: Consumer Debt Collection, updated Jul 9, 2026). So an agency can't hold a collection license in a state that doesn't issue one.
What the phrase should mean is narrower and checkable: the agency holds every license, registration and bond required where your consumers live, and can show you the list. An agency that answers "licensed where required" with no list may be describing an assumption rather than an audit.
The requirements also sit at more than one level. Some states license the company, some also register or license individual collectors, and licenses often come with a surety bond requirement. Cities can add their own.
New York City is the common example. Its Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) says businesses "whose principal purpose is to regularly collect or to attempt to collect personal or household debts from New York City residents must have a Debt Collection Agency license no matter where the agency is located." The application requires a $5,000 surety bond naming the City of New York.
Where the rule stands
Ask for the license inventory in writing. It should list every state, city and territory, the license or registration type, the number, the issuing agency, the expiration date and the bond behind it.
Check each state license where it's issued. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors describes NMLS Consumer Access as "a free service for consumers to confirm that the financial-services company or professional with whom they wish to conduct business is authorized to conduct business in their state." You can search it by company name or NMLS ID.
Use the state regulator's own lookup for states that don't license collectors through NMLS. NCLC notes that some states publish lists of licensed debt collectors on the regulator's website.
In New York City, DCWP's Search Business tool shows whether a business holds a DCWP license, and you don't need an account to use it.
Ask how individual collectors are licensed where a state requires it, and how the agency keeps anyone from working a state's accounts before their credential clears.
Check the CFPB's enforcement actions and complaint database, state regulators' orders, and the agency's own disclosure of consent orders and pending matters.
| Item | Ask the agency for | Check it yourself at |
|---|---|---|
| State licenses and registrations | The full inventory with numbers and expiration dates | NMLS Consumer Access; each state regulator's lookup |
| City licenses | License numbers for cities that license collectors | The city's own lookup (in New York City, DCWP Search Business) |
| Surety bonds | Bond amount, obligee and expiration for each license | The bond certificate; the regulator |
| Individual collector credentials | Which states require them and how new hires are cleared | The state regulator |
| Authority to do business | Certificates of authority in states that require registration | The Secretary of State's business search |
| Regulatory record | Orders, consent agreements and pending matters, with dates | CFPB enforcement actions; state regulator orders |
Any of these can have an innocent explanation. Ask for it in writing before the agency goes on your invite list.
TSI's Compliance Department sets licensing and registration policy, including collector-level requirements, and obtains the surety bonds each license needs. It also obtains certificates of authority in states that require registration to do business.
A licensing specialist keeps a record of every license, registration, annual filing and bond, with document numbers, locations and renewal dates. Those records are reconciled against state, local or vendor databases on a regular cycle, and every renewal is calendared 60 days before it expires.
Where a state licenses individual collectors, new collectors apply during onboarding. No one is assigned accounts in that state until the credential is confirmed. Compliance audits licensing on a set schedule and escalates any exception for remediation.
TSI's answer to "are you licensed in all 50 states?" is yes, in the sense this page describes: licensed or registered in every state that requires it, and authorized to collect in all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico.
TSI's NMLS ID is 950422. The state disclosures on TSI's Know Your Rights page carry it, along with license numbers for states that require them in consumer notices and TSI's New York City DCWP license numbers.
TSI's company facts page summarizes who owns TSI and what it's licensed to do. During an RFP, TSI's RFP desk can send the current license list.
Licensing is a pass/fail gate before any scoring starts. The collection services RFP kit has the gate questions, weighted criteria, model questions and an editable scoring template for up to 5 agencies.
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.
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