Surety Bond Encyclopedia

Commercial Collection Agency ($50,000) Bond - Statewide in Florida

Brief Summary

Check the exemption list before you buy anything. Section 559.544 exempts ten categories outright, including a collection agency that is not primarily engaged in collecting commercial claims, a credit grantor, an out-of-state collector, and an FDIC insured institution or its subsidiary. If you clear the exemption test, the bond runs on Florida's registration year rather than a rolling anniversary, and renewal happens between October 1 and December 31. Write both dates down now.

Section 559.545, Florida Statutes, requires a commercial collection agency registrant to furnish the Office of Financial Regulation with evidence of a current surety bond in the amount of $50,000, valid for the year of registration, paid for and issued for the use and benefit of any credit grantor who suffers or sustains loss or damage from a violation of Part V of chapter 559 by the registrant or by any agent or employee of the registrant. The registration fee is $500, renewal runs between October 1 and December 31 each year, and the bond is written on OFR form OFR-CCA-101 in favor of the Financial Services Commission of the State of Florida as Head of the Office of Financial Regulation.

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How to Apply for a Commercial Collection Agency ($50,000) Bond:

Run the exemption test in s. 559.544 first. Ten categories are exempt, including an agency not primarily engaged in the collection of commercial claims, a credit grantor, an out-of-state collector, and an FDIC insured institution or its subsidiary or affiliate.
Legal entity name exactly as it will appear on registration form OFR-COM-101.
Owner and officer names, addresses, incorporation details and counties of operation.
Disclosure of any prior license suspension or disciplinary action.
Owner or principal information for the surety's credit review.
Complete the bond application and review the quoted premium. The annual premium has to be paid in full, since the office asks for proof of that.
Pay the premium and have the surety execute form OFR-CCA-101 for $50,000, valid for the year of registration.
File the bond and the registration with the Office of Financial Regulation with the $500 registration fee, through OFR Online Services.
Calendar the renewal window. Renewal of registration is made between October 1 and December 31 each year.

Detailed Information About the Florida Commercial Collection Agency ($50,000) Bond:

Ten ways out, and most people never read them

Section 559.544 provides that no person shall engage in business in this state as a commercial collection agency without first registering, and each agency doing business here registers with the office and annually renews. It then lists exemptions, and the list is long:

A member of The Florida Bar, unless primarily engaged in the collection of commercial claims
A financial institution authorized to do business in this state and any wholly owned subsidiary and affiliate
A licensed real estate broker
A title insurance company authorized to do business in this state
A collection agency which is not primarily engaged in the collection of commercial claims
A consumer finance company and any wholly owned subsidiary and affiliate
A person licensed pursuant to chapter 520
A credit grantor
An out-of-state collector as defined in this part
An FDIC insured institution or subsidiary or affiliate thereof

Two of those catch a lot of agencies. If commercial claims are not your primary business, you are outside this registration, and a consumer focused agency that occasionally takes a business to business file is generally not a commercial collection agency for this purpose. And section 559.543 defines an out-of-state collector as a person or business entity engaged in soliciting commercial claims for collection whose activities are limited to interstate communications from outside the state. Collecting into Florida entirely by phone, mail and email from another state is treated differently from opening a Florida operation.

Section 559.543 also defines a commercial collection agency as a person engaged, as a primary or secondary business activity, in the business of soliciting commercial claims for collection or collecting commercial claims, and a commercial claim as an obligation for the payment of money arising from credit extended for purposes other than personal, family or household use.

The bond protects credit grantors, not debtors

This is the point most write ups get backwards. Section 559.545 issues the bond for the use and benefit of any credit grantor who suffers or sustains any loss or damage by reason of any violation of this part by the registrant or by any agent or employee of the registrant. The protected party is the client who placed the claim, meaning the business that was owed the money, not the debtor being collected from.

The form matches. Bond OFR-CCA-101 names the Financial Services Commission of the State of Florida as Head of the Office of Financial Regulation as obligee and conditions the obligation on compliance with chapter 559, Part V and the rules of the Office.

One pot of money, split pro rata

Section 559.546 caps things and then sets out what happens when claims stack up. The liability of the surety under any bond issued under this part shall not exceed in the aggregate the amount of the bond, and form OFR-CCA-101 repeats that the aggregate liability of the surety shall not exceed $50,000 in any and all cases.

Where claims exceed the bond, the office holds the funds for distribution to claimants and administratively determines and pays each claimant the pro rata share of each valid claim within 6 months after the date the first claim is filed. A single large client does not get to empty the bond ahead of everyone else, and the six month window starts running on the first filing rather than on the last.

What the office actually wants to see

Section 559.546 asks for evidence of a current and valid bond, meaning a copy of the surety bond issued by a surety known by the registrant to be acceptable to the office, proof that the annual premium has been paid in full, and confirmation the bond meets the statutory requirements. The bond has to be valid for the year of registration under 559.545.

That wording matters. Florida wants a bond aligned to the registration year with the premium already paid, not a bond that lapses mid year for non payment. Cancellation on form OFR-CCA-101 requires thirty days written notice to the principal and to the Office of Financial Regulation.

Dates and money

The registration fee under 559.545 is $500, and renewal of registration shall be made between October 1 and December 31 of each year. Registrations are maintained, amended and renewed online through the Office's Online Services. The Office publishes the registration form as OFR-COM-101 and the bond form as OFR-CCA-101.

The application also calls for business names and addresses, owner and officer details, incorporation information, the counties of operation, and disclosure of any prior license suspensions or disciplinary actions.

Do not confuse this with consumer collection registration

Section 559.553 sits in a different part of chapter 559 and covers consumer collection agencies. It has its own registration requirement, its own exemption list and its own renewal machinery. Registering on one track does not satisfy the other, and an agency working both commercial and consumer files needs to look at both.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Florida Commercial Collection Agency ($50,000) Bond:

A surety known by the registrant to be acceptable to the Office of Financial Regulation.
Bond amount of exactly $50,000, valid for the year of registration.
Written on form OFR-CCA-101, Bond for Commercial Collection Agency.
Financial Services Commission of the State of Florida as Head of the Office of Financial Regulation named as obligee.
Conditioned on compliance with chapter 559, Part V and the rules of the Office of Financial Regulation.
Issued for the use and benefit of any credit grantor who suffers loss or damage from a violation by the registrant or its agents or employees.
Annual premium paid in full, with evidence furnished to the office.
Thirty days written notice to the principal and to the Office before cancellation.
Owner credit review. Credit generally sets the rate rather than eligibility at this bond size.

Florida Commercial Collection Agency ($50,000) Bond FAQs:

Do I actually have to register and post the bond?

Not if you fall inside one of the ten exemptions in s. 559.544. Those cover a member of The Florida Bar unless primarily engaged in collecting commercial claims, a financial institution authorized to do business in Florida and its wholly owned subsidiaries and affiliates, a licensed real estate broker, a title insurance company authorized here, a collection agency not primarily engaged in the collection of commercial claims, a consumer finance company and its wholly owned subsidiaries and affiliates, a person licensed under chapter 520, a credit grantor, an out-of-state collector as defined in the part, and an FDIC insured institution or its subsidiary or affiliate.

We collect into Florida from another state. Does that count?

Section 559.543 defines an out-of-state collector as a person or business entity engaged in the business of soliciting commercial claims for collection whose activities are limited to interstate communications from outside the state, and s. 559.544 lists out-of-state collectors among the exemptions. Once activity stops being limited to interstate communications from outside Florida, that exemption is in question.

Is the amount ever different from $50,000?

No. Section 559.545 states a current surety bond in the amount of $50,000, and form OFR-CCA-101 is written at a fifty thousand dollar penal sum. There is no tier by revenue, claim volume, number of offices or years in business.

Who can claim against the bond?

Credit grantors. The bond is issued for the use and benefit of any credit grantor who suffers or sustains loss or damage by reason of a violation of Part V by the registrant or by any agent or employee of the registrant. It is aimed at the client that placed the claim, not at the debtor.

What happens if several claims come in at once?

Section 559.546 caps surety liability in the aggregate at the amount of the bond, and form OFR-CCA-101 repeats that the aggregate shall not exceed $50,000 in any and all cases. Where claims exceed the bond, the office holds the funds and administratively determines and pays each claimant the pro rata share of each valid claim within 6 months after the date the first claim is filed.

When do I renew?

Renewal of registration is made between October 1 and December 31 of each year under s. 559.545, and the bond has to be valid for the year of registration. Filings to maintain, amend and renew are completed online through OFR Online Services.

What are the fees and forms?

The registration fee under s. 559.545 is $500. The Office publishes the registration as form OFR-COM-101, Registration of Commercial Collection Agency, and the bond as form OFR-CCA-101, Bond for Commercial Collection Agency.

Is this the same as the consumer collection agency registration?

No. Consumer collection agencies register under s. 559.553 in a different part of chapter 559, with its own exemption list and renewal process. An agency handling both commercial and consumer accounts has to look at both parts separately.

What will the bond cost?

Premium is a percentage of the $50,000 penalty, set by the surety after reviewing the owners' personal credit and, for larger agencies, financial statements, trust account handling and time in business. Clean credit and an established agency price at the low end of a surety's filed rates. Weak credit, a startup, or a prior claim price higher and can require collateral or an indemnitor. Florida also wants proof the annual premium is paid in full, so a financed premium arrangement can create a problem at filing.