2000 Minnesota Statutes

     332.33 Licenses. 

    Subdivision 1.    Requirement.  Except as otherwise 
 provided in this chapter, no person shall conduct within this 
 state a collection agency or engage within this state in the 
 business of collecting claims for others as defined in sections 
 332.31 to 332.45, without having first applied for and obtained 
 a collection agency license.  A person acting under the 
 authority of a collection agency, as a collector, must first 
 obtain a Minnesota collector license.  A licensed collector may 
 use one additional assumed name only if the assumed name is 
 registered with and approved by the commissioner. 

    Subd. 2.    Penalty.  A person who carries on business 
 as a collection agency or acts as a collector without first 
 having obtained a license pursuant to sections 332.31 to 332.45, 
 or who carries on this business after the revocation, 
 suspension, or expiration of a license is guilty of a 
 misdemeanor. 

    Subd. 3.    Term.  Licenses issued or renewed by the 
 commissioner of commerce under sections 332.31 to 332.45 shall 
 expire on June 30.  Each license shall plainly state the name 
 and business address of the licensee, and shall be posted in a 
 conspicuous place in the office where the business is 
 transacted.  The fee for each license is $500 and renewal as 
 collection agency is $400.  The fee for each license and renewal 
 as collector shall be $10.  A licensee who desires to carry on 
 business in more than one place shall procure a license for each 
 place where the business is to be conducted.  

    Subd. 4.    Investigations.  The commissioner may 
 require financial statements and references of all applicants 
 for a license as the commissioner considers necessary.  The 
 commissioner may make or cause to be made an independent 
 investigation concerning the applicant's reputation, integrity, 
 competence, and net worth, at the expense of the applicant for 
 the initial investigation, not to exceed $500, and for that 
 purpose may require a deposit against the cost of the 
 investigation as the commissioner considers adequate.  The 
 investigation may cover all managerial personnel employed by or 
 associated with the applicant.  

    Subd. 5.    Issuance.  Every application for a 
 collection agency license or renewal shall be acted upon 
 promptly by the commissioner but in no event more than 45 days 
 after receipt of the application.  Every application for a 
 collector's license or renewal shall be acted upon promptly by 
 the commissioner but in no event more than 15 days after receipt 
 of the completed application.  Each applicant may be issued a 
 temporary license after submitting a complete application which 
 meets all requirements for licensure.  This license shall be 
 effective until a permanent license is issued by the 
 commissioner.  If the application complies in form and substance 
 with sections 332.31 to 332.45 and the rules adopted under those 
 sections and the commissioner finds that the applicant is 
 qualified under sections 332.31 to 332.45, the commissioner 
 shall issue a license immediately.  If the application is not 
 sufficient in form or substance, the commissioner shall reject 
 it and notify the applicant of the manner in which it is 
 deficient.  The rejection is without prejudice to the filing of 
 a new application.  On finding that the applicant is not 
 qualified under sections 332.31 to 332.45, the commissioner 
 shall reject the application and shall give the applicant 
 written notice of the rejection and the reasons for the 
 rejection.  

    Subd. 6.    Deposit of fees.  All money received by the 
 commissioner shall be deposited in the general fund of the state 
 treasury.  

    Subd. 7.    Notice.  A licensed collection agency or 
 individual collector must give the commissioner written notice 
 of a change in personal name, company name, address, or 
 ownership not later than 15 days after the change occurs. 

    HIST: 1969 c 399 s 1; 1969 c 766 s 3; 1971 c 23 s 22; 1971 c 
 576 s 1; 1973 c 720 s 54 subd 2; 1979 c 144 s 6; 1980 c 516 s 2; 
 1983 c 289 s 114 subd 1; 1984 c 655 art 1 s 92; 1985 c 248 s 70; 
 1986 c 444; 1987 c 37 s 2; 1987 c 358 s 118,119; 1997 c 222 s 
 50,51