Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation

If you intend to conduct debt settlement services in the State of Maryland, you may be required to register with the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation ("Commissioner"). Additionally, on or before March 15, 2012 and ending with March 15, 2014, each debt settlement services provider that is registered with the Commissioner shall report on the debt settlement services business that the registrant conducted in Maryland during the preceding calendar year on a form prescribed by the Commissioner. Please refer to the Maryland Debt Settlement Services Act, Maryland Code Annotated, Financial Institutions § 12-1001, et. seq.

IMPORTANT UPDATE - February 5, 2013

Pursuant to Section 2 of Chapter 281 of the Acts of 2011, registered debt settlement providers are required to provide data and other information to the Commissioner of Financial Regulation. The annual reports cover the business conducted by the Registrants during the immediately preceding year.

Industry participants have raised questions about the utility of the summary data required as it includes data contracts entered into prior to the effective date of the amendments to the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule on October 27, 2010. To maximize the utility of the data gathered, Registrants are required to submit the summary information segmented into data for contracts entered into before (Section B) and after (Section C) the effective date of the amendments to the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule. THE 2013 SUBMISSION IS DUE ON MARCH 15, 2013.

Featured Information

Advisory: Maryland Debt Settlement Services Providers

Applications and Forms (download Word viewer for free)

Maryland Debt Settlement Services Provider Registration Description (Word document, 63KB)
Maryland Debt Settlement Services Provider New Registration Checklist (Word document, 73KB)
Maryland Debt Settlement Services Provider Registration Form (Word document, 208KB)
Debt Settlement Services Provider Annual Report - DUE ON OR BEFORE MARCH 15, 2013 (Report of Maryland Debt Settlement Services for Previous Calendar Year Required to be Filed with the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation) (Excel document, 4.5MB, download Excel viewer for free)
Instructions for Debt Settlement Services Provider Annual Report (Word document, 47KB, download Word viewer for free)
Debt Settlement Services Provider Surety Bond Form (Word document, 55KB)
Update Licensing Contact Information (Word document, 50KB)

Laws and Rules

Registrants and applicants are expected to be knowledgeable about and in compliance with Maryland Code Annotated, Financial Institutions § 12-1001, et. seq., and Maryland Code Annotated, Commercial Law § 13-301, et. seq. and any other applicable State or Federal statutes and regulations.

Maryland Code Annotated, Financial Institutions § 12-1001 et seq. (Maryland Debt Settlement Services Act)
Maryland Code Annotated, Commercial Law § 13-301 et seq. (Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practice)

Return to the Commissioner of Financial Regulation home page

Questions or comments regarding the Commissioner of Financial Regulation may be directed to finreg@dllr.state.md.us.
Questions or comments regarding the DLLR website may be directed to webmaster@dllr.state.md.us.