Who requires it
Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection
License & permit · Maine
Maine Debt Collector Bond
Debt collectors licensed under Maine’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act must keep a surety the administrator finds reasonably necessary under 32 M.R.S. §11032. The Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection publishes the operative amounts: new direct-collection applicants post twenty thousand dollars, repossession or residential property-preservation applicants post fifteen thousand dollars, and letter-writing companies that make no direct collections post five thousand dollars. At renewal, average monthly gross Maine collections set the amount from fifteen thousand dollars under ten thousand dollars a month up to fifty thousand dollars when monthly averages exceed forty thousand dollars. Repossession and property-preservation renewals stay at fifteen thousand dollars, and letter-writing renewals stay at five thousand dollars. Sureties may cancel with thirty days’ notice to the administrator, and most debt-collector bonds now file as NMLS electronic surety bonds.
Common bond amount
$5,000–$50,000
New-applicant amounts by activity; renewal amounts by average monthly Maine collections (Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection / Bureau Rule Ch. 300).
How you file
File electronically through NMLS for most debt-collector licenses (paper form for residential property preservation)
Renewal
Concurrent with license; recalculate amount from Maine collection averages
Who requires it
Applicants for and holders of Maine debt collector licenses—including collection agencies, debt buyers, repossession companies, and related activities described on the Bureau’s licensing page—plus residential property-preservation providers that use the Bureau’s bond schedule.
How much is required
For a first license, select the activity-based new-applicant amount ($20,000 / $15,000 / $5,000). At renewal, compute average monthly gross Maine collections for the prior year and read the Bureau’s bracket table ($15,000 to $50,000). Repossession-only and letter-writing renewals keep their fixed specialty amounts.
How to get and file it
Identify your activity class and, for renewals, your Maine collection average. Have an authorized surety issue an electronic surety bond through NMLS for that amount—except residential property-preservation providers, which the Bureau still directs to its paper bond form path. Keep the bond concurrent with the calendar-year license. Recalculate the amount before each renewal when Maine collection volume has changed. Surety cancellation requires thirty days’ notice to the administrator and does not erase liability for earlier events. Convert existing paper bonds to electronic surety bonds on the Bureau’s published deadline when your license type is on the electronic-bond list.
Cost note
The schedule amount is the required bond amount, not the premium you pay. See bond amount vs premium. Bond amount vs premium →
Requirement checklist
- New — direct collections
- $20,000
- New — repossession / property preservation
- $15,000
- New — letter writing (no direct collections)
- $5,000
- Renewal — > $40,000 average monthly Maine collections
- $50,000
- Renewal — under $10,000 average monthly Maine collections
- $15,000
Official sources
Frequently asked questions
Do debt buyers need the same bond as collection agencies?
Debt buyers that regularly purchase charged-off consumer debt for collection are within the Bureau’s debt-collector licensing description. Confirm your NMLS checklist for the exact amount and electronic-bond instructions that apply to debt-buyer activity.
How is the renewal bond amount calculated?
The Bureau uses average monthly gross Maine collections for the preceding year. Brackets run from under $10,000 a month ($15,000 bond) up through over $40,000 a month ($50,000 bond), with intermediate $25,000, $35,000, and $45,000 steps.
Related Maine bond guides
Debt Management Services Bond
$50,000
Anyone registering to provide debt-management services under Maine’s Debt Management Services Act must file a fifty-thousand-dollar surety with the administrator. Section 6174 sets that combined amount on a form the administrator approves and ties the bond term to the registration period. The instrument runs to the administrator for use by the administrator and by persons who may have a cause of action against the provider. Registrations file through NMLS, and the Bureau now expects electronic surety bonds for this credential.
Loan Broker / Supervised Lender Bond
$25,000 / $50,000
Maine’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection treats loan brokerage and supervised lending as related Consumer Credit Code credentials with different bond amounts. Article 10 loan brokers—including firms that improve credit records or arrange consumer credit for a fee—must accompany each application with a twenty-five-thousand-dollar surety under 9-A M.R.S. §10-202, reduced to ten thousand dollars when the broker works solely as a refund-anticipation loan or check facilitator. Bureau FAQs require that twenty-five-thousand-dollar coverage for every licensed location and allow one combined instrument that lists each address. Supervised lenders under §2-302 must attach a fifty-thousand-dollar surety to each branch application; the administrator may also require a main-office bond not exceeding fifty thousand dollars. Both license paths now file electronic surety bonds through NMLS.
Money Transmitter Bond
$100,000
Money transmission applicants and licensees under Title 32 chapter 79-A must keep one hundred thousand dollars of security on file with the administrator. Section 6100-S allows either a surety bond in a form the administrator accepts or, with approval, a deposit instead of a bond. A licensee may post more than that amount when permissible-investment rules under section 6100-T call for it. Licensing and bonding for this program run through NMLS, and the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection now receives new and converted electronic surety bonds for money transmitters.
Surety basics (not repeated here)
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
Continue with a Maine application
Maine will be preselected. Choose your bond type in the application—we confirm the correct product against your agency form before anything is issued.
Last verified 2026-08-12. This guide is based on verified educational content and official sources.
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