Chapter 205 — FINANCIAL REGULATION

(205 ILCS 740/15) (was 225 ILCS 425/15) Sec. 15. If any clause, sentence, Section, provision or part of this Act shall be adjudged to be unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, such judgment shall not impair, affect or invalidate the remainder of this Act, which shall be in f…

(205 ILCS 740/16) (was 225 ILCS 425/16) Sec. 16. Investigation; notice and hearing. The Department may investigate and conduct periodic examinations of the actions or qualifications of any applicant or of any person rendering or offering to render collection agency services or an…

(205 ILCS 740/17) (was 225 ILCS 425/17) Sec. 17. Record of hearing; transcript. The Department, at its expense, shall preserve a record of all proceedings at the formal hearing of any case. The notice of hearing, complaint, all other documents in the nature of pleadings, written …

(205 ILCS 740/18) (was 225 ILCS 425/18) Sec. 18. Subpoenas; oaths; attendance of witnesses. (a) The Department has the power to subpoena documents, books, records, or other materials and to bring before it any person and to take testimony either orally or by deposition, or both, …

(205 ILCS 740/19) (was 225 ILCS 425/19) Sec. 19. Findings and recommendations. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall present to the Secretary a written report of its findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations. The report shall contain a findin…

(205 ILCS 740/1a) (was 225 ILCS 425/1a) Sec. 1a. Declaration of public policy. The practice as a collection agency by any entity in the State of Illinois is hereby declared to affect the public health, safety and welfare and to be subject to regulation and control in the public i…

(205 ILCS 740/2) (was 225 ILCS 425/2) (Text of Section from P.A. 104-149) Sec. 2. Definitions. In this Act: "Address of record" means the designated address recorded by the Department in the applicant's or licensee's application file or license file as maintained by the Departmen…

(205 ILCS 740/2.01) (was 225 ILCS 425/2.01) Sec. 2.01. (Repealed). (Source: P.A. 85-1209. Repealed by P.A. 95-437, eff. 1-1-08.)

(205 ILCS 740/2.02) (was 225 ILCS 425/2.02) Sec. 2.02. (Repealed). (Source: P.A. 94-414, eff. 12-31-05. Repealed by P.A. 95-437, eff. 1-1-08.)

(205 ILCS 740/2.03) (was 225 ILCS 425/2.03) Sec. 2.03. Exemptions. This Act does not apply to the following: 1. Banks, including trust departments, affiliates, and subsidiaries thereof, and fiduciaries (except those who own or operate collection agencies); 2. Abstract companies d…

(205 ILCS 740/2.04) (was 225 ILCS 425/2.04) Sec. 2.04. Child support debt. (a) Collection agencies engaged in the business of collecting child support debt owing under a court order as provided under the Illinois Public Aid Code, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage …

(205 ILCS 740/2.5) (was 225 ILCS 425/2.5) Sec. 2.5. Address of record; email address of record. All applicants and licensees shall: (1) provide a valid address and email address to the Department, which shall serve as the address of record and email address or record, respectivel…

(205 ILCS 740/20) (was 225 ILCS 425/20) Sec. 20. Rehearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, a copy of the hearing officer's report shall be served upon the applicant or licensee by the Department, either personally or as provided in this Act for the service of the notice of hea…

(205 ILCS 740/21) (was 225 ILCS 425/21) Sec. 21. Secretary; rehearing. Whenever the Secretary is not satisfied that substantial justice has been done in the revocation, suspension, or refusal to issue, restore, or renew a license, or other discipline of an applicant or licensee, …

(205 ILCS 740/22) (was 225 ILCS 425/22) Sec. 22. Appointment of a hearing officer. The Secretary has the authority to appoint any attorney duly licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois to serve as the hearing officer in any action for refusal to issue, restore, or renew …

(205 ILCS 740/23) (was 225 ILCS 425/23) Sec. 23. Order or certified copy; prima facie proof. An order or a certified copy thereof, over the seal of the Department and purporting to be signed by the Secretary, shall be prima facie proof that: (1) the signature is the genuine signa…

(205 ILCS 740/24) (was 225 ILCS 425/24) Sec. 24. Restoration of license from discipline. At any time after the successful completion of a term of indefinite probation, suspension, or revocation of any license, the Department may restore the license to the licensee unless after an…

(205 ILCS 740/25) (was 225 ILCS 425/25) Sec. 25. (Repealed). (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15. Repealed by P.A. 102-975, eff. 1-1-23.)

(205 ILCS 740/26) (was 225 ILCS 425/26) Sec. 26. Administrative review; venue. (a) All final administrative decisions of the Department are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law and its rules. The term "administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-…

(205 ILCS 740/27) (was 225 ILCS 425/27) Sec. 27. Certifications of record; costs. The Department shall not be required to certify any record to the court or file any answer in court or otherwise appear in any court in a judicial review proceeding, unless and until the Department …

(205 ILCS 740/3) (was 225 ILCS 425/3) Sec. 3. (Repealed). (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15. Repealed by P.A. 104-149, eff. 1-1-26.)

(205 ILCS 740/30) (was 225 ILCS 425/30) Sec. 30. Expiration, renewal, and restoration of license. The expiration date and renewal period for each license shall be set by rule. A collection agency whose license has expired may restore its license at any time within one year after …

(205 ILCS 740/35) (was 225 ILCS 425/35) Sec. 35. Returned checks; fines. Any person who delivers a check or other payment to the Department that is returned to the Department unpaid by the financial institution upon which it is drawn shall pay to the Department, in addition to th…

(205 ILCS 740/4) (was 225 ILCS 425/4) Sec. 4. No collection agency shall operate in this State, directly or indirectly engage in the business of collecting debt, solicit debt claims for others, have a sales office, a client, or solicit a client in this State, exercise the right t…

(205 ILCS 740/4.5) (was 225 ILCS 425/4.5) Sec. 4.5. Unlicensed practice; violation; civil penalty. (a) Any person who practices, offers to practice, attempts to practice, or holds oneself out to practice as a collection agency without being licensed under this Act shall, in addit…

(205 ILCS 740/4.6) (was 225 ILCS 425/4.6) Sec. 4.6. Multi-state licensing system. The Secretary may require participation in a third-party, multi-state licensing system for licensing under this Act. The multi-state licensing system may share regulatory information and maintain re…

(205 ILCS 740/40) (was 225 ILCS 425/40) Sec. 40. Unlicensed practice; cease and desist. Whenever, in the opinion of the Department, a person violates any provision of this Act, the Department may issue a rule to show cause why an order to cease and desist should not be entered ag…

(205 ILCS 740/45) (was 225 ILCS 425/45) Sec. 45. Summary suspension of license. The Secretary may summarily suspend the license of a licensed collection agency without a hearing, simultaneously with the institution of proceedings for a hearing provided for in Section 16 of this A…

(205 ILCS 740/5) (was 225 ILCS 425/5) Sec. 5. Application for original license. Application for an original license shall be made to the Secretary on forms provided by the Department or through a multi-state licensing system as designated by the Secretary. The application shall b…

(205 ILCS 740/50) (was 225 ILCS 425/50) Sec. 50. Consent order. At any point in the proceedings as provided in Sections 9.5, 11, 14a, 16, and 45, both parties may agree to a negotiated consent order. The consent order shall be final upon signature of the Secretary. (Source: P.A. …

(205 ILCS 740/55) (was 225 ILCS 425/55) Sec. 55. Confidentiality. All information collected by the Department in the course of an examination or investigation of a licensee or applicant, including, but not limited to, any complaint against a licensee filed with the Department and…

(205 ILCS 740/6) (was 225 ILCS 425/6) Sec. 6. (Repealed). (Source: P.A. 89-387, eff. 1-1-96. Repealed by P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)

(205 ILCS 740/60) (was 225 ILCS 425/60) Sec. 60. Liability; federal compliance. A collection agency or a debt buyer shall not be subject to civil liability for its failure to comply with Section 2, 9.1, 9.2, or 9.3 of this Act, as amended by Public Act 99-227, if the collection a…

(205 ILCS 740/6a) (was 225 ILCS 425/6a) Sec. 6a. (Repealed). (Source: P.A. 94-414, eff. 12-31-05. Repealed by P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)

(205 ILCS 740/7) (was 225 ILCS 425/7) Sec. 7. Qualifications for license. In order to be qualified to obtain a license or a renewal license under this Act, a collection agency's owners or officers shall: (a) have the financial responsibility, financial condition, business experie…

(205 ILCS 740/8) (was 225 ILCS 425/8) Sec. 8. Bond requirement. A collection agency shall be required to file and maintain in force a surety bond, issued by an insurance company authorized to transact fidelity and surety business in the State of Illinois. The bond shall be for th…

(205 ILCS 740/8.5) (was 225 ILCS 425/8.5) Sec. 8.5. Debt buyers. A debt buyer shall be subject to all of the terms, conditions, and requirements of this Act, except as otherwise provided for in subsection (b) of Section 8.6 of this Act. (Source: P.A. 97-1070, eff. 1-1-13.)

(205 ILCS 740/8.6) (was 225 ILCS 425/8.6) Sec. 8.6. Debt buyer activities. (a) Debt buyers initiating actions upon an obligation arising out of a consumer debt shall be commenced within the applicable statute of limitations period. (b) With respect to its activities as a debt buy…

(205 ILCS 740/8a) (was 225 ILCS 425/8a) Sec. 8a. Fees. (a) The fees for the administration and enforcement of this Act, including but not limited to original licensure, renewal, and restoration, shall be set by the Department by rule. All fees are nonrefundable. (b) All fees coll…

(205 ILCS 740/8a-1) (was 225 ILCS 425/8a-1) Sec. 8a-1. (a) No account may be referred by a collection agency to an attorney unless, prior to placing an account with an attorney for further collection action, each account creditor is notified in writing by the collection agency of…

(205 ILCS 740/8b) (was 225 ILCS 425/8b) Sec. 8b. Assignment for collection. An account may be assigned to a collection agency for collection with title passing to the collection agency to enable collection of the account in the agency's name as assignee for the creditor provided:…

(205 ILCS 740/8c) (was 225 ILCS 425/8c) Sec. 8c. (a) Each licensed collection agency shall at all times maintain a separate bank account in which all monies received on debts shall be deposited, referred to as a "Trust Account", except that negotiable instruments received may be …

(205 ILCS 740/9) (was 225 ILCS 425/9) Sec. 9. Disciplinary actions. (a) The Department may refuse to issue or renew, or may revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or take other disciplinary or non-disciplinary action as the Department may deem proper, including fines not…

(205 ILCS 740/9.1) (was 225 ILCS 425/9.1) Sec. 9.1. Communication with persons other than debtor. Any collection agency communicating with any person other than the debtor for the purpose of acquiring location information about the debtor shall: (1) identify himself or herself, s…

(205 ILCS 740/9.2) (was 225 ILCS 425/9.2) Sec. 9.2. Communication in connection with debt collection. (a) Without the prior consent of the debtor given directly to the collection agency or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, a collection agency may not co…

(205 ILCS 740/9.22) (was 225 ILCS 425/9.22) Sec. 9.22. Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is hereby expressly adopted and incorporated herein as if all of the provisions of that Act were included in this Act, except that the provision…

(205 ILCS 740/9.3) (was 225 ILCS 425/9.3) Sec. 9.3. Validation of debts. (a) Within 5 days after the initial communication with a debtor in connection with the collection of any debt, a collection agency shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communic…

(205 ILCS 740/9.4) (was 225 ILCS 425/9.4) Sec. 9.4. Debt collection as a result of identity theft. (a) Upon receipt from a debtor of all of the following information, a collection agency must cease collection activities until completion of the review provided in subsection (d) of…

(205 ILCS 740/9.5) (was 225 ILCS 425/9.5) Sec. 9.5. Statute of limitations. No action may be filed against any licensee for violation of the terms of this Act or its rules unless the action is commenced within 5 years after the occurrence of the alleged violation. A continuing vi…

(205 ILCS 740/9.6) Sec. 9.6. Coerced debt. (a) A debtor is not liable for any coerced debt, as defined in this Act, and may assert that the debtor has incurred a coerced debt by providing to a collection agency a written statement of coerced debt. The statement of coerced debt sh…