This consolidation is unofficial and is for reference only.

For the official version of the regulations, consult the original documents on file with the Office of the Registrar of Regulations , or refer to the Royal Gazette

Part II .

Regulations are amended frequently.

Please check the list of Regulations by Act to see if there are any recent amendments to these regulations filed with our office that are not yet included in this consolidation.

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this electronic version, the Office of the Registrar of Regulations assumes no responsibility for any discrepancies that may have resulted from reformatting.

This electronic version is copyright ©

, Province of Nova Scotia , all rights reserved. It is for your personal use and may not be copied for the purposes of resale in this or any other form.

Collection and Debt Management Agencies Regulations

made under

Section 28 of the

Collection and Debt Management Agencies Act

R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 77

O.I.C. 2021-7 (effective May 1, 2021), N.S. Reg. 5/2021

amended to O.I.C. 2026-25 (effective January 26, 2026), N.S. Reg. 19/2026

Table of Contents

Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.

Click here to go to the text of the regulations .

Citation

Definitions

Definition for Act

Persons exempt from Act

Licence renewal

Fees

Change of collection agency or debt management agency name

Collection agency and debt management agency premises

Collector or debt management agent working remotely

Withdrawals from trust account

Remittance of funds to creditors

Inability to locate missing creditors

Register of trust accounts

Receipts for payments made by or on behalf of debtors

Debt management agreement receipts

Record disposal

Amount and form of bond

Termination of bond

Bond to remain in force

Forfeiture of bond

Assignment of bond or payment of money recovered under forfeited bond

Payment of proceeds of bond 2 years after forfeiture

Content of debt management agreement

Fees charged to debtor by debt management agency

Debtor may cancel debt management agreement

Information required to be provided by collection agency or collector

Days when collection agency or collector must not contact person

Debt management agreement—prohibited representations

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the Collection and Debt Management Agencies

Regulations .

Definitions

2 In these regulations,

“Act” means the Collection and Debt Management Agencies Act ;

“debt management agreement” means a written agreement between a debtor and a

debt management agency referred to in subsection 20A(4) of the Act.

Definition for Act

3 In clause 20(1)(

f) of the Act, “written notice” includes a notice sent by e-mail.

Persons exempt from Act

4 In addition to the exemption set out in

Section 3 of the Act, all of the following persons

are exempted from the application of the Act:

(

a) a licensed insolvency trustee within the meaning of

Part I of the Bankruptcy

and Insolvency Act (Canada);

(

b) an administrator as defined in Division II of

Part III of the Bankruptcy and

Insolvency Act (Canada).

5 (1) [repealed]

(2) An applicant for a collection agency licence must have had at least 2 years’

experience in all phases of collection agency business, or related experience that, in

the opinion of the Registrar, is equivalent.

(3) An applicant for a debt management agency licence must have had at least 2 years’

experience in all phases of debt management agency business, or related

experience that, in the opinion of the Registrar, is equivalent.

Licence renewal

6 The Registrar may renew a licence on receiving all of the following from the applicant:

(

a) a completed application for renewal in a form provided by the Registrar;

(

b) the fee prescribed in these regulations.

Fees

(1) The fees to be paid to the Registrar are as follows:

(

a) to apply for a collection agency licence or a debt management agency

licence: $464.75;

(

b) to renew a collection agency licence or a debt management agency licence:

$464.75;

(

c) for each branch office of a collection agency or debt management agency:

$165.70;

(d) [repealed]

(e) [repealed]

(

f) for each duplicate licence when the original is lost, stolen or destroyed:

$37.35.

(2) A person requesting a duplicate licence must provide an affidavit stating that the

original was lost, stolen or destroyed.

Change of collection agency or debt management agency name

(1) When the name of a collection agency or debt management agency changes, the

collection agency or debt management agency must notify the Registrar in writing

of the new name within 30 days of the date of the change.

(2) When the Registrar is notified of a name change by a collection agency or debt

management agency, the Registrar must issue new licences for the collection

agency or debt management agency that show the new name.

9 A holder of a collection agency licence who has reported a debt to a consumer reporting

agency must inform the consumer reporting agency of any change in the status of the

account within 35 days of the change in status.

Collection agency and debt management agency premises

(1) A holder of a collection agency licence or debt management agency licence must,

for the purpose of carrying on its activities, maintain separate and adequate

premises of which the licence holder is the occupant and where the licence holder

(

a) may be reached personally;

(

b) may receive clients in private; and

(

c) keeps the records and books prescribed by the Act or these regulations.

(2) A holder of a collection agency licence or debt management agency licence who

keeps a branch office must assign a responsible agent to the branch on a permanent

basis.

Collector or debt management agent working remotely

10A

(1) In this Section,

“remote workspace” means a place, other than the place authorized by the licence

of the collection agency or debt management agency, where a collector or debt

management agent works remotely.

(2) A collector or debt management agent’s remote workspace must be a secure and

private workspace, located in Canada, where the personal information of debtors

cannot be accessed, viewed or overheard by anyone other than the collector or debt

management agent.

(3) All of the following conditions must be met for a collector or debt management

agent to work from a remote workspace:

(

a) all collection agency activity or debt management agency activity must be

conducted at the remote workspace;

(

b) the equipment used to conduct collection agency activity or debt

management agency activity must be

(

i) supplied by the collection agency or debt management agency, and

(ii) used only for collection agency or debt management agency purposes

and not for any personal or other purposes;

(

c) all collection agency activity or debt management activity must be entered

directly into the systems of the collection agency or debt management

agency;

(

d) all information and data used or gathered for the purposes of collection

agency activity or debt management agency activity must not be stored

outside of the systems of the collection agency or debt management agency;

(

e) the collector or debt management agent must do all of the following:

(

i) ensure that debtors do not enter their remote workspace,

(ii) direct debtors to make all payments to the collection agency or debt

management agency at the place authorized by the agency’s licence,

(iii) not receive payments at their remote workspace;

(

f) the collection agency or debt management agency must ensure that

verification of call records of the collector or debt management agent can be

conducted in case of complaints.

Withdrawals from trust account

11 A collection agency or debt management agency that pays creditors from money

withdrawn from its trust account must provide the creditor with a statement containing

all of the following information:

(

a) the date or dates on which the money was collected or received by the

collection agency or debt management agency;

(

b) the amount of each payment;

(

c) the name of the debtor;

(

d) the gross amount collected;

(

e) the amount of the fees, commissions and disbursements retained by the

collection agency or debt management agency;

(

f) the net amount payable to the creditor;

(

g) the current balance owing by the debtor.

Remittance of funds to creditors

(1) Subject to subsection (2) and

Section 13, a collection agency or debt management

agency must, on or before the 20th day of the month following the month in which

money is collected or received, do all of the following:

(

a) provide each creditor for which it acts with the statement referred to in

Section 11;

(

b) remit the money it has collected on behalf of a creditor, less its fees,

commissions and disbursements, to the creditor.

(2) If the amount collected or received is less than $15.00, the collection agency or

debt management agency may instead meet the requirements of clauses (1)(

a) and

(

b) no later than 90 days after the date of collecting or receiving the money.

(3) A collection agency or debt management agency must also account for all amounts

collected or received and remit them, less its fees, commissions and disbursements,

to the person entitled to them within 30 days of the date of receiving a request from

the person entitled to an accounting.

Inability to locate missing creditors

(1) If a collection agency or debt management agency is unable to comply with

Section 12 and money collected by the collection agency or debt management

agency remains in the trust account for 6 months after collection, the collection

agency or debt management agency must remit the money to the Registrar.

(2) The Registrar must keep money remitted under subsection (1) in trust and, if a

person applies to the Registrar and satisfies the Registrar that they are entitled to

the money, the Registrar may remit the money to that person.

Register of trust accounts

14 A person who holds a collection agency or debt management agency licence must keep a

register of the trust accounts that includes all of the following information:

(

a) all amounts collected or received by the collection agency or debt

management agency in the carrying on of its business for the account of

other persons;

(

b) all the disbursements attributable to the amounts referred to in clause (a).

Receipts for payments made by or on behalf of debtors

(1) A collection agency and debt management agency must provide a receipt that

meets the requirements of subsection (2) for all cash transactions, payments made

in person or payments made at the debtor’s request that the collection agency or

debt management agency or a collector, debt management agent or employee

collects or receives from a debtor for distribution to the debtor’s creditors.

(2) A receipt referred to in subsection (1) must contain all of the following

information:

(

a) the date the amount is collected or received;

(

b) the name of the debtor;

(

c) the name of the person for whom the collection agency or debt management

agency acts;

(

d) the amount received from the debtor.

Debt management agreement receipts

16 When the amount set out in a debt management agreement is paid in full, the debt

management agency must give the debtor a receipt containing all of the following

information:

(

a) the amount paid;

(

b) the name of the creditor or creditors;

(

c) a statement that the amount received is in final settlement of the debt or

debts owing.

Record disposal

17 All records of a collector, collection agency, debt management agent or debt

management agency that relate to the collection of a debt and are to be discarded must be

shredded before disposal to ensure that the identity of the debtor remains confidential.

Amount and form of bond

(1) The amount of the bond required to be delivered by an applicant for a collection

agency licence under

Section 6 of the Act or a debt management agency licence

under

Section 6A of the Act is $20 000.00.

(2) The bond must be in the form of a surety bond.

Termination of bond

(1) A bond may be terminated by any person bound by the bond by providing written

notice of the intention to terminate to the Registrar and the collection agency or

debt management agency named in the bond at least 60 days before the date the

bond is to be terminated.

(2) Subject to

Section 20, the bond is deemed to be terminated 60 days from the date

the notice is received by the Registrar.

Bond to remain in force

20 For the purpose of every act and omission occurring during the period of licensing or

before a bond is terminated under

Section 19, a bond continues in force and any

collateral security remains on deposit for a period of 2 years after one of the following

occurs:

(

a) the licence or renewal of the licence to which the bond relates is terminated;

(

b) the bond is terminated under

Section 19.

Forfeiture of bond

(1) The Registrar may declare any bond delivered under these regulations forfeited if

any of the following occurs:

(

a) a collection agency or debt management agency, in respect of whose

conduct the bond has been conditioned, or a collector, debt management

agent, or official of the collection agency or debt management agency has

been convicted of 1 or more of the following:

(

i) an offence under the Act or regulations,

(ii) an offence involving fraud or theft, or conspiracy to commit an

offence involving fraud or theft, under the Criminal Code (Canada);

(

b) proceedings by or in respect of a collection agency or debt management

agency, including any member of a partnership, in respect of whose conduct

the bond has been conditioned, have been taken under the Bankruptcy and

Insolvency Act (Canada), or by way of winding up and a receiving order

under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada), or a winding-up order

has been made, and the order has become final;

(

c) a judgment based on a finding of fraud has been given against a collection

agency or debt management agency, including any member of a partnership,

in respect of whose conduct the bond has been conditioned or against a

collector, debt management agent, or other official of the collection agency

or debt management agency for money collected for any other person, and

the judgment has become final;

(

d) if a judgment has been given against a collection agency or debt

management agency, including any member of a partnership, in respect of

whose conduct the bond has been conditioned or a collector, debt

management agent, or other official of the collection agency or debt

management agency on any claim involving a collection matter, and the

judgment has remained unsatisfied for a period of at least 90 days;

(

e) a decision has been rendered by the Registrar in writing stating in effect that

after consideration of a complaint or the results of an inspection, the

Registrar is satisfied that the person in respect of whose conduct the bond is

conditioned, or any representative, agent or salesperson of that person,

(

i) has violated any provision of the Act or these regulations, or

(ii) has failed to comply with any of the terms, conditions or restrictions

of their licence.

(2) A bond that is declared forfeited under subsection (1) is due and owing by the

person bound by it as a debt due the Crown in right of Nova Scotia.

Assignment of bond or payment of money recovered under forfeited bond

(1) The Registrar may, in their discretion, assign any bond forfeited under these

regulations and transfer the collateral security, if any, or pay over any money

recovered under the bond to any of the following people, provided that the claim or

transaction occurred during the period of licensing or before the bond was

terminated under

Section 19:

(

a) a judgment creditor of any collection agency or debt management agency,

including any member of a partnership, in respect of whose conduct the

bond has been conditioned, or a collector, debt management agent or other

official of the collection agency or debt management agency, if the

judgment was based on a claim arising out of a transaction involving a

collection matter;

(

b) if the claim is for less than $100.00 against any collection agency, including

any member of a partnership, in respect of whose conduct the bond has been

conditioned, or a collector or other official of the collection agency, arising

out of a transaction involving a collection matter, a person who satisfies the

Registrar as to the validity of the claim;

(

c) if the claim is for less than $100.00 against any debt management agency,

including any member of a partnership, in respect of whose conduct the

bond has been conditioned, or a debt management agent or other official of

the debt management agency, arising out of a transaction involving a

collection matter, a person who satisfies the Registrar as to the validity of

the claim;

(

d) a person who has proven a claim in bankruptcy against any collection

agency or debt management agency, including any member of a partnership,

in respect of whose conduct the bond has been conditioned, respecting any

claim arising out of a transaction involving a collection matter.

(2) The Registrar may, if the Registrar considers it advisable, without any order, pay

the whole or any part of any money recovered under the bond to the Minister of

Finance and Treasury Board in trust for the persons who are or may become

entitled to share in the proceeds of the bond under subsection (1).

Payment of proceeds of bond 2 years after forfeiture

23 If a bond has been forfeited and the Registrar has not received notice in writing of any

claim against the proceeds of the bond or any part that remains with the Registrar within

2 years of the date of forfeiture, the Registrar may pay the proceeds of the bond or the

collateral security, or any part remaining, to any person who made a payment under the

bond or who deposited the collateral security, after first deducting the amount of any

expenses that have been incurred in connection with any investigation or otherwise

relating to the collection agency or debt management agency in respect of whose conduct

the bond was conditioned.

Content of debt management agreement

24 A debt management agreement must be dated and signed by the debt management

agency and the debtor, and must include all of the following content:

(

a) the name, address and telephone number of the debtor;

(

b) the name, address, telephone number and e-mail address of the debt

management agency;

(

c) a description of all the services that are to be provided under the agreement;

(

d) a statement of all fees, commissions or disbursements, separately itemized,

that are to be paid by the debtor;

(

e) a list of all creditors as disclosed by the debtor to whom payments will be

made under the agreement;

(

f) a statement of the total amount owed, the payment amount, the

schedule of

payments to be made and the total number of payments for each listed

creditor.

Fees charged to debtor by debt management agency

(1) A debt management agency must not charge a debtor a fee that exceeds any of the

following:

(

a) in the case of a debt management agreement that includes a

schedule of

payments, the sum of the following:

(

i) a one-time administration fee, which must be not greater than the

average monthly payment as set out in the debt management

agreement, and

(ii) 15% of the scheduled payment amount received from or on behalf of

the debtor by the debt management agency;

(

b) in the case of a one-time payment to a creditor or creditors, or an agreement

to negotiate on the debtor’s behalf with a creditor or creditors identified in

the debt management agreement, 10% of the debt owing.

(2) A fee under clause (1)(

b) may be charged to the debtor by the debt management

agency only after a settlement acceptable to the debtor has been successfully

negotiated with the creditor or creditors.

Debtor may cancel debt management agreement

(1) For the purposes of subsection 22B(1) of the Act, a debtor may cancel a debt

management agreement in any of the following circumstances:

(

a) within 10 days of the date of receiving the written copy of the debt

management agreement;

(

b) within 1 year of the date of entering into the debt management agreement if

the debtor does not receive a copy of the debt management agreement that

meets the requirements of the Act and these regulations;

(

c) at any time if the debt management agency did not hold a valid debt

management agency licence on the date of entering into the debt

management agreement.

(2) A debtor who cancels a debt management agreement in accordance with

subsection (1) may give notice of cancellation to the debt management agency

(

a) expressed in any way;

(

b) orally or in writing and by any means including e-mail; and

(

c) sent to any address on record with the Province for the debt management

agency, or to an address known by the debtor.

(3) The cancellation of a debt management agreement operates to cancel, as if they

never existed, all of the following:

(

a) the debt management agreement;

(

b) all related agreements;

(

c) all guarantees given by the debtor or a guarantor respecting money payable

under the debt management agreement;

(

d) all credit agreements and other payment instruments, including promissory

notes,

(

i) extended, arranged or facilitated by the debt management agency

with whom the debtor entered into the debt management agreement,

(ii) otherwise related to the debt management agreement.

(4) For the purposes of clause (3)(b), a related agreement does not include any

agreement that the debtor has entered into with a creditor.

Information required to be provided by collection agency or collector

27 A collection agency or collector must not collect or attempt to collect a debt without

providing all of the following information in all contacts or correspondence, either

written or verbal, with a debtor or creditor:

(

a) the collector’s full name as shown in the collection agency’s records;

(

b) the name of the collection agency as shown on the collection agency

licence.

Days when collection agency or collector must not contact person

28 For the purposes of subclause 20(1)(k)(

i) of the Act, the following days are designated as

additional days on which a collection agency or collector must not contact or attempt to

contact a person in relation to the collection of a debt:

(

a) New Year’s Day;

(

b) Nova Scotia Heritage Day, being the third Monday in February;

(

c) Good Friday;

(

d) Victoria Day;

(

e) Canada Day;

(

f) Natal Day, being the first Monday in August;

(

g) Labour Day;

(

h) Thanksgiving Day;

(

i) Remembrance Day;

(

j) Christmas Day;

(

k) Boxing Day;

(

l) any day fixed as a holiday by proclamation of the Governor in Council.

Debt management agreement—prohibited representations

29 A debt management agency or debt management agent must not communicate or cause

to be communicated any of the following representations relating to a debt management

agreement:

(

a) a claim that the services are provided on a non-profit or charitable basis, if

they are not;

(

b) a claim that the debt management agency’s operations or programs are

approved by, or a part of, a program run by the government of the Province,

outside the Province, if they are not;

(

c) a claim that misrepresents or exaggerates the services provided under the

debt management agreement or the effects or benefits of those services,

including, but not limited to, any of the following claims:

(

i) a claim that using the services will or may deter the efforts of a

creditor or agent of a creditor to collect a debt,

(ii) a claim that using the services will or may prevent legal action or

garnishment of the debtor’s wages.

Legislative History

Reference Tables

Collection and Debt Management Agencies Regulations

N.S. Reg.

5/2021

Collection and Debt Management Agencies Act

Note: The

information in these tables does not form part of the regulations and is

compiled by the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference only.

Source Law

The current consolidation of the Collection and Debt Management Agencies Regulations made

under the Collection and Debt Management Agencies Act includes all of the following regulations:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

5/2021

May 1, 2021

date specified

Jan 29, 2021

96/2022

May 10, 2022

date specified

May 20, 2022

19/2026

Jan 26, 2026

date specified

Feb 6, 2026

The following regulations are not

yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations Act for

rules about in force dates of regulations.

Amendments by Provision

ad. = added

am. = amended

fc. = fee change

ra. = reassigned

rep. = repealed

rs . = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

5(1) ...................................................

rep. 19/2026

7(1)(d)-(e) .........................................

rep. 19/2026

8(2) ...................................................

am. 19/2026

10A ...................................................

ad. 96/2022

27(a) .................................................

rs . 19/2026

Note that changes to headings are not

included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections

Note

Effective

date

Repealed and Superseded

N.S.

Regulation

Title

In force

date

Repealed

date

104/1975

Collection Agencies Regulations made under

chapter 77 of the Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia, 1989, the Collection

Agencies Act

Jul 29, 1975

May 1, 2021

Note: Only

regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in this

table. It may not reflect the entire

history of regulations on this subject matter.