Current through April 3, 2024
(1) Upon receipt of
a completed application for a license as a collection service, the Collection
Service Board (or its designees) shall commence an investigation to determine
the applicant's fitness to engage in the collection service business. Such
investigation shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Verification of the applicant's financial
statement;
(b) Evaluation of the
applicant's financial responsibility with verification through a credit bureau
report;
(c) Assessment of the
applicant's business background and experience; and
(d) Contact with character
references.
(2) An
applicant for licensure meeting the requirements of T.C.A. §
4-3-1304(d)(1)
may:
(a) Be issued a license under this
chapter upon application and payment of all fees required for issuance of a
regular license of the same type if, in the opinion of the Board, the
requirements for certification or licensure of such other state are
substantially equivalent to that required in Tennessee; or
(b) Be issued a temporary permit as described
herein if the Board determines that the applicant's license does not meet the
requirements for substantial equivalency, but that the applicant could perform
additional acts, including - but not limited to -education, training, or
experience, in order to meet the requirements for the license to be
substantially equivalent. The Board may issue a temporary permit upon
application and payment of all fees required for issuance of a regular license
of the same type, which shall allow such person to perform services as if fully
licensed for a set period of time that is determined to be sufficient for the
applicant to complete such requirements.
1.
After completing those additional requirements and providing the Board with
sufficient proof thereof as may be required, a full license shall be issued to
the applicant with an issuance date of the date of the original issuance of the
temporary permit and an expiration date as if the full license had been issued
at that time.
2. A temporary permit
shall be issued for a period of less than the length of a renewal cycle for a
full license.
3. A temporary permit
shall expire upon the date set by the Board and shall not be subject to renewal
except through the completion of the requirements for substantial equivalency
as required by the Board or by an extension of time granted for good cause by
the Board.
4. Should an extension
to a temporary permit cause the permit to be in effect longer than the renewal
cycle of a full license, the holder of the temporary permit shall file a
renewal application with such documentation and fees, including completion of
continuing education, as are required by the Board for all other renewals of a
full license of the same type.
(3) Military education, training, or
experience completed by a person described at T.C.A. §
4-3-1304(d)(1)(B)(ii)(a)-(c)
shall be accepted toward the qualifications, in whole or in part, to receive
any license issued by the Board if such military education, training, or
experience is determined by the Board to be substantially equivalent to the
education, training, or experience required for the issuance of such
license.
(4) Any licensee who is a
member of the National Guard or a reserve component of the armed forces of the
United States called to active duty whose license expires during the period of
activation shall be eligible for renewal upon the licensee being released from
active duty without:
(a) Payment of late fees
or other penalties;
(b) Obtaining
continuing education credits when:
1.
Circumstances associated with the person's military duty prevented the
obtaining of continuing education credits and a waiver request has been
submitted to the Board; or
2. The
person performs the licensed or certified occupation as part of such person's
military duties and provides documentation sufficient to demonstrate such to
the Board, or;
(c)
Performing any other similar act typically required for the renewal of a
license or certification.
(5) The license, certification, or permit
shall be eligible for renewal pursuant to paragraph (4) for six (6) months from
the person's release from active duty.
(6) Any person renewing under paragraph (4)
shall provide the Board such supporting documentation evidencing activation as
may be required by the Board prior to renewal of any license pursuant to that
paragraph.
Authority: T.C.A. §§
62-20-104(g),
62-20-107,
62-20-108, 4-3-1304 and
4-5-217.
