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Creditor/Assignee Notification

** 2024  Renewal Registration Opens 11-1-2023**

 


Creditor/Assignee Overview

All creditors who engage in consumer credit transactions are subject to the Iowa Consumer Credit Code (ICCC), and all assignees that purchase those transactions must file notification with the ICCC Administrator and pay all required fees.  (See Who needs to file notification? below).  The Attorney General serves as the ICCC administrator.

The ICCC requires all creditors and assignees to pay a $50 annual notification fee. (Note: the 2017 Iowa Legislature increased the notification fee for ICCC creditor/assignees effective July 1, 2017. The new fee is $50 (up from $10).  Creditors/Assignees who own the paper for consumer credit transactions must also pay a volume fee based on the average unpaid balance of all consumer credit transactions. The purpose of assessing these fees is to ensure that all creditors and assignees contribute to the cost of enforcing the ICCC, and the law stipulates that all fee money collected be put to that use. 

Creditors and assignees who fail to file notification with the Attorney General and pay the appropriate fees may be subject to late fees of $75, as well as a possible civil action in which the administrator may sue to recover interest on the unpaid fees, the costs of the action, and a penalty as high as $1,000 or three times the fees owed, whichever is greater.

Who needs to file notification?

The ICCC’s notification and fee requirements apply to all consumer credit transactions with Iowa residents.

  1. Companies that enter into consumer credit transactions, including:
  • Consumer loans
  • Retail installment sales contracts
  • Leases
  • Rent-to-own

Other credit programs with Iowa consumers are subject to these requirements, as are retail stores that run their own credit card programs (i.e., offer a credit card in the store’s name).

Layaway plans are generally not considered consumer credit transactions and are not subject to the notification and fees requirements.

  1. Assignees that purchase/take assignment of the following:
  • Consumer loans
  • Consumer credit sales contracts
  • Consumer Leases

If an assignee does not pay its portion of the fees the original creditors remain responsible for them.

  1. New and used car dealerships engaged in consumer credit sales
  • New and used car dealers must file notification and pay the annual notification fee even if they assign all of their retail installment contracts to a third party lender/finance source.
    • Dealers who keep any consumer credit sales on their books must also pay a volume fee.
  • Dealers who offer “Buy Here, Pay Here” must pay the volume fee in addition to filing notification and paying the annual fee.

How to File Notification

Creditors and Assignees required to file notification with the Iowa Attorney General must do so within 30 days of commencing collection activities in Iowa, and then by January 31 of every subsequent year.

  • Online:  You can file online and pay the annual $50.00 registration fee and any applicable volume fees (if any) through our website.  Notice: This system currently does not allow payment via credit card. The online payment option requires filers to enter bank account information to establish an automatic debit.  Filers paying by ACH auto-debit will be charged a $1.00 convenience fee. 
  • By Mail: If you prefer, you can fill out the printable form along with a check for the amount due. Checks should be made payable to “Iowa Consumer Credit Administration Fund” and sent, along with the completed Creditor/Assignee Notification Printable Form* to:

Office of the Attorney General of Iowa
Consumer Protection Division
Attn: Notification & Fees Administrator
1305 E. Walnut St.
Des Moines, IA 50319-1016

Email: registration@ag.iowa.gov

*Additional documents are not required.

Who is exempt?

Iowa Code exempts banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and regulated loan companies (finance companies) from these requirements. These entities are exempt because they already contribute to enforcing the ICCC by paying examination fees to the Iowa Department of Commerce.

Creditors are encouraged to consult with private counsel, as necessary, to determine their obligations under these laws.

Calculating Fees

All creditors and assignees required to file notification with the Office of the Attorney General must pay an annual fee of $50. Creditors/Assignees who own the paper for consumer credit transactions also must pay a volume fee based on the average unpaid balance of all consumer credit transactions. 

To determine the fee owed, a creditor should first calculate the average unpaid balance arising from all consumer credit transactions held on the last day of each calendar month over the preceding calendar year. The rate of the volume fee is $10 for each $100,000 of the average monthly amount, and $10 for every additional portion of the average monthly amount that is greater than $10,000 but less than $100,000.

For example, a creditor whose average monthly unpaid balance over the preceding year was $105,000 would owe a volume fee of $10, while a creditor whose average monthly unpaid balance was $130,000 would owe $20. Please see Table 1 below for more examples. The administrative rule provides additional information on how to calculate these fees.

Table 1: Examples of Volume Fee Rates

Average Monthly Unpaid Balance Volume Fee Owed
$1 - $109,999 $10
$110,000 - $209,999 $20
$210,000 - $309,999 $30
$310,000 - $409,999 $40
$410,000 + $10 per $100,000 owed

 

After You File

Creditors and Assignees who have filed notification with the Office of the Attorney General will not receive a confirmation, notice or hard copy license.  

Approved notifications will be processed and can be viewed online approximately 20 business days after their receipt.  If your notification is rejected, you will be contacted by our staff to remedy any errors.  (NOTE: Some users may need to refresh their browser for the most updated version of the document.)

**Your notification will be rejected if the company's principal office is located outside that state of Iowa and an Iowa Registered Agent is not listed on the registration form.  The registered agent must be located in Iowa and not the Iowa Secretary of State.  See Iowa Code section 537.6202(1)(f) **

Updates/Changes  - It is important that creditors/assignees notify the Attorney General in writing of any changes* in their company’s contact information to ensure all communications from the Attorney General, including notification filing reminders, are received in a timely manner.

Changes should be submitted in writing and include the name of the company, the previous, incorrect information and the updated, current information.  You may email this information to registration@ag.iowa.gov.

*There is no fee associated with any of these changes.

Check out our FAQ section for more information.

Reminders will be sent via the email on file in December. Failure to receive reminders will not exempt a late filing from the $75 late fee.

References

61 Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 22
Iowa Code sections 537.6201-537.6203
Iowa Code sections 537.6113(3) and 537.6203(4)
Iowa Code sections 537.1301(11) - 537.1301(16)
 

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