Registration as a debt collector

In order to carry out the amicable recovery of debts from consumers, debt collectors must be registered with the FPS Economy. To do so, they must meet a number of conditions, including:

• submitting an extract from the criminal record,
• submitting a certificate of professional liability insurance, and
• opening a third-party account.

However, registration does not necessarily mean that a debt collector will not commit any violations of the law. If any violations are found, the registration may be cancelled.

Who should register as a debt collector?

Any company, association or natural person engaged in the amicable recovery of debts from consumers.

In addition to debt collection agencies, for example, associations that carry out amicable debt collection on behalf of their members must also be registered.

Foreign debt collection agencies that collect debts from consumers who have their main residence in Belgium are also subject to the Belgian Debt Collection Act and must be registered.

Lawyers, judicial officers (e.g., bailiffs) and ministerial officials are exempt from this requirement of prior registration. They must, however, comply with other provisions of the Act in question, for example, the prohibition of certain conduct or practices.

List of persons registered as debt collectors (PDF, 626.75 KB)

Penalties for failure to comply with the registration requirement

In addition to criminal sanctions (fines), the court may rule that a debt collector who does not comply with the legal obligation to register must reimburse the payments made to them by the consumer. In other words, in that case, the consumer will not only recover the amounts paid, but will also no longer have to pay those amounts to the original creditor.

Procedure for registration as a debt collector

• In the case of a legal person, it must be established as a company or an association. It must also be registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.
• The debt collector must obtain professional liability insurance unless one of the following persons covers professional liability:
  1. the creditor or another debt collector on whose behalf they are acting;
  2. an accredited professional federation or professional association of which the debt collector is a member in accordance with Article 5 of the Act of 6 March 1964 on the organisation of self-employed persons and Article 6 of the Act of 31 March 1898 on professional associations. Articles 2, § 2, (1) and (2) of the Royal Decree of 17 February 2005 describe the conditions that this insurance must meet.
• The debt collector must open a third-party account in which the funds received and to be transferred are clearly separated from the debt collector's own assets.
• The application for registration should be sent via email to: sirc@economie.fgov.be.
• The application must contain the following information:
  1. The identification data and company number;
  2. The telephone number and email address. FPS Economy staff use those to communicate with the applicant.

Along with the application, the following two documents must be attached:

• A certificate issued by the insurance company proving that professional liability insurance has been taken out, either by the applicant or by one of the persons covering the applicant's professional liability, stating that the insurance contract satisfies the legal requirements and that the insurance premium has been paid;
• An extract from the criminal record for all directors, managers or representatives of the company, intended for a public administration, or a foreign equivalent document, not older than three months, provided in accordance with Article 569, first subparagraph, of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

If you meet the registration conditions, you will receive a registration certificate via e-mail within one month of the application (indicative deadline).

If you do not meet the registration conditions, you will receive a detailed message from the FPS Economy stating why registration cannot be granted.

Validity of application

The registration is valid indefinitely, but may be revoked if the registered person no longer meets the registration conditions. This can be appealed to the Council of State.

For further information, please contact the relevant department by email: sirc@economie.fgov.be.

Disputes and complaints

For complaints about a failure to comply with the registration requirements: report problems online.