(a) No person shall engage in the business of debt adjustment in this state unless such person has first obtained a license for the main office and for each branch office where such business is conducted in accordance with the provisions of sections 36a-655 to 36a-665, inclusive. Any activity subject to licensure pursuant to sections 36a-655 to 36a-665, inclusive, shall be conducted from an office located in a state, as defined in § 36a-2.

(b) An application for a debt adjuster license or renewal of such license shall be processed on the system pursuant to § 36a-24b, in the form prescribed by the commissioner. Each such form shall contain content as set forth by instruction or procedure of the commissioner and may be changed or updated as necessary by the commissioner in order to carry out the purposes of sections 36a-655 to 36a-665, inclusive. The applicant shall, at a minimum, furnish to the system information concerning the identity of the applicant, any control person of the applicant, the qualified individual and any branch manager responsible for the actions of the licensee, including, but not limited to, information related to such person’s personal history and experience and any administrative, civil or criminal findings by any governmental jurisdiction. As part of an application, the commissioner may (1) in accordance with § 29-17a, conduct a state or national criminal history records check of the applicant, any control person of the applicant, the qualified individual and any branch manager, and (2) in accordance with § 36a-24b (A) require the submission of fingerprints of the applicant, any control person of the applicant, the qualified individual and any branch manager to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or other state, national or international criminal databases, and (B) investigate the financial condition of any such person and require authorization from any such person for the system and the commissioner to obtain an independent credit report from a consumer reporting agency, as described in Section 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681a, as amended from time to time.

(c) (1) If the commissioner finds, upon the filing of an application for a debt adjuster license, that: (A) The financial responsibility, character, reputation, integrity and general fitness of the applicant and any control person, qualified individual and branch manager of the applicant are such as to warrant belief that the business will be operated soundly and efficiently, in the public interest and consistent with the purposes of sections 36a-655 to 36a-665, inclusive, (B) the applicant is solvent and no proceeding in bankruptcy, receivership or assignment for the benefit of creditors has been commenced against the applicant, and (C) the applicant has the bond required pursuant to § 36a-664, the commissioner may thereupon issue the applicant a debt adjuster license. If the commissioner fails to make such findings, the commissioner shall not issue a license and shall notify the applicant of the reasons for such denial. The commissioner may deny an application if the commissioner finds that the applicant or any control person, qualified individual or branch manager of the applicant has been convicted of any misdemeanor involving any aspect of the debt adjuster business, or any felony or has made a material misstatement in the application. Any denial of an application by the commissioner shall, when applicable, be subject to the provisions of § 46a-80.

(2) The minimum standards for renewal of a debt adjuster license shall include the following: (A) The applicant continues to meet the minimum standards under subdivision (1) of this subsection; (B) the applicant has paid all required fees for renewal of the license; and (C) the applicant has paid any outstanding examination fees or other moneys due to the commissioner. The license of a debt adjuster that fails to satisfy the minimum standards for license renewal shall expire. The commissioner may adopt procedures for the reinstatement of expired licenses consistent with the standards established by the system.

(d) Each applicant for a debt adjuster license shall pay to the system any required fees or charges and a license fee in the amount of (1) two hundred fifty dollars if such applicant is a bona fide nonprofit organization, and (2) eight hundred dollars if such applicant is not a bona fide nonprofit organization. Each such license shall expire at the close of business on December thirty-first of the year in which the license was approved, unless such license is renewed, and provided any such license approved on or after November first shall expire at the close of business on December thirty-first of the year following the year in which it is approved. An application for renewal of a license shall be filed between November first and December thirty-first of the year in which the license expires. Each applicant for renewal of a debt adjuster license shall pay to the system any required fees or charges and, if not a bona fide nonprofit organization, a license fee of eight hundred dollars.

(e) In accordance with § 36a-24b, the commissioner may automatically suspend any license if such person receives a deficiency on the system indicating that a required payment was Returned-ACH or returned pursuant to any other term as may be utilized by the system to indicate that payment was not accepted. After a license has been automatically suspended pursuant to this subsection, the commissioner shall (1) give the licensee notice of the automatic suspension pending proceedings for revocation or refusal to renew pursuant to § 36a-657 and an opportunity for a hearing on such action in accordance with § 36a-51, and (2) require such licensee to take or refrain from taking such action as the commissioner deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.

(f) No abatement of the license fee shall be made if the application is denied or withdrawn prior to the issuance of the license or if the license is surrendered, revoked or suspended prior to the expiration of the period for which it was issued. All fees required by subsection (d) of this section shall be nonrefundable.

(g) The commissioner may deem an application for a license to engage in the business of debt adjustment abandoned if the applicant fails to respond to any request for information required under sections 36a-655 to 36a-665, inclusive, or any regulations adopted pursuant to said sections 36a-655 to 36a-665, inclusive. The commissioner shall notify the applicant on the system that if the applicant fails to submit such information not later than sixty days after the date on which such request for information was made, the application shall be deemed abandoned. In the event an application is deemed abandoned, any application filing fee paid prior to the date on which the application was filed is deemed abandoned and shall not be refunded. Abandonment of an application pursuant to this subsection shall not preclude the applicant from submitting a new application for a license under sections 36a-655 to 36a-665, inclusive.

(h) Every debt adjuster license shall remain in force and effect until the license has been surrendered, revoked or suspended or has expired in accordance with the provisions of sections 36a-655 to 36a-665, inclusive. Not later than fifteen days after the date a licensee ceases to engage in the business of a debt adjuster in this state for any reason, including a business decision to terminate operations in this state, license revocation, bankruptcy or voluntary dissolution, such licensee shall surrender to the commissioner its license for each location in which such licensee has ceased to engage in such business in accordance with subsection (c) of § 36a-51.