North Dakota Code 13-05-02.2 – Child support collection agencies
1. Notwithstanding sections 13-05-02 and 13-05-02.3, a collection agency attempting in any manner to collect child support as defined in section 14-09-09.10 must be licensed under this chapter if either the child support debtor or creditor reside within this state, if the child support debt arises under an order issued by a court of this state, or if a record of the child support debt is being maintained on the statewide automated data processing system under section 50-09-02.1.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 13-05-02.2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
2. A collection agency licensed under this section may not:
a. Impose a fee or charge for any child support collected primarily through the efforts of a governmental agency; b. Impose a fee or charge for collection of a current child support payment; or
c. Designate a current child support payment as past-due support or other amount owed.
3. If the child support debt arises under an order issued by a court of this state, or if a record of the child support debt is being maintained on the statewide automated data processing system under section 50-09-02.1, all child support payments collected by a collection agency must be paid to the department of health and human services within five business days for disbursement under section 14-09-25. Child support payments disbursed under section 14-09-25 may not be redirected to a collection agency unless specifically permitted by rules adopted by the department of health and human services.
4. A collection agency failing to pay child support payments to the department of health and human services as required in this section is liable to the obligor for three times the amount improperly withheld by the collection agency or five hundred dollars, whichever is greater, in addition to any other remedy or damages permitted by law. The department of health and human services is not required to give credit for payments withheld by a collection agency in violation of this section.
5. Any person contracting for services with a collection agency for the collection of child support may cancel the contract without a fee or charge upon thirty days’ written notice.