5 Things You Need to Become a Credit Repair Agent

This article was published on May 28, 2021 and updated on March 28, 2023.

There are no specific set of requirements needed if you want to get into the credit repair industry. You just need to know how the business works and how to manage your time if you want to become a credit repair agent. The credit repair industry grew for the first time in 2022 but has decreased by 3.2% since 2017. Currently, the industry revenue is as high as 4.5b in 2023. That being said, we believe the industry is lucrative if you know how to work your strengths and take advantage of the opportunities in today’s economy. 

Although there are no formal requirements to become a credit repair agent, we believe there are skills you should have to be a SUCCESSFUL credit repair specialist. You can learn more about how to get into the credit repair industry in 2023 here.

Qualifications for Credit Repair Agents

1. A Degree

While there are no specific education requirements for a career as a credit repair agent, a business degree gives you an edge. Focus on courses like accounting, economics, math, finance, business management, or consumer credit.

Getting a degree related to business and finance will help you acquire the basic knowledge and practical experience needed in the field of credit repair. 

2. Negotiation and Communication Skills

The majority of your job as a credit repair agent involves negotiating and communicating with credit bureaus. You need to be acquainted with how to get negative items off a credit report to help your clients improve their credit score. 

Excellent negotiation and communication skills are essential in order to deal with Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. Drafting the proper responses to credit report errors, complaints, and other related matters requires writing skills as well. 

An understanding of the laws and procedures combined with impeccable negotiation skills will positively impact your customers’ credit score. Check out books on effective negotiation skills like Never Split The Difference by Chrstopher Voss, and Power Questions by Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas

3. Licensing and Insurance Requirements

If you are starting your own business, it’s important to research the credit repair insurance and licensing requirements in your state. Additionally, you need to partner with a payment processing company to open a credit repair merchant account when you’re ready to work with clients and accept payments. If you are joining a credit repair company as an employee, they will more than likely offer training through the company to get you up to speed. 

Here is a brief list of the state laws associated with credit repair.

State	Credit Repair Law	Bond Amount (in USD)	Company Registration Required?	Cancellation Period (Days after signing the contract)	Refund Period (Days after signing the contract)
Alabama	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Alaska	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Arizona	Credit Repair Organizations Act (A.R.S. 44-1701 et seq.)	25,000	N	3	15
Arkansas	Credit Services Organization Act (AR ST § 4-91-201 et seq.)	10,000	N	5	10
California	Credit Services Act (Civ. Code §§ 1789.10 et seq.)	100,000	Y	5	15
Colorado	Credit Services Organization Act (CO Rev. Stat. 5-19-101 et seq.)	N/A	N	5	10
Connecticut	CT. Gen. Stat. § 36a-700 et seq.	N/A	N	N/A	N/A
Delaware	Del. Code. §2401 et seq.	15,000	Y	3	10
Florida	Fla. Stat. §817.7001 et seq.	10,000	N	5	10
Georgia	Credit repair organizations are illegal	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hawaii	HI. Rev. Stat. § 481B-12 et seq.	N/A	N	N/A	N/A
Idaho	Idaho Collection Agency Act (ID. Code. §26-2221 et seq.)	15,000	Y	N/A	N/A
Illinois	Credit Services Organizations Act (815 ILCS 605/1 et seq.)	100,000	Y	3	10
Indiana	Credit Services Organizations (I.C. 24-5-15-1 et seq.)	25,000	N	3	10
Iowa	Credit Services Organizations (IA. Code. §538A et seq.)	10,000	Y	3	10
Kansas	Credit Services Organization Act (K.S.A. 50-1116 et seq.)	25,000	Y	N/A	10
Kentucky	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Louisiana	Credit Repair Services Organizations Act (LA Rev Stat § 9:3573.1 et seq.)	100,000	Y	5	10
Maine	Consumer Credit Code – Loan Brokers (ME Rev. Stat. 9-A § 10-101 et seq.)	25,000	N	N/A	N/A
Maryland	Credit Services Businesses Act (MD. Code. § 14-1901 et seq.)	50,000	N	3	10
Massachusetts	MA. Gen. Laws. 15-93 § 68 et seq.	10,000	N	3	10
Michigan	Credit Services Protection Act (MI. Comp. L. § 445.1821 et seq.)	N/A	N	N/A	N/A
Minnesota	MN. Stat. § 332.52 et seq.	10,000	Y	5	10
Mississippi	Debt Management Services Act (MS ST § 81-22-1 (Renacted) et seq.)	50,000	Y	N/A	N/A
Missouri	MO. Stat. 407.635 et seq.	10,000	Y	3	10
Montana	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nebraska	Credit Services Organization Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §45-801 et seq.)	100,000	Y	3	10
Nevada	NRS 598.741 et seq.	100,000	Y	5	10
New Hampshire	Credit Services Regulation Act (N.H. Rev. Stat. § 359 D:1 et seq.)	25,000	N	5	5
New Jersey	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
New Mexico	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
New York	Credit Services Business (N.Y. Gen. Bus. 28-BB § 458-a et seq.)	N/A	N	3	N/A
North Carolina	Credit Repair Services Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 66-220 et seq.)	10,000	N	3	10
North Dakota	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ohio	Credit Services Organization Act (OH. Rev. Code. § 4712.01 et seq.)	50,000	Y	3	N/A
Oklahoma	Credit Services Organization Act (24 O.S. §§ 131 et seq.)	10,000	Y	5	10
Oregon	Debt Management (OR. Rev. Stat. 697.602 et seq.)	10,000	Y	3	N/A
Pennsylvania	Credit Services Act (73 P.S. § 2181 et seq.)	5,000 – 25,000	N	5	15
Puerto Rico	P.R. Laws tit. 7, § 630a et seq.	10,000	Y	7	15
Rhode Island	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
South Carolina	Consumer Credit Counseling (S.C. Stat. § 37-7-101 et seq.)	25,000	Y	10	10
South Dakota	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Tennessee	Credit Services Businesses Act (TN ST § 47-18-1001 et seq.)	100,000	N	5	10
Texas	TX. Fin. Code. § 393.001 et seq.	10,000	Y	3	10
US Virgin Islands	Virgin Islands Uniform Debt Services Management (12 V.I.C. § 401 et seq.)	50,000	Y	3	N/A
Utah	Credit Services Organization Act (UT. Code. §13-21-1 et seq.)	100,000	Y	5	10
Vermont	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Virginia	Credit Services Businesses Act (VA. Code. § 59.1-335.1 et seq.)	50,000	Y	3	10
Washington	Credit Services Organization Act (R.C.W. § 19.134 et seq.)	10,000	N	5	10
West Virginia	Consumer Credit and Protection Act (W.V. Code Ch. 46A et seq.)	15,000	Y	3	10
Wisconsin	Credit Services Organization (WI. Leg. § 422.501 et seq.)	25,000	Y	5	15
Wyoming	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

4. Additional Credentials

Unlike other professions and specializations, being a credit repair agent will not take up too much time by way of additional education; however, you have to continue training and completing certifications to keep up with the guidelines and updates.

Additional certifications and training related to credit repair or enrichment education will widen your market reach. We highly recommend that anyone interested in becoming a credit repair agent take an online certification course. 

5. Continuing Education

Once you are already a certified credit repair agent, you should not stop there as the industry encourages continued education. As with other industries, a career in the credit repair field requires a number of credit hours in continuing education to keep you up-to-date with the latest news, guidelines, or trends in this sector.

As a professional and certified credit repair agent, you must understand the applicable laws related to the business regardless if you are working as an independent credit repair agent, an employee, or running a credit repair business.

Helping Clients as a Credit Repair Agent 

Wherever you are in the United States, the qualifications necessary to become a credit repair agent will allow you to help clients improve their credit score issues. 

As a reliable payment processing company, First Card Payments will assist you when you’re ready to start your credit repair business. Contact us to learn more about the merchant services we offer and get started today!