SB 491 North Carolina Senate · 2025-2026 Session

NC Debt Settlement Services Act.

SB 491 requires debt settlement companies in North Carolina to obtain a state license before offering services to consumers. It sets application requirements including a $2,000 nonrefundable fee, criminal background checks, financial disclosures, and proof of compliance with specific operational standards. The law exempts banks, lawyers, credit unions, and nonprofit organizations meeting federal tax-exempt criteria from licensing. It also clarifies that assisting consumers in enrolling in free federal student loan programs does not count as debt settlement under this law.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 25, 2025 Last action Mar 26, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Filed → Edition 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill underwent minor formatting and structural changes during its initial filing process. The header information was updated to reflect proper Senate filing dates and bill numbers, while the text body shows a small correction to the list of financial institutions exempt from licensing requirements.

Scope change

The bill's substantive scope remains unchanged, though one exemption category was expanded to include 'savings and loan association' as a complete term rather than an abbreviated version.

TECHNICAL

Added proper Senate filing header with date March 25, 2025 and bill number DRS15196-MUf-27

Added Rules and Operations of the Senate referral information dated March 26, 2025

Changed bill version identifier from DRS15196-MUf-27 to S491-v-1

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded exemption list to include 'savings and loan association' as a complete term, clarifying which financial institutions are exempt from debt settlement licensing requirements

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 26, 2025

Committee

Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

upper

Mar 25, 2025

Introduced

Filed

upper

2 primary · 2 co-sponsors