{"meta":{"key":"s_oh--pass-01","task":"S_OH","title":"SOH Ohio provider market access and consumer fees","parent_title":"Ohio debt and debt relief law","edition":"pass-01","path":"/research/s_oh--pass-01/","kind":"split_pass","category":"state","role":"state","area_numbers":[66],"groups":["collections"],"date":"2026-10-23","tables":8,"claims":40,"sources":21,"review_status":"revise","review_complete":true,"sha256":"049e72ae393576ef8da692a78492d7cbce44595aeb8f769bafc281ce109816f3","headings":["A. Substantive findings","1. Classification follows the activity and representations","2. Market access: compliance, actual exemptions, and a separate registration regime","3. Current fee structures and the limits of what was established","4. When fees may be requested or received","5. What public market-access evidence was actually verified","6–7. Examples, coverage, and remaining investigations","B. Source table","Controlling and interpretive materials","Procedure, legislative status, historical comparison, and failed routes","C. Claim table","D. Worked examples and coverage/gaps","D.1. Plain-text worked examples","D.2. Component coverage and exact next investigations","E. Researcher self-check"],"generation_provenance":{"actual_route":"regular_chat_adaptive_models","actual_model":"GPT-6","actual_mode":"Pro","provenance_limit":"Actual documented capture labels only; missing labels remain unknown. No preferred setting is inferred as actual execution."},"public_id":"S_OH/pass-01","facets":{"geography":["us","us-oh"],"debt_type":["unknown"],"stage":[],"subject":["definitions-classification","fees-outcomes","provider-licensing"]},"scope":"Provider market access and consumer fee framework only; allotherstatecategories remainrequired","pending_corrections":0},"markdown":"# S_OH PASS-01 — Ohio provider market access and consumer fees\n\n**Ohio’s current Debt Adjusters Act establishes a compliance regime, not a general debt-adjuster licensing system.** Its definition can reach principal-reduction settlement, noncustodial negotiation, concession-based debt management, and collection-and-distribution services. The verified consumer fee provisions are **$75 for an initial consultation or initial plan setup, $100 per calendar year for consultations, and a periodic administration ceiling equal to the greater of 8.5% of the specified monthly distribution base or $30**. These provisions do **not** establish a verified percentage-of-savings settlement-fee pathway or authorize collection before independently applicable performance requirements are met. **[C001–C006, C018–C026; S001]** [Ohio Laws+2](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.01?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n**Baseline:** October 22, 2026, Pacific.\n**Actual access/check date:** October 23, 2026, UTC, still October 22, 2026, Pacific. Source-specific legal effective dates appear below.\n\nThis is one component of the Ohio investigation. It does **not** establish a named provider’s authorization, complete the Ohio dossier, or imply state or A066 acceptance.\n\n**Reference convention:** In the discussion, **S001** means **S_OH-P1-S001**, and **C001** means **S_OH-P1-C001**. The complete identifiers appear in the source and claim tables.\n\n## A. Substantive findings\n\n### 1. Classification follows the activity and representations\n\nOhio Revised Code §4710.01(B) supplies two independent routes into “debt adjusting”: services intended to adjust, compromise, or discharge indebtedness; and receiving debtor funds or other value for disbursement to creditors. Holding oneself out as providing the specified debt-management services also matters. Custody is therefore not a prerequisite to the negotiation route. **[C001–C003; S001 §4710.01(A)–(B)]**\n\n| Model or boundary | Finding for this pass |\n| --- | --- |\n| Principal-reduction settlement or negotiation | Within the adjustment/compromise route when the actual service or representation satisfies §4710.01(B)(1). A “settlement” label does not create a separate exemption. |\n| Noncustodial negotiation | Avoiding possession of consumer funds does not remove the independent adjustment/compromise route. |\n| DMP involving interest, fee, payment, or other concessions | Can constitute adjustment of indebtedness even without principal reduction. |\n| Receiving money and distributing it to creditors | Independently reaches §4710.01(B)(2), even if no principal reduction is negotiated. |\n| Budget or credit counseling | Must be examined for its actual debt-adjustment purpose, services, and representations. General education without either statutory function or the relevant holding out is not automatically covered merely because it concerns money. |\n| Referral or lead-generation model | No categorical clearance. The question is what the business promises, performs, receives, and arranges; a separate credit-services analysis may also apply. |\n\nThese are applications of the statutory language, not determinations about an unseen SettleADebt.com service agreement or sales script. [Ohio Laws](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.01?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n**Consumer versus business purpose.** Chapter 4710 does not express a personal, family, or household-purpose restriction or a blanket business-debt exclusion. Business-debt work therefore cannot be discarded from the classification analysis. However, applying the resident-specific fee provisions to an entity debtor remains a narrower unresolved issue: §4710.01(C) defines residence using temporary or permanent living in a place. I have not established an authoritative application of that wording to corporate residence. **[C004; S001 §4710.01]**\n\n**Ohio residents and remote providers.** The fee provisions expressly protect debtors residing in Ohio, and residence includes temporary residence. They do not condition that protection on the provider maintaining an Ohio office. An out-of-state office is therefore not a facial fee-cap exemption. Complete personal-jurisdiction, choice-of-law, and interstate enforcement analysis remains a later investigation. **[C005; S001 §§4710.01(C), 4710.02(B)–(C)]**\n\n### 2. Market access: compliance, actual exemptions, and a separate registration regime\n\n#### Chapter 4710 does not issue a general debt-adjuster license\n\nThe current chapter contains definitions, duties, exclusions, enforcement, and penalties. It does not establish an ordinary debt-adjuster license or registration certificate. Nor does it categorically prohibit every for-profit debt adjuster. The legal route is compliance with the chapter, any applicable exclusion, and other independently applicable law. **[C006; S001, entire chapter]**\n\nMaterial entry and continuing conditions include the annual independent CPA audit and filing with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, mandatory specified insurance, and applicable funds-handling duties. The insurance provision includes a **$100,000 minimum**; its full calculation and implementation belong in the later funds/insurance pass. Noncustodial operation does not create an express exception to the audit or insurance language. **[C006, C035; S001 §4710.02(A), (D)–(F)]**\n\n#### Chapter 4710 exclusions are specific\n\n| Exclusion | Actual condition and failure case |\n| --- | --- |\n| Listed institutions | §4710.03(A) names Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, specified regulated banking and credit-union entities, and their subsidiaries. The specified entity and regulatory relationship must exist. An ordinary financial-services company is not enough. |\n| Practice of law | §4710.03(B) concerns debt adjusting incurred in the practice of law in Ohio. Employing, referring to, or displaying the name of a lawyer does not itself establish that condition. |\n| Own creditor | §4710.03(C) requires incidental adjustment of indebtedness owed to the person doing the adjusting. It does not generally exempt third-party settlement services. |\n| Certain finance registrants | §4710.03(D) incorporates an actual registrant under §1321.51. |\n| Certain mortgage registrants/licensees | §4710.03(E) incorporates an actual registrant or licensee defined in §1322.01. That section distinguishes the organization’s registration from an individual mortgage-loan-originator license. A generic NMLS identifier, employee’s credential, or affiliate’s status does not prove the provider entity qualifies. |\n| Nonprofit | There is **no general nonprofit exclusion in §4710.03**. |\n\nAn exclusion from Chapter 4710 is not a grant of permission under every other applicable law. **[C007–C011; S001 §4710.03; S002 §1321.51(B)–(C); S003 §1322.01(U), (GG)–(HH)]** [Ohio Laws+3](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n#### Unauthorized practice of law is an activity boundary\n\nIn **Ohio State Bar Assn. v. Watkins Global Network, L.L.C., 2020-Ohio-169**, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected a per se rule that every nonlawyer debt negotiation constitutes practicing law. The inquiry concerns the actual conduct: legal advice, legal documents, legal defenses, and comparable legal services can cross the boundary. The court found one violation involving legal advice and tactics in a foreclosure matter, while entering judgment for the respondents on the other 30 allegations. **[C012; S007 ¶¶9–18, 25–26]**\n\nThe underlying clients were businesses. The decision resolves the stated unauthorized-practice issue; it does **not** approve a particular Chapter 4710 fee, consumer agreement, or settlement program. [supremecourt.ohio.gov](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nFor an out-of-state lawyer, current Professional Conduct Rule 5.5 supplies additional conditions. Association with an Ohio lawyer under the temporary-practice provision requires active participation; another temporary-practice route requires the specified relationship to the lawyer’s authorized practice elsewhere. Remote-work authorization does not generally authorize soliciting and accepting Ohio representations. Advisory Opinion 2011-2 illustrates why Internet acquisition of Ohio clients, without the required connections, cannot simply be treated as temporary practice. **[C013; S008 Rule 5.5(c)(1), (c)(4), (d)(4); S009 pp.1, 6–8]**\n\n#### Chapter 4712 can independently apply\n\nThe Credit Services Organization Act is a separate classification question. Paid promises or services involving credit improvement, obtaining credit from others, and related assistance can trigger it. Its definition of an extension of credit includes qualifying deferral of existing debt. Consequently, a business cannot assume that calling its product “settlement” excludes Chapter 4712. Nor does this pass conclude that every settlement service necessarily satisfies that definition. **[C014; S004 §4712.01(A), (C)(1), (D)]** [Ohio Laws](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.01?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nImportant exclusions have their own conditions:\n\n- The budget-and-debt-counseling exclusion requires the service described in §2716.03(D), **501(c)(3) status, and compliance with Chapter 4710**.\n- The attorney exclusion requires an Ohio-admitted attorney providing a privileged legal service; it expressly excludes the listed credit-obtaining and identification-alteration services.\n- Other institutional exclusions include specified lenders, banks and affiliates, credit unions, mortgage businesses, government entities, and other enumerated entities. Their statutory qualifications and activity limits must be satisfied.\n- The person claiming an exemption bears the statutory burden under §4712.10(D).\n\n**[C015; S004 §4712.01(C)(2), §4712.10(D); S005 §2716.03(D)(1)]**\n\nIf Chapter 4712 applies and no exclusion does, the organization must **apply to and receive a certificate from the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions before conducting business**. Advertising before registration is also prohibited. The statute requires a customer-contract copy and evidence of the required **$50,000 bond**, among other application information; a nonresident organization needs an Ohio statutory agent. Application and renewal fees are each **$100 payable to the regulator**, not consumer price allowances. **[C016; S004 §§4712.02(A), (C), (E), (H), (K), 4712.06(A), 4712.07(F)]** [Ohio Laws+2](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n**Registration cannot cure a statutory prohibition.** Section 4712.071 prohibits the covered CSO services in connection with an extension of credit satisfying **any** of these conditions:\n\n- Amount below **$5,000**;\n- Repayment term of **one year or less**; or\n- APR above **28%**.\n\nThese are conditions concerning the extension of credit, not a general minimum enrolled-debt balance for all settlement services. **[C017; S004 §4712.071(A)–(C)]** [Ohio Laws](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.071?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n### 3. Current fee structures and the limits of what was established\n\n#### Verified Chapter 4710 provisions\n\nSection 4710.02 remains displayed as effective **March 29, 2007**. Its operative text supplies the following figures; no indexing clause or adjustment delegation was found in the current chapter. **[C018–C023; S001 §4710.02]**\n\n| Charge or issue | Verified rule | Boundary |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Initial consultation or initial setup of a DMP or similar plan | **$75 ceiling** | Does not resolve permission to stack a separate $75 consultation and $75 setup charge. |\n| Consultation fees | **$100 per calendar year** | An initial consultation is still a consultation; previously charged consultation fees consume this allowance. Treatment of a genuinely separate setup fee against this annual consultation limit was not resolved. |\n| Periodic administration of a DMP or similar plan | Cannot exceed the **greater of 8.5% of the amount paid each month for creditor distribution or $30** | This is not the lesser-of formula. $30 is neither a universal maximum nor a mandatory charge. |\n| Insufficient-funds transaction | Additional **reasonable** fee permitted | No specific dollar maximum was established. This is not a general processing-fee authorization. |\n| Fees and contributions generally | Direct and indirect charges are covered; charges must be reasonable | A provider must implement the required inability-to-pay waiver/discontinuance policy. |\n\n**[C018–C022; S001 §4710.02(A)(3)–(4), (B)(1)–(3), (C)]** [Ohio Laws](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nFor a bounded example involving **one monthly administration charge**, the calculation is:\n\n**Periodic ceiling = greater of (0.085 × monthly amount designated for creditor distribution) or $30.**\n\nThe statute does not use enrolled principal or savings as that base. This pass does not resolve gross-versus-net allocation when a single debit combines creditor funds and fees, authorize repeated weekly charges against the monthly denominator, or establish a statutory rounding rule. **[C021, C025]**\n\n#### Success fees and other unlisted charges remain held\n\nI did not establish current Ohio authority approving a stand-alone percentage-of-savings, percentage-of-enrolled-principal, or per-debt success-fee schedule for a nonexempt Chapter 4710 provider.\n\nThe operative chapter does not expressly supply such a schedule, a general lifetime settlement-fee cap, or a comprehensive cancellation-proration formula. That absence is **not** proof that an unlisted charge is unlimited or lawful. Conversely, the text alone does not resolve every possible nonperiodic post-performance charge. The classification of the charge under §4710.02(A)(3) and (B), together with authoritative interpretation, remains necessary. **[C024–C025; S001 §4710.02]**\n\n#### Historical figures must not be imported\n\nThe official Legislative Service Commission analysis of **Am. H.B. 367, 127th General Assembly, as passed by the House**, places a **20% aggregate principal-based cap** and a **50% refund provision with exclusions and conditions** in its proposed-change column. Those provisions are not in current Chapter 4710. The analysis is evidence of that historical proposal, not present fee permission. **[C038; S015 pp.5–6]** [h0367-ph-127.doc](https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nThe official pages retrieved for **136th General Assembly H.B. 534 and S.B. 256** showed introduced/pending legislation proposing replacement of Chapter 4710, not an enacted replacement. Their proposed licensing or fee provisions were not applied as current law. **[C037; S013–S014]** [Ohio House of Representatives+2](https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n#### Exempt legal practice and separate CSO services\n\nFor qualifying legal practice, the Chapter 4710 exclusion does not produce unlimited attorney fees. Current Professional Conduct Rule 1.5 prohibits illegal or clearly excessive fees and imposes requirements for contingent-fee agreements. Rules 1.5(d)(3) and 1.16(e) address fee labels and unearned advances. No statewide numerical debt-settlement attorney-fee cap was established here. **[C030; S008]**\n\nChapter 4712’s **$100 application/renewal fees are regulatory charges**, not a consumer fee schedule. No general numerical consumer-price allowance was established from that chapter; its performance and cancellation restrictions remain independently important. **[C016, C028–C029; S004]**\n\n### 4. When fees may be requested or received\n\n#### State rules\n\nChapter 4710’s numerical limits do not, by themselves, establish when a particular payment becomes earned or collectible. The statute’s initial-fee category cannot override another applicable advance-fee restriction. Its 30-day creditor-disbursement rule—and the debtor-instruction exception to that rule—does not waive the fee provisions. **[C026; S001 §4710.02(A)–(B)]**\n\nFor a covered CSO, §4712.07(A) prohibits charging or receiving consideration before completion of the agreed services within the applicable performance period. Section 4712.07(B) also prohibits charging for the specified referral unless credit is actually extended as a result. **[C028; S004 §4712.07(A)–(B)]**\n\nSection 4712.05 ordinarily limits the service period to 60 days or a shorter period prescribed by the superintendent. Its conditional 12-month route is confined to specified ongoing credit-related services and requires post-performance periodic payments, cancellation without future-service liability, documented renewal assent, and the other listed conditions. It is not a general monthly settlement-fee exception. The statute also provides the three-business-day cancellation right. **[C029; S004 §4712.05(A)(1), (A)(3)(a)–(e), (B)]** [Ohio Laws+1](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.07?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nNo universal Chapter 4710 cancellation-refund formula was verified. That does not make every paid amount nonrefundable. For an applicable consumer transaction, Ohio Administrative Code 109:4-3-09(A)(2) addresses payment followed by eight weeks without delivery, refund, the prescribed delay/refund offer, or an agreed qualifying substitute. Its applicability and alternatives must be considered; it is not a universal percentage refund rule. **[C027; S016]** [Ohio Laws](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109%3A4-3-09?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n#### Federal TSR: common context, separately applied\n\nThe exact operative provisions were read. The TSR’s debt-relief definition includes qualifying services concerning unsecured debt, including concessions beyond principal reduction. Telemarketing coverage and exemptions require their own factual analysis. Advertising-generated inbound debt-relief calls are not automatically exempt; business-to-business and qualifying face-to-face situations require separate treatment. FTC guidance also explains that there is no blanket attorney exemption and that genuine nonprofit status is a jurisdictional question, not something established by a label. **[C031; S010 §§310.2(o), (ii), 310.6(b); S011]**\n\nWhen §310.4(a)(5) applies, requesting or receiving a debt-relief fee requires:\n\n1. At least one debt has been renegotiated, settled, reduced, or otherwise altered under a valid agreement executed by the customer.\n2. The customer has made at least one payment under that agreement with the creditor or collector.\n3. For individually resolved debts, the fee satisfies the prescribed proportional-debt method or uniform percentage-of-savings method.\n\n**[C032–C033; S010 §310.4(a)(5)(i)(A)–(C)]** [ecfr.gov](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nThese federal allocation methods do **not** establish an Ohio-approved fee amount.\n\nThe dedicated-account provision is conditional: insured institution; consumer ownership and interest; independent account administrator; no prohibited referral compensation; and withdrawal without penalty with the required funds returned within **seven business days**. Depositing money into such an account is not equivalent to the provider earning it. **[C034; S010 §310.4(a)(5)(ii)(A)–(E)]**\n\nFor telemarketed credit-repair promises, §310.4(a)(2) supplies a different restriction involving expiration of the promised performance period and a qualifying consumer report issued more than six months after the results. A debt-settlement first-payment event does not replace that provision. **[C040; S010 §310.4(a)(2)]**\n\n### 5. What public market-access evidence was actually verified\n\n| Route | Verified evidence | Remaining limitation |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Ordinary Chapter 4710 debt adjusting | Current statutory compliance regime; annual audit filing with AG Consumer Protection; statutory access to an audit summary and auditor’s opinion by written request | No general license-issuance provision. Current audit filing instructions, delivery route, and any administrative filing calendar were not verified. |\n| Public audit evidence | §4710.02(D)(2) requires availability of the summary and opinion upon written request, with copying-cost limits | No request was made. Filing is not substantive approval or a clean enforcement record. |\n| Chapter 4712 CSO registration | Current statute identifies DFI, pre-business certificate receipt, application contents, contract/bond requirements, renewal framework, and nonresident agent | Current operational application package and reliable public lookup were not retrieved successfully. |\n| Claimed institutional or professional exclusion | Current statutes identify the qualifying status and activity | No named entity’s current credential, exclusion, or actual conduct was verified. |\n| Mortgage pre-purchase counseling | OAC 1301:8-10-01 has its own limited counseling authorization and conditions, including applicable Chapter 4710/4712 compliance | It is not a general debt-settlement license. |\n\n**[C016, C035–C036, C039; S001, S004, S006, S017–S020]**\n\nThe operational failures were substantive gaps, not successful verification:\n\n- The Attorney General debt-adjuster business-guide route was rejected.\n- The Attorney General CSO business-guide route was rejected.\n- The DFI applications-and-forms route returned 404.\n- The NMLS Ohio CSO checklist route redirected to a general resource page without furnishing the current checklist.\n\nThe exact failed routes and next actions are preserved below. No marketing statement was used as provider authorization.\n\n### 6–7. Examples, coverage, and remaining investigations\n\nThe worked examples in **D.1** distinguish a mathematical ceiling from a lawful, earned charge. The coverage table in **D.2** preserves the unresolved fee classifications and operational evidence, together with the later required Ohio passes.\n\n## B. Source table\n\n**Access key A:** Actually checked October 23, 2026 UTC / October 22, 2026 Pacific. “Read” means operative text or the specifically identified passages were retrieved and examined. “Failed” and “discovery only” are not substantive evidence of permission.\n\n### Controlling and interpretive materials\n\n| Source ID | Title / issuer and direct literal URL | Exact pinpoint and legal version/status | Access and limitations |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| **S_OH-P1-S001** | **Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4710, Debt Pooling Companies / Ohio Laws.** [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ; fee text: [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ; exclusions: [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | §§4710.01, .02, .03, .04, .99. Current displayed versions: .01/.04/.99 effective **2004-11-05**; .02 **2007-03-29**, H.B. 699; .03 **2023-10-03**, H.B. 33. | **Read A:** entire short chapter, including operative fee and exclusion provisions. Ohio law. September 2023 webpage update is not the .03 effective date. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S002** | **ORC §1321.51 / Ohio Laws.** [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | §1321.51(B)–(C), certificate and registrant definitions. Effective **2018-03-23**. | **Read A:** relevant definitions. Used only to resolve §4710.03(D), not to approve lending activities. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S003** | **ORC §1322.01 / Ohio Laws.** [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | §1322.01(U), (GG), (HH): licensee, registered MLO, registrant. Effective **2021-09-01**. | **Read A:** relevant definitions. Distinguishes actual Ohio status from a generic NMLS identifier. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S004** | **Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4712, Credit Services Organizations / Ohio Laws.** [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ; application: [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | §§4712.01, .02, .05, .06, .07, .071, .10(D). Current versions: .01 **2018-03-23**; .02 **2023-12-29**; .05 **2021-09-01**; .06/.07/.10 **1996-09-26**; .071 **2018-10-29**. | **Read A:** identified operative sections. Not a complete CSO contracts, remedies, or enforcement dossier. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S005** | **ORC §2716.03 / Ohio Laws.** [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | §2716.03(D)(1), definition of budget-and-debt-counseling service; effective **2008-09-30**. | **Read A:** relevant definition, including Chapter 1702 organization and counseling/creditor-assistance purpose. Not a garnishment investigation. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S006** | **OAC 1301:8-10-01, Mortgage pre-purchase counseling / Ohio Laws, DFI rule.** [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1301:8-10-01](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1301:8-10-01) | Entire rule (A)–(C); effective **2014-06-09**. | **Read A:** full operative rule. March 2025 webpage update and future review date are not new effective dates. Limited subject matter. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S007** | **Ohio State Bar Assn. v. Watkins Global Network, L.L.C., 159 Ohio St.3d 241, 2020-Ohio-169 / Supreme Court of Ohio.** [https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Decided **2020-01-23**; especially ¶¶9–18, 25–26, printed pp.4–10, 13. | **Read A:** majority’s operative analysis and disposition. Binding Ohio Supreme Court holding on UPL; not a fee approval. Full subsequent-case citator work remains open. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S008** | **Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct / Supreme Court of Ohio.** [https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Current compilation amended **2026-01-01**; Rules 1.5(a), (c), (d)(3); 1.16(e); 5.5(c)(1), (c)(4), (d)(4). Rule 5.5 amendment history includes **2021-09-01**. | **Read A:** identified rules and relevant history. Compilation date is not a claim that every cited clause changed in January 2026. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S009** | **Advisory Opinion 2011-2 / Ohio professional-conduct advisory authority.** [https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf](https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Issued **2011-10-07**; pp.1, 6–8 on out-of-state debt-settlement legal services and Rule 5.5. | **Read A:** relevant analysis. Historical, nonbinding advisory material; current Rule 5.5 controls. No separate certification of the opinion’s current administrative status. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S010** | **16 CFR Part 310, Telemarketing Sales Rule / FTC, eCFR.** [https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ; [https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ; [https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | §§310.2(o), (ii); 310.4(a)(2), (a)(5)(i)–(ii); 310.6(b)(3)–(7). Displayed as current through **2026-10-21**. | **Read A:** exact operative provisions used. Federal common context. eCFR is an authoritative but unofficial compilation. Its Title 16 amendment date is not the effective date of each cited clause. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S011** | **Debt Relief Services & the Telemarketing Sales Rule: A Guide for Business / FTC.** [https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Coverage, attorneys/nonprofits, advance fees, individual-debt allocation, dedicated accounts. | **Read A:** relevant guidance passages. Staff explanation, not a substitute for S010. Historical “new rule” framing; unrelated dated guidance was not treated as current law. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S016** | **OAC 109:4-3-09, Failure to deliver; substitution of goods or services / Ohio Attorney General rule, Ohio Laws.** [https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109:4-3-09](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109:4-3-09) | Entire operative rule; especially (A)(2)(a)–(d). Effective **2020-05-17**. | **Read A:** full rule. June 2025 webpage update is distinct from legal effect. Consumer-transaction applicability remains necessary. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S021** | **Telemarketing Sales Rule, final amendments, 75 FR 48458 / FTC, Federal Register.** [https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/08/10/2010-19412/telemarketing-sales-rule](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/08/10/2010-19412/telemarketing-sales-rule) | Published **2010-08-10**; “DATES”: general amendments effective **2010-09-27**, §310.4(a)(5) effective **2010-10-27**. Dedicated-account discussion at printed pp.48490–48491. | **Read A:** identified adoption-date and explanatory passages. Historical adoption evidence; current operative wording is S010. Full lengthy preamble was not read. |\n\n### Procedure, legislative status, historical comparison, and failed routes\n\n| Source ID | Title / issuer and direct literal URL | Exact pinpoint/status | Access and limitations |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| **S_OH-P1-S012** | **Debt Collection consumer tips / Ohio Attorney General.** [https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection](https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | “Debt Consolidation” subsection. Agency consumer guidance; no legal effective date established. | **Read A:** supports the existence of compliance obligations. Does not provide a license, application, or provider-status determination. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S013** | **H.B. 534, 136th General Assembly / Ohio House.** [https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534](https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ; [https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status](https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Retrieved summary/version: **As Introduced**. Status showed introduction **2025-10-21**, committee referral **2025-10-22**. | **Read A:** official summary and status. Proposed replacement of Chapter 4710; no enacted replacement established. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S014** | **S.B. 256, 136th General Assembly / Ohio Senate.** [https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256](https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Retrieved summary/version: **As Introduced**; progress display showed introduction/committee stages, not enactment. | **Read A:** actual official summary/status display. Separate /status route was unsuccessful; proposal not treated as current law. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S015** | **Am. H.B. 367, 127th General Assembly, As Passed by the House—Bill Analysis / Ohio LSC.** [https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/](https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Seven-page analysis; p.2 n.1; proposed-change column pp.5–6; history p.7 records House passage **2008-04-09**. | **Read A:** actual document and comparison columns. Historical proposal. Its complete enactment history was not separately reconstructed; current text was independently checked in S001. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S017** | **Debt Adjusters Act business guide / Ohio Attorney General.** [https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act](https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Intended operational guide. | **Failed A:** request rejected; alternative hostname did not yield the page. Search snippet was discovery only. Current filing instructions remain held. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S018** | **Credit Services Organization Act business guide / Ohio Attorney General.** [https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act](https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Intended agency explanation. | **Failed A:** rejected. Not relied upon as freshly read operational authority. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S019** | **Consumer Finance Applications and Forms / Ohio Department of Commerce, DFI.** [https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/financial-institutions/consumer-finance/applications-and-forms](https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/financial-institutions/consumer-finance/applications-and-forms) | Intended current application route. | **Failed A:** 404. Current form package and submission instructions not verified. |\n| **S_OH-P1-S020** | **Ohio CSO Company New Application Checklist / NMLS State Resource Center.** [https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf](https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Intended Ohio-specific checklist; redirected to [https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Home.aspx](https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Home.aspx) | **Failed A:** no readable current checklist delivered. Older search-result material was discovery only. No current application or provider lookup verified from this route. |\n\n## C. Claim table\n\n**Confidence terminology:** **Text** = directly established by the identified current provision; **Application** = a bounded interpretation of that text or holding; **Hold** = not established sufficiently to approve the proposition. Currentness is subject to the source-version limits above.\n\n| Claim ID | Precise assertion | Source IDs and pinpoints | Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| **S_OH-P1-C001** | Debt adjusting has independent adjustment/compromise/discharge and receipt/disbursement routes, with relevant holding out included. | S001 §4710.01(A)–(B) | **Text.** Actual conduct and representations determine application. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C002** | Noncustodial principal-reduction negotiation can fall within Chapter 4710. | S001 §4710.01(B)(1) | **Application.** No possession-of-funds requirement in this route. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C003** | Concession DMPs can qualify; general education is not automatically covered without a statutory function or relevant holding out. | S001 §4710.01(B) | **Application.** Actual promises and services still needed. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C004** | Chapter 4710 contains no express consumer-purpose or blanket business-debt exclusion. | S001 §4710.01 | **Text/Application.** Entity-debtor residence and resident fee-cap application remain held. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C005** | Resident fee protection includes temporary residence and does not expressly require an Ohio provider office. | S001 §§4710.01(C), .02(B)–(C) | **Text/Application.** Complete jurisdiction/conflicts analysis excluded. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C006** | Current Chapter 4710 has no general debt-adjuster license issuance or categorical for-profit ban; compliance duties remain mandatory. | S001 entire chapter, especially .02(A), (D)–(F) | **Text.** Includes annual CPA audit and specified insurance; no express noncustodial exception to those provisions. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C007** | Nonprofit status alone does not exclude a provider from Chapter 4710. | S001 §4710.03 | **Text.** Separate Chapter 4712 exclusion has additional conditions. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C008** | Institutional exclusions are limited to the entities, regulatory relationships, and subsidiaries enumerated. | S001 §4710.03(A) | **Text.** Entity-specific proof required. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C009** | The legal-practice exclusion concerns debt adjusting incurred in Ohio legal practice. | S001 §4710.03(B) | **Text/Application.** A lawyer connection alone is insufficient evidence. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C010** | The own-creditor exclusion requires incidental adjustment of debt owed to that person. | S001 §4710.03(C) | **Text.** Not a general third-party-negotiator exclusion. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C011** | The finance exclusions depend on actual incorporated registrant/licensee status. | S001 §4710.03(D)–(E); S002 §1321.51(B)–(C); S003 §1322.01(U), (GG)–(HH) | **Text/Application.** No transfer of exemption from a generic identifier or different entity established. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C012** | Nonlawyer debt negotiation is not per se UPL, but rendering legal services can constitute UPL. | S007 ¶¶9–18, 25–26 | **Holding.** Business-debt facts; no fee approval or universal program safe harbor. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C013** | Out-of-state lawyers must satisfy applicable Ohio practice rules; remote work or nominal association is not universal Ohio-client authority. | S008 Rule 5.5(c)(1), (c)(4), (d)(4); S009 pp.1, 6–8 | **Text/Application.** Advisory opinion is historical and nonbinding. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C014** | Credit-improvement, credit-obtaining, or related paid services can independently trigger Chapter 4712; qualifying deferral is included in “extension of credit.” | S004 §4712.01(A), (C)(1), (D) | **Text/Application.** Not a determination that every settlement service is a CSO. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C015** | CSO nonprofit, attorney, and institutional exclusions require their specific statutory conditions. | S004 §4712.01(C)(2), §4712.10(D); S005 §2716.03(D)(1) | **Text.** Claimant bears exemption burden; nonprofit label alone insufficient. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C016** | Nonexempt CSOs need a DFI certificate before business and registration before advertising; application/renewal are $100 each, with contract/bond and other requirements. | S004 §§4712.02(A), (C), (E), (H), (K), .06(A), .07(F) | **Text.** $50,000 bond; nonresident statutory agent. Regulatory fees are not consumer fees. Current operational package held. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C017** | Covered CSO services connected with credit below $5,000, a term ≤1 year, or APR >28% are prohibited. | S004 §4712.071(A)–(C) | **Text.** Any one condition suffices; certificate does not cure prohibition. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C018** | Direct/indirect fees and contributions must satisfy reasonableness and inability-to-pay policy requirements. | S001 §4710.02(A)(3)–(4), (B) | **Text.** Numerical compliance alone is insufficient. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C019** | Initial consultation or initial plan setup has a $75 ceiling for an Ohio resident. | S001 §4710.02(B)(1) | **Text.** Stacking separate initial categories not cleared. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C020** | Consultation charges cannot exceed $100 in a calendar year; an initial consultation consumes part of that amount. | S001 §4710.02(B)(1)–(2) | **Text/Application.** Separate setup-fee credit against the consultation limit unresolved. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C021** | The periodic administration ceiling uses the greater of 8.5% of monthly creditor-distribution payments or $30. | S001 §4710.02(B)(3) | **Text.** Examples assume one monthly charge and an identified distribution base. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C022** | A reasonable additional insufficient-funds transaction fee is permitted. | S001 §4710.02(C) | **Text.** No exact dollar cap verified; not a generic processing surcharge. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C023** | The current chapter supplies fixed stated amounts without an indexing mechanism. | S001 §4710.02 and entire chapter | **Text.** No CPI-derived substitution made. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C024** | No current stand-alone savings-, principal-, or per-debt success-fee authorization, or general lifetime settlement-fee cap, was established. | S001 §4710.02(A)(3), (B) | **Hold.** Absence of an express schedule does not prove either unlimited permission or universal prohibition. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C025** | Initial-fee stacking, bundled-debit allocation, repeated submonthly billing, and statutory rounding were not resolved. | S001 §4710.02(B) | **Hold.** No favorable assumption imported into examples. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C026** | A state ceiling does not establish advance-fee permission; the debtor-instruction exception concerns disbursement, not fee-cap waiver. | S001 §4710.02(A)–(B); S010 §310.4(a)(5) | **Text/Application.** Independently applicable timing must be satisfied. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C027** | Chapter 4710 contains no dedicated universal cancellation-proration formula; other applicable refund duties remain possible. | S001 §4710.02; S016 109:4-3-09(A)(2) | **Text/limited conclusion.** Consumer-transaction and nonperformance conditions matter. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C028** | CSO charges generally await completion of agreed services; specified referral charges require actual resulting credit. | S004 §4712.07(A)–(B) | **Text.** Read together with §4712.05’s performance framework. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C029** | CSO contracts carry a three-business-day cancellation right; the conditional ongoing-service route permits specified post-performance arrangements, not general settlement advance fees. | S004 §4712.05(A)(1), (A)(3), (B) | **Text.** 60-day default/shorter prescribed period; conditional 12-month limit. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C030** | Exempt legal practice remains subject to attorney-fee, contingent-agreement, and unearned-advance rules. | S008 Rules 1.5(a), (c), (d)(3), 1.16(e) | **Text.** No numerical attorney settlement-fee cap established; TSR applicability separate. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C031** | TSR coverage depends on service, telemarketing, jurisdiction, and exemptions; inbound advertising calls and attorney status do not furnish blanket exclusions. | S010 §§310.2(o), (ii), .6(b)(3)–(7); S011 coverage discussion | **Text/guidance.** Genuine nonprofit and business-to-business status require separate analysis. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C032** | Covered debt-relief fees require an executed qualifying agreement and at least one customer payment under it. | S010 §310.4(a)(5)(i)(A)–(B) | **Text.** Applies to requesting as well as receiving payment. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C033** | Individually resolved debts require the specified proportional-debt or uniform-savings fee allocation. | S010 §310.4(a)(5)(i)(C) | **Text.** Federal allocation does not establish Ohio amount permission. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C034** | The dedicated-account exception has ownership, independence, institution, referral-compensation, withdrawal, and seven-business-day return conditions. | S010 §310.4(a)(5)(ii)(A)–(E) | **Text.** Funds deposited are not automatically earned provider fees. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C035** | Annual audit results/opinion go to AG Consumer Protection; a summary/opinion is available by statutory written-request procedure. | S001 §4710.02(D)(1)–(2) | **Text.** Filing is not approval; no records request or named-provider verification performed. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C036** | The mortgage pre-purchase counseling rule is limited and preserves applicable Chapter 4710/4712 duties. | S006 1301:8-10-01(A)–(C) | **Text.** Not a general debt-settlement license. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C037** | Retrieved H.B. 534/S.B. 256 material showed proposals, not an operative replacement law. | S013 official summary/status; S014 official summary/progress display | **Observed status.** No proposed fee or licensing provision applied as current. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C038** | The historical 20% cap and 50% refund appeared in the proposed-change column of the H.B. 367 analysis. | S015 pp.5–6; compare S001 | **Historical document fact.** Not current Chapter 4710 rules. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C039** | Current operational application/checklist/lookup evidence and any named provider’s authorization were not verified. | S017–S020 failed routes; S001/S004 statutory procedures | **Hold.** Statutory procedure and actual provider status remain distinct. |\n| **S_OH-P1-C040** | Telemarketed credit-repair fee timing has its own promised-period and later-report requirements. | S010 §310.4(a)(2)(i)–(ii) | **Text.** Debt-relief first-payment compliance does not substitute for this rule. |\n\n## D. Worked examples and coverage/gaps\n\n### D.1. Plain-text worked examples\n\n**Common assumptions:** All money is U.S. dollars. Unless a hold is stated, the consumer is an Ohio resident, the provider is nonexempt, the identified service is actually performed, charges are reasonable, the hardship policy is implemented, and all independently applicable timing requirements are satisfied. Examples using the periodic formula assume one monthly administration charge and a creditor-distribution amount identified separately from the fee. Arithmetic is exact to cents unless stated otherwise. These examples do not verify any provider.\n\n**Example 1 — Initial consultation plus later consultation in the same calendar year**\n\nInputs: An initial consultation fee of $75 has already been lawfully charged. A later consultation is priced at $35.\n\nBase: $100 annual consultation ceiling.\n\nOperation: $100 − $75 = $25 remaining.\n\nCheck: $75 + $35 = $110, which exceeds the annual limit by $10.\n\nResult: The later consultation can consume no more than the remaining **$25**, subject to the other legal conditions. This does not decide how a separately classified setup charge affects that annual consultation cap. **[C019–C020]**\n\n**Example 2 — Lower monthly distribution**\n\nInput: $200 designated for distribution to creditors.\n\nPercentage calculation: $200 × 0.085 = $17.\n\nComparison: Greater of $17 and $30 = **$30**.\n\nResult: $30 is the numerical ceiling for the modeled periodic charge. It is not a compulsory fee, and hardship or reasonableness can require less. **[C018, C021]**\n\n**Example 3 — Higher distribution and conservative cent treatment**\n\nFirst input: $500 for creditor distribution.\n\nCalculation: $500 × 0.085 = $42.50; greater of $42.50 and $30 = **$42.50**.\n\nIf separately collected, modeled total outlay is $500 + $42.50 = **$542.50**.\n\nSecond input: $400.01 for creditor distribution.\n\nCalculation: $400.01 × 0.085 = $34.00085.\n\nConservative cent result: **$34.00**, obtained by rounding downward. A $34.01 charge would exceed the calculated percentage ceiling.\n\nThe downward rounding is an example-design choice; no statutory rounding convention was established. **[C021, C025]**\n\n**Example 4 — Prior collection does not create another allowance**\n\nInputs: The single modeled monthly charge has a $30 ceiling. The provider already collected $20 toward that same charge.\n\nOperation: $30 − $20 = **$10** remaining.\n\nResult: At most $10 remains within that modeled charge’s ceiling. This does not authorize a second administration charge or resolve repeated weekly billing. **[C021, C025]**\n\n**Example 5 — State arithmetic does not make an advance fee collectible**\n\nInputs: $0 distributed; a $1,000 debt has an executed agreement to settle for $600; the customer has made **no payment** under it; TSR coverage is assumed.\n\nState arithmetic alone: Greater of ($0 × 0.085) and $30 = $30.\n\nFederal timing check: Required customer payment = absent.\n\nResult: **$0 may yet be requested or received as the covered debt-relief fee.** The state calculation does not satisfy the missing federal trigger. **[C026, C032]**\n\n**Example 6 — Partial settlement and a proposed savings fee: hold**\n\nInputs: Two enrolled debts of $2,000 and $8,000, totaling $10,000. The first is settled and paid for $1,000. Proposed charge: 25% of savings.\n\nSavings base: $2,000 − $1,000 = $1,000.\n\nProposed calculation: $1,000 × 0.25 = **$250**.\n\nResult: **HOLD the $250 Ohio fee authorization.** This pass did not establish the state-law pathway for that stand-alone success fee.\n\nFor the alternative federal proportional method, if an otherwise lawful total fee were F dollars, the first debt’s share would be $2,000 ÷ $10,000 × F = **0.20F dollars**. That illustrates allocation only; it neither supplies a lawful F nor approves the proposed $250. **[C024, C032–C033]**\n\n**Example 7 — Dedicated-account cancellation before any fee is earned**\n\nInputs: $900 remains in a qualifying dedicated account. Properly earned provider fees are $0. Consumer requests withdrawal.\n\nOperation: $900 − $0 = **$900**.\n\nResult: The required account return is **$900 within seven business days**, without a withdrawal penalty under the federal condition. The historical proposed Ohio 50% refund provision is not used. **[C034, C038]**\n\n**Example 8 — Registration does not cure the CSO credit prohibition**\n\nInputs: A nonexempt CSO proposes a service connected with a $4,000 extension of credit, a 24-month term, and 12% APR.\n\nTests: $4,000 < $5,000 is true; 24 months ≤ one year is false; 12% > 28% is false.\n\nOperator: The statutory conditions are alternatives—**any one** suffices.\n\nResult: The service is **prohibited under §4712.071** despite the favorable term and APR. No lawful consumer fee is calculated. A $5,000 extension with a 12-month repayment term would separately trigger the term prohibition. **[C017]**\n\n**Example 9 — Unearned attorney advance on withdrawal**\n\nAssumptions: Actual qualifying legal representation, a lawfully received advance, and withdrawal triggering Rule 1.16(e).\n\nInputs: $600 advance; $240 actually earned.\n\nOperation: $600 − $240 = **$360 unearned**.\n\nResult: **$360 must be promptly refunded** under the cited withdrawal rule. The example does not establish that $240 is reasonable, validate an advance under the TSR, or supply a numerical attorney-fee cap. **[C030]**\n\n**Example 10 — Quoted NSF charge without a verified numerical safe harbor**\n\nInput: Provider proposes a $25 insufficient-funds transaction fee.\n\nAvailable rule: The additional charge must be reasonable; no exact dollar maximum was established.\n\nResult: **HOLD approval of $25** pending facts establishing a genuine insufficient-funds transaction and reasonableness. It cannot be approved merely because the statute allows some reasonable NSF fee. **[C022]**\n\n### D.2. Component coverage and exact next investigations\n\n“Answered” means answered at the legal-rule level identified here. It does not mean a provider’s implementation has passed review.\n\n| Component | Status | Claims | Exact missing evidence / next investigation |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Principal reduction versus concessions/distribution | **Answered** | C001–C003 | Apply the definitions to actual services, advertisements, scripts, and money flow before making a provider-specific classification. |\n| Custodial versus noncustodial | **Answered at definition level** | C002, C006 | Later funds pass must determine who controls each account and which operational duties are triggered. |\n| Generic education/referral boundary | **Partial** | C003, C014 | Examine actual promises and referral compensation; determine whether adjustment, credit procurement, or credit improvement is represented. |\n| Consumer versus business debt | **Partial** | C004, C014 | Obtain authoritative treatment of entity-debtor “residence” and the resident-specific fee provisions; separately test Chapter 4712’s buyer/purpose definitions. |\n| Resident and remote-provider nexus | **Text answered; broader nexus open** | C005 | Research Ohio jurisdiction, conflicts, and interstate application using the actual transaction and provider location. |\n| Ordinary Chapter 4710 market access | **Answered at statutory level** | C006–C011 | Verify actual compliance and claimed exclusions; absence of a license requirement is not provider clearance. |\n| Attorney/nonlawyer activity boundary | **Answered with factual limits** | C009, C012–C013 | Compare scripts, settlement-document handling, advice, and lawyer participation with *Watkins* and current practice rules. Complete subsequent-case history later. |\n| Nonprofit and institutional exclusions | **Conditions answered; status unverified** | C007–C011, C015 | Obtain actual tax/entity/credential and activity evidence for the precise provider claiming exclusion. |\n| CSO overlap and prohibition | **Rules answered; model classification partial** | C014–C017 | Determine whether the actual service obtains a qualifying deferral/extension or promises credit improvement; test each §4712.071 condition before considering registration sufficient. |\n| Fixed fee amounts and indexing | **Answered** | C018–C023 | No CPI calculation needed under the retrieved current chapter. Recheck enacted law at any later launch or transaction date. |\n| Stand-alone settlement/savings/per-debt fee | **Unresolved—hold** | C024 | Locate authoritative current Ohio interpretation or a relevant merits decision applying §4710.02 to the precise nonperiodic fee; assess actual contract and service classification. |\n| Initial-fee stacking and setup/consultation credit | **Unresolved—hold** | C019–C020, C025 | Obtain controlling interpretation of §4710.02(B)(1)–(2); do not approve $75 plus $75 merely from separate labels. |\n| Bundled fee base, billing frequency, rounding | **Unresolved—hold** | C021, C025 | Resolve gross/net allocation and aggregate treatment from authoritative material; examine payment instructions and billing schedule. |\n| State and TSR fee timing | **Answered conditionally** | C026, C028–C034, C040 | Determine actual sales channel, jurisdiction, exemptions, agreement execution, customer payment, and fee allocation. Broader federal credit-repair-law analysis remains separate. |\n| Refunds and cancellation | **Partial** | C027, C029–C030, C034 | Complete contract, CSPA, applicable sales-channel, and remedy analysis; do not infer nonrefundability from the absence of a Chapter 4710 formula. |\n| AG audit filing operations | **Partial—operational evidence held** | C035, C039 | Recover the current AG instructions through a functioning official public route; verify submission destination, required materials, and any filing calendar. S017 failed. |\n| CSO current application and renewal instructions | **Partial—operational evidence held** | C016, C039 | Recover the current DFI/NMLS Ohio checklist, submission instructions, and any superintendent-set renewal date. S019 returned 404; S020 redirected. |\n| Public provider lookup / actual provider status | **Unresolved** | C011, C016, C035, C039 | Identify a working official status source; then match the exact legal entity and relevant credential. Audit records would require the statutory request route; no contact was made in this pass. |\n| Historical and proposed-law reconciliation | **Answered for identified materials** | C037–C038 | Continue tracking H.B. 534/S.B. 256 if the investigation’s baseline changes; do not import H.B. 367’s proposed columns into current law. |\n| Bounded examples | **Completed** | C018–C034 | Examples preserve unresolved permission and timing rather than inventing a licensed success-fee model. |\n| Full agreements and contract review | **Open—later required pass** | Limited references in C029 | Review complete mandatory disclosures, execution, cancellation forms, contract terms, and actual customer agreement. |\n| Full funds, trust, bond, and insurance review | **Open—later required pass** | Limited entry conditions in C006, C016, C034–C035 | Complete account-control, disbursement, reconciliation, insurance calculation, bond, and continuing-compliance analysis. |\n| Remedies, enforcement, collection, litigation, and limitations | **Open—later required passes** | Not accepted by this pass | Read applicable remedies, enforcement history, collection rules, litigation procedure, and limitations authorities in full. |\n| Exempt assets, secured debt, and sector-specific rules | **Open—later required passes** | C036 is only a narrow counseling-rule finding | Investigate each relevant debt/security/sector regime; this pass does not clear mortgage relief or secured-debt services. |\n| Local, tribal, conflicts, and full case-law coverage | **Open—later required passes** | C005, C012 identify limited boundaries | Complete jurisdiction-specific enactments, sovereign issues, conflicts analysis, and comprehensive case history. |\n| Overall Ohio / A066 acceptance | **Not granted** | All claims subject to stated bounds | Resolve component holds and complete all remaining required state categories. |\n\n## E. Researcher self-check\n\n**Actually read:** Current Chapter 4710; the identified current Chapter 4712 sections and cross-referenced definitions; the full operative text of the two OAC rules used; the relevant *Watkins* majority analysis and disposition; the specified current professional-conduct rules; relevant passages of Advisory Opinion 2011-2; the exact federal TSR definitions, fee provisions, and exemptions used; official legislative summary/status material; and the actual historical H.B. 367 comparison document.\n\n**Not represented as read or verified:** The blocked AG business guides, a current DFI application package, a current Ohio NMLS CSO checklist, an operational provider lookup, any named provider’s certificate or audit record, the entire lengthy federal adoption preamble, or an exhaustive subsequent-case citator. Search snippets and old checklist references were discovery only.\n\n**Currentness controls:** Statutory effective dates were kept separate from webpage updates. Pending bills and a historical House-passed proposal were not treated as enacted law. The federal compilation’s displayed through-date was preserved. No indexed amount was invented.\n\n**Method:** Ordinary chat research with direct public-source browsing and parallel internal research tracks; no Deep Research or separate chatgpt.com conversations are claimed. No verified model-selector change is claimed. No application, contact, purchase, account change, or publication was undertaken.\n\nThe verified result is a substantive Ohio market-access and fee component with explicit holds on the remaining success-fee interpretations, operational application/lookup evidence, and provider-specific status.\n\n**END S_OH PASS-01**\n\n","tables":[{"headers":["Model or boundary","Finding for this pass"],"index":0,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Model or boundary","Finding for this pass"],["Principal-reduction settlement or negotiation","Within the adjustment/compromise route when the actual service or representation satisfies §4710.01(B)(1). A “settlement” label does not create a separate exemption."],["Noncustodial negotiation","Avoiding possession of consumer funds does not remove the independent adjustment/compromise route."],["DMP involving interest, fee, payment, or other concessions","Can constitute adjustment of indebtedness even without principal reduction."],["Receiving money and distributing it to creditors","Independently reaches §4710.01(B)(2), even if no principal reduction is negotiated."],["Budget or credit counseling","Must be examined for its actual debt-adjustment purpose, services, and representations. General education without either statutory function or the relevant holding out is not automatically covered merely because it concerns money."],["Referral or lead-generation model","No categorical clearance. The question is what the business promises, performs, receives, and arranges; a separate credit-services analysis may also apply."]]},{"headers":["Exclusion","Actual condition and failure case"],"index":1,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Exclusion","Actual condition and failure case"],["Listed institutions","§4710.03(A) names Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, specified regulated banking and credit-union entities, and their subsidiaries. The specified entity and regulatory relationship must exist. An ordinary financial-services company is not enough."],["Practice of law","§4710.03(B) concerns debt adjusting incurred in the practice of law in Ohio. Employing, referring to, or displaying the name of a lawyer does not itself establish that condition."],["Own creditor","§4710.03(C) requires incidental adjustment of indebtedness owed to the person doing the adjusting. It does not generally exempt third-party settlement services."],["Certain finance registrants","§4710.03(D) incorporates an actual registrant under §1321.51."],["Certain mortgage registrants/licensees","§4710.03(E) incorporates an actual registrant or licensee defined in §1322.01. That section distinguishes the organization’s registration from an individual mortgage-loan-originator license. A generic NMLS identifier, employee’s credential, or affiliate’s status does not prove the provider entity qualifies."],["Nonprofit","There is no general nonprofit exclusion in §4710.03."]]},{"headers":["Charge or issue","Verified rule","Boundary"],"index":2,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Charge or issue","Verified rule","Boundary"],["Initial consultation or initial setup of a DMP or similar plan","$75 ceiling","Does not resolve permission to stack a separate $75 consultation and $75 setup charge."],["Consultation fees","$100 per calendar year","An initial consultation is still a consultation; previously charged consultation fees consume this allowance. Treatment of a genuinely separate setup fee against this annual consultation limit was not resolved."],["Periodic administration of a DMP or similar plan","Cannot exceed the greater of 8.5% of the amount paid each month for creditor distribution or $30","This is not the lesser-of formula. $30 is neither a universal maximum nor a mandatory charge."],["Insufficient-funds transaction","Additional reasonable fee permitted","No specific dollar maximum was established. This is not a general processing-fee authorization."],["Fees and contributions generally","Direct and indirect charges are covered; charges must be reasonable","A provider must implement the required inability-to-pay waiver/discontinuance policy."]]},{"headers":["Route","Verified evidence","Remaining limitation"],"index":3,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Route","Verified evidence","Remaining limitation"],["Ordinary Chapter 4710 debt adjusting","Current statutory compliance regime; annual audit filing with AG Consumer Protection; statutory access to an audit summary and auditor’s opinion by written request","No general license-issuance provision. Current audit filing instructions, delivery route, and any administrative filing calendar were not verified."],["Public audit evidence","§4710.02(D)(2) requires availability of the summary and opinion upon written request, with copying-cost limits","No request was made. Filing is not substantive approval or a clean enforcement record."],["Chapter 4712 CSO registration","Current statute identifies DFI, pre-business certificate receipt, application contents, contract/bond requirements, renewal framework, and nonresident agent","Current operational application package and reliable public lookup were not retrieved successfully."],["Claimed institutional or professional exclusion","Current statutes identify the qualifying status and activity","No named entity’s current credential, exclusion, or actual conduct was verified."],["Mortgage pre-purchase counseling","OAC 1301:8-10-01 has its own limited counseling authorization and conditions, including applicable Chapter 4710/4712 compliance","It is not a general debt-settlement license."]]},{"headers":["Source ID","Title / issuer and direct literal URL","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status","Access and limitations"],"index":4,"links":[{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1301:8-10-01","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1301:8-10-01"},{"href":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf"},{"href":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf"},{"href":"https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf"},{"href":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2"},{"href":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4"},{"href":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6"},{"href":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109:4-3-09","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109:4-3-09"},{"href":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/08/10/2010-19412/telemarketing-sales-rule","text":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/08/10/2010-19412/telemarketing-sales-rule"}],"row_links":[[],[{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03"}],[{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51"}],[{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01"}],[{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712"},{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02"}],[{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03"}],[{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1301:8-10-01","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1301:8-10-01"}],[{"href":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf"}],[{"href":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf"}],[{"href":"https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf"}],[{"href":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2"},{"href":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4"},{"href":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6"}],[{"href":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business"}],[{"href":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109:4-3-09","text":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109:4-3-09"}],[{"href":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/08/10/2010-19412/telemarketing-sales-rule","text":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/08/10/2010-19412/telemarketing-sales-rule"}]],"rows":[["Source ID","Title / issuer and direct literal URL","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status","Access and limitations"],["S_OH-P1-S001","Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4710, Debt Pooling Companies / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710 ; fee text: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02 ; exclusions: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03","§§4710.01, .02, .03, .04, .99. Current displayed versions: .01/.04/.99 effective 2004-11-05; .02 2007-03-29, H.B. 699; .03 2023-10-03, H.B. 33.","Read A: entire short chapter, including operative fee and exclusion provisions. Ohio law. September 2023 webpage update is not the .03 effective date."],["S_OH-P1-S002","ORC §1321.51 / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51","§1321.51(B)–(C), certificate and registrant definitions. Effective 2018-03-23.","Read A: relevant definitions. Used only to resolve §4710.03(D), not to approve lending activities."],["S_OH-P1-S003","ORC §1322.01 / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01","§1322.01(U), (GG), (HH): licensee, registered MLO, registrant. Effective 2021-09-01.","Read A: relevant definitions. Distinguishes actual Ohio status from a generic NMLS identifier."],["S_OH-P1-S004","Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4712, Credit Services Organizations / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712 ; application: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02","§§4712.01, .02, .05, .06, .07, .071, .10(D). Current versions: .01 2018-03-23; .02 2023-12-29; .05 2021-09-01; .06/.07/.10 1996-09-26; .071 2018-10-29.","Read A: identified operative sections. Not a complete CSO contracts, remedies, or enforcement dossier."],["S_OH-P1-S005","ORC §2716.03 / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03","§2716.03(D)(1), definition of budget-and-debt-counseling service; effective 2008-09-30.","Read A: relevant definition, including Chapter 1702 organization and counseling/creditor-assistance purpose. Not a garnishment investigation."],["S_OH-P1-S006","OAC 1301:8-10-01, Mortgage pre-purchase counseling / Ohio Laws, DFI rule. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1301:8-10-01","Entire rule (A)–(C); effective 2014-06-09.","Read A: full operative rule. March 2025 webpage update and future review date are not new effective dates. Limited subject matter."],["S_OH-P1-S007","Ohio State Bar Assn. v. Watkins Global Network, L.L.C., 159 Ohio St.3d 241, 2020-Ohio-169 / Supreme Court of Ohio. https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf","Decided 2020-01-23; especially ¶¶9–18, 25–26, printed pp.4–10, 13.","Read A: majority’s operative analysis and disposition. Binding Ohio Supreme Court holding on UPL; not a fee approval. Full subsequent-case citator work remains open."],["S_OH-P1-S008","Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct / Supreme Court of Ohio. https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf","Current compilation amended 2026-01-01; Rules 1.5(a), (c), (d)(3); 1.16(e); 5.5(c)(1), (c)(4), (d)(4). Rule 5.5 amendment history includes 2021-09-01.","Read A: identified rules and relevant history. Compilation date is not a claim that every cited clause changed in January 2026."],["S_OH-P1-S009","Advisory Opinion 2011-2 / Ohio professional-conduct advisory authority. https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf","Issued 2011-10-07; pp.1, 6–8 on out-of-state debt-settlement legal services and Rule 5.5.","Read A: relevant analysis. Historical, nonbinding advisory material; current Rule 5.5 controls. No separate certification of the opinion’s current administrative status."],["S_OH-P1-S010","16 CFR Part 310, Telemarketing Sales Rule / FTC, eCFR. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2 ; https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4 ; https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6","§§310.2(o), (ii); 310.4(a)(2), (a)(5)(i)–(ii); 310.6(b)(3)–(7). Displayed as current through 2026-10-21.","Read A: exact operative provisions used. Federal common context. eCFR is an authoritative but unofficial compilation. Its Title 16 amendment date is not the effective date of each cited clause."],["S_OH-P1-S011","Debt Relief Services & the Telemarketing Sales Rule: A Guide for Business / FTC. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business","Coverage, attorneys/nonprofits, advance fees, individual-debt allocation, dedicated accounts.","Read A: relevant guidance passages. Staff explanation, not a substitute for S010. Historical “new rule” framing; unrelated dated guidance was not treated as current law."],["S_OH-P1-S016","OAC 109:4-3-09, Failure to deliver; substitution of goods or services / Ohio Attorney General rule, Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109:4-3-09","Entire operative rule; especially (A)(2)(a)–(d). Effective 2020-05-17.","Read A: full rule. June 2025 webpage update is distinct from legal effect. Consumer-transaction applicability remains necessary."],["S_OH-P1-S021","Telemarketing Sales Rule, final amendments, 75 FR 48458 / FTC, Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/08/10/2010-19412/telemarketing-sales-rule","Published 2010-08-10; “DATES”: general amendments effective 2010-09-27, §310.4(a)(5) effective 2010-10-27. Dedicated-account discussion at printed pp.48490–48491.","Read A: identified adoption-date and explanatory passages. Historical adoption evidence; current operative wording is S010. Full lengthy preamble was not read."]]},{"headers":["Source ID","Title / issuer and direct literal URL","Exact pinpoint/status","Access and limitations"],"index":5,"links":[{"href":"https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection"},{"href":"https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534"},{"href":"https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status"},{"href":"https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256"},{"href":"https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/"},{"href":"https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act"},{"href":"https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act"},{"href":"https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/financial-institutions/consumer-finance/applications-and-forms","text":"https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/financial-institutions/consumer-finance/applications-and-forms"},{"href":"https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf"},{"href":"https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Home.aspx","text":"https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Home.aspx"}],"row_links":[[],[{"href":"https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection"}],[{"href":"https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534"},{"href":"https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status"}],[{"href":"https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256"}],[{"href":"https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/"}],[{"href":"https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act"}],[{"href":"https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act"}],[{"href":"https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/financial-institutions/consumer-finance/applications-and-forms","text":"https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/financial-institutions/consumer-finance/applications-and-forms"}],[{"href":"https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf"},{"href":"https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Home.aspx","text":"https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Home.aspx"}]],"rows":[["Source ID","Title / issuer and direct literal URL","Exact pinpoint/status","Access and limitations"],["S_OH-P1-S012","Debt Collection consumer tips / Ohio Attorney General. https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection","“Debt Consolidation” subsection. Agency consumer guidance; no legal effective date established.","Read A: supports the existence of compliance obligations. Does not provide a license, application, or provider-status determination."],["S_OH-P1-S013","H.B. 534, 136th General Assembly / Ohio House. https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534 ; https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status","Retrieved summary/version: As Introduced. Status showed introduction 2025-10-21, committee referral 2025-10-22.","Read A: official summary and status. Proposed replacement of Chapter 4710; no enacted replacement established."],["S_OH-P1-S014","S.B. 256, 136th General Assembly / Ohio Senate. https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256","Retrieved summary/version: As Introduced; progress display showed introduction/committee stages, not enactment.","Read A: actual official summary/status display. Separate /status route was unsuccessful; proposal not treated as current law."],["S_OH-P1-S015","Am. H.B. 367, 127th General Assembly, As Passed by the House—Bill Analysis / Ohio LSC. https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/","Seven-page analysis; p.2 n.1; proposed-change column pp.5–6; history p.7 records House passage 2008-04-09.","Read A: actual document and comparison columns. Historical proposal. Its complete enactment history was not separately reconstructed; current text was independently checked in S001."],["S_OH-P1-S017","Debt Adjusters Act business guide / Ohio Attorney General. https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act","Intended operational guide.","Failed A: request rejected; alternative hostname did not yield the page. Search snippet was discovery only. Current filing instructions remain held."],["S_OH-P1-S018","Credit Services Organization Act business guide / Ohio Attorney General. https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act","Intended agency explanation.","Failed A: rejected. Not relied upon as freshly read operational authority."],["S_OH-P1-S019","Consumer Finance Applications and Forms / Ohio Department of Commerce, DFI. https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/financial-institutions/consumer-finance/applications-and-forms","Intended current application route.","Failed A: 404. Current form package and submission instructions not verified."],["S_OH-P1-S020","Ohio CSO Company New Application Checklist / NMLS State Resource Center. https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf","Intended Ohio-specific checklist; redirected to https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Home.aspx","Failed A: no readable current checklist delivered. Older search-result material was discovery only. No current application or provider lookup verified from this route."]]},{"headers":["Claim ID","Precise assertion","Source IDs and pinpoints","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits"],"index":6,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Claim ID","Precise assertion","Source IDs and pinpoints","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits"],["S_OH-P1-C001","Debt adjusting has independent adjustment/compromise/discharge and receipt/disbursement routes, with relevant holding out included.","S001 §4710.01(A)–(B)","Text. Actual conduct and representations determine application."],["S_OH-P1-C002","Noncustodial principal-reduction negotiation can fall within Chapter 4710.","S001 §4710.01(B)(1)","Application. No possession-of-funds requirement in this route."],["S_OH-P1-C003","Concession DMPs can qualify; general education is not automatically covered without a statutory function or relevant holding out.","S001 §4710.01(B)","Application. Actual promises and services still needed."],["S_OH-P1-C004","Chapter 4710 contains no express consumer-purpose or blanket business-debt exclusion.","S001 §4710.01","Text/Application. Entity-debtor residence and resident fee-cap application remain held."],["S_OH-P1-C005","Resident fee protection includes temporary residence and does not expressly require an Ohio provider office.","S001 §§4710.01(C), .02(B)–(C)","Text/Application. Complete jurisdiction/conflicts analysis excluded."],["S_OH-P1-C006","Current Chapter 4710 has no general debt-adjuster license issuance or categorical for-profit ban; compliance duties remain mandatory.","S001 entire chapter, especially .02(A), (D)–(F)","Text. Includes annual CPA audit and specified insurance; no express noncustodial exception to those provisions."],["S_OH-P1-C007","Nonprofit status alone does not exclude a provider from Chapter 4710.","S001 §4710.03","Text. Separate Chapter 4712 exclusion has additional conditions."],["S_OH-P1-C008","Institutional exclusions are limited to the entities, regulatory relationships, and subsidiaries enumerated.","S001 §4710.03(A)","Text. Entity-specific proof required."],["S_OH-P1-C009","The legal-practice exclusion concerns debt adjusting incurred in Ohio legal practice.","S001 §4710.03(B)","Text/Application. A lawyer connection alone is insufficient evidence."],["S_OH-P1-C010","The own-creditor exclusion requires incidental adjustment of debt owed to that person.","S001 §4710.03(C)","Text. Not a general third-party-negotiator exclusion."],["S_OH-P1-C011","The finance exclusions depend on actual incorporated registrant/licensee status.","S001 §4710.03(D)–(E); S002 §1321.51(B)–(C); S003 §1322.01(U), (GG)–(HH)","Text/Application. No transfer of exemption from a generic identifier or different entity established."],["S_OH-P1-C012","Nonlawyer debt negotiation is not per se UPL, but rendering legal services can constitute UPL.","S007 ¶¶9–18, 25–26","Holding. Business-debt facts; no fee approval or universal program safe harbor."],["S_OH-P1-C013","Out-of-state lawyers must satisfy applicable Ohio practice rules; remote work or nominal association is not universal Ohio-client authority.","S008 Rule 5.5(c)(1), (c)(4), (d)(4); S009 pp.1, 6–8","Text/Application. Advisory opinion is historical and nonbinding."],["S_OH-P1-C014","Credit-improvement, credit-obtaining, or related paid services can independently trigger Chapter 4712; qualifying deferral is included in “extension of credit.”","S004 §4712.01(A), (C)(1), (D)","Text/Application. Not a determination that every settlement service is a CSO."],["S_OH-P1-C015","CSO nonprofit, attorney, and institutional exclusions require their specific statutory conditions.","S004 §4712.01(C)(2), §4712.10(D); S005 §2716.03(D)(1)","Text. Claimant bears exemption burden; nonprofit label alone insufficient."],["S_OH-P1-C016","Nonexempt CSOs need a DFI certificate before business and registration before advertising; application/renewal are $100 each, with contract/bond and other requirements.","S004 §§4712.02(A), (C), (E), (H), (K), .06(A), .07(F)","Text. $50,000 bond; nonresident statutory agent. Regulatory fees are not consumer fees. Current operational package held."],["S_OH-P1-C017","Covered CSO services connected with credit below $5,000, a term ≤1 year, or APR >28% are prohibited.","S004 §4712.071(A)–(C)","Text. Any one condition suffices; certificate does not cure prohibition."],["S_OH-P1-C018","Direct/indirect fees and contributions must satisfy reasonableness and inability-to-pay policy requirements.","S001 §4710.02(A)(3)–(4), (B)","Text. Numerical compliance alone is insufficient."],["S_OH-P1-C019","Initial consultation or initial plan setup has a $75 ceiling for an Ohio resident.","S001 §4710.02(B)(1)","Text. Stacking separate initial categories not cleared."],["S_OH-P1-C020","Consultation charges cannot exceed $100 in a calendar year; an initial consultation consumes part of that amount.","S001 §4710.02(B)(1)–(2)","Text/Application. Separate setup-fee credit against the consultation limit unresolved."],["S_OH-P1-C021","The periodic administration ceiling uses the greater of 8.5% of monthly creditor-distribution payments or $30.","S001 §4710.02(B)(3)","Text. Examples assume one monthly charge and an identified distribution base."],["S_OH-P1-C022","A reasonable additional insufficient-funds transaction fee is permitted.","S001 §4710.02(C)","Text. No exact dollar cap verified; not a generic processing surcharge."],["S_OH-P1-C023","The current chapter supplies fixed stated amounts without an indexing mechanism.","S001 §4710.02 and entire chapter","Text. No CPI-derived substitution made."],["S_OH-P1-C024","No current stand-alone savings-, principal-, or per-debt success-fee authorization, or general lifetime settlement-fee cap, was established.","S001 §4710.02(A)(3), (B)","Hold. Absence of an express schedule does not prove either unlimited permission or universal prohibition."],["S_OH-P1-C025","Initial-fee stacking, bundled-debit allocation, repeated submonthly billing, and statutory rounding were not resolved.","S001 §4710.02(B)","Hold. No favorable assumption imported into examples."],["S_OH-P1-C026","A state ceiling does not establish advance-fee permission; the debtor-instruction exception concerns disbursement, not fee-cap waiver.","S001 §4710.02(A)–(B); S010 §310.4(a)(5)","Text/Application. Independently applicable timing must be satisfied."],["S_OH-P1-C027","Chapter 4710 contains no dedicated universal cancellation-proration formula; other applicable refund duties remain possible.","S001 §4710.02; S016 109:4-3-09(A)(2)","Text/limited conclusion. Consumer-transaction and nonperformance conditions matter."],["S_OH-P1-C028","CSO charges generally await completion of agreed services; specified referral charges require actual resulting credit.","S004 §4712.07(A)–(B)","Text. Read together with §4712.05’s performance framework."],["S_OH-P1-C029","CSO contracts carry a three-business-day cancellation right; the conditional ongoing-service route permits specified post-performance arrangements, not general settlement advance fees.","S004 §4712.05(A)(1), (A)(3), (B)","Text. 60-day default/shorter prescribed period; conditional 12-month limit."],["S_OH-P1-C030","Exempt legal practice remains subject to attorney-fee, contingent-agreement, and unearned-advance rules.","S008 Rules 1.5(a), (c), (d)(3), 1.16(e)","Text. No numerical attorney settlement-fee cap established; TSR applicability separate."],["S_OH-P1-C031","TSR coverage depends on service, telemarketing, jurisdiction, and exemptions; inbound advertising calls and attorney status do not furnish blanket exclusions.","S010 §§310.2(o), (ii), .6(b)(3)–(7); S011 coverage discussion","Text/guidance. Genuine nonprofit and business-to-business status require separate analysis."],["S_OH-P1-C032","Covered debt-relief fees require an executed qualifying agreement and at least one customer payment under it.","S010 §310.4(a)(5)(i)(A)–(B)","Text. Applies to requesting as well as receiving payment."],["S_OH-P1-C033","Individually resolved debts require the specified proportional-debt or uniform-savings fee allocation.","S010 §310.4(a)(5)(i)(C)","Text. Federal allocation does not establish Ohio amount permission."],["S_OH-P1-C034","The dedicated-account exception has ownership, independence, institution, referral-compensation, withdrawal, and seven-business-day return conditions.","S010 §310.4(a)(5)(ii)(A)–(E)","Text. Funds deposited are not automatically earned provider fees."],["S_OH-P1-C035","Annual audit results/opinion go to AG Consumer Protection; a summary/opinion is available by statutory written-request procedure.","S001 §4710.02(D)(1)–(2)","Text. Filing is not approval; no records request or named-provider verification performed."],["S_OH-P1-C036","The mortgage pre-purchase counseling rule is limited and preserves applicable Chapter 4710/4712 duties.","S006 1301:8-10-01(A)–(C)","Text. Not a general debt-settlement license."],["S_OH-P1-C037","Retrieved H.B. 534/S.B. 256 material showed proposals, not an operative replacement law.","S013 official summary/status; S014 official summary/progress display","Observed status. No proposed fee or licensing provision applied as current."],["S_OH-P1-C038","The historical 20% cap and 50% refund appeared in the proposed-change column of the H.B. 367 analysis.","S015 pp.5–6; compare S001","Historical document fact. Not current Chapter 4710 rules."],["S_OH-P1-C039","Current operational application/checklist/lookup evidence and any named provider’s authorization were not verified.","S017–S020 failed routes; S001/S004 statutory procedures","Hold. Statutory procedure and actual provider status remain distinct."],["S_OH-P1-C040","Telemarketed credit-repair fee timing has its own promised-period and later-report requirements.","S010 §310.4(a)(2)(i)–(ii)","Text. Debt-relief first-payment compliance does not substitute for this rule."]]},{"headers":["Component","Status","Claims","Exact missing evidence / next investigation"],"index":7,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Component","Status","Claims","Exact missing evidence / next investigation"],["Principal reduction versus concessions/distribution","Answered","C001–C003","Apply the definitions to actual services, advertisements, scripts, and money flow before making a provider-specific classification."],["Custodial versus noncustodial","Answered at definition level","C002, C006","Later funds pass must determine who controls each account and which operational duties are triggered."],["Generic education/referral boundary","Partial","C003, C014","Examine actual promises and referral compensation; determine whether adjustment, credit procurement, or credit improvement is represented."],["Consumer versus business debt","Partial","C004, C014","Obtain authoritative treatment of entity-debtor “residence” and the resident-specific fee provisions; separately test Chapter 4712’s buyer/purpose definitions."],["Resident and remote-provider nexus","Text answered; broader nexus open","C005","Research Ohio jurisdiction, conflicts, and interstate application using the actual transaction and provider location."],["Ordinary Chapter 4710 market access","Answered at statutory level","C006–C011","Verify actual compliance and claimed exclusions; absence of a license requirement is not provider clearance."],["Attorney/nonlawyer activity boundary","Answered with factual limits","C009, C012–C013","Compare scripts, settlement-document handling, advice, and lawyer participation with Watkins and current practice rules. Complete subsequent-case history later."],["Nonprofit and institutional exclusions","Conditions answered; status unverified","C007–C011, C015","Obtain actual tax/entity/credential and activity evidence for the precise provider claiming exclusion."],["CSO overlap and prohibition","Rules answered; model classification partial","C014–C017","Determine whether the actual service obtains a qualifying deferral/extension or promises credit improvement; test each §4712.071 condition before considering registration sufficient."],["Fixed fee amounts and indexing","Answered","C018–C023","No CPI calculation needed under the retrieved current chapter. Recheck enacted law at any later launch or transaction date."],["Stand-alone settlement/savings/per-debt fee","Unresolved—hold","C024","Locate authoritative current Ohio interpretation or a relevant merits decision applying §4710.02 to the precise nonperiodic fee; assess actual contract and service classification."],["Initial-fee stacking and setup/consultation credit","Unresolved—hold","C019–C020, C025","Obtain controlling interpretation of §4710.02(B)(1)–(2); do not approve $75 plus $75 merely from separate labels."],["Bundled fee base, billing frequency, rounding","Unresolved—hold","C021, C025","Resolve gross/net allocation and aggregate treatment from authoritative material; examine payment instructions and billing schedule."],["State and TSR fee timing","Answered conditionally","C026, C028–C034, C040","Determine actual sales channel, jurisdiction, exemptions, agreement execution, customer payment, and fee allocation. Broader federal credit-repair-law analysis remains separate."],["Refunds and cancellation","Partial","C027, C029–C030, C034","Complete contract, CSPA, applicable sales-channel, and remedy analysis; do not infer nonrefundability from the absence of a Chapter 4710 formula."],["AG audit filing operations","Partial—operational evidence held","C035, C039","Recover the current AG instructions through a functioning official public route; verify submission destination, required materials, and any filing calendar. S017 failed."],["CSO current application and renewal instructions","Partial—operational evidence held","C016, C039","Recover the current DFI/NMLS Ohio checklist, submission instructions, and any superintendent-set renewal date. S019 returned 404; S020 redirected."],["Public provider lookup / actual provider status","Unresolved","C011, C016, C035, C039","Identify a working official status source; then match the exact legal entity and relevant credential. Audit records would require the statutory request route; no contact was made in this pass."],["Historical and proposed-law reconciliation","Answered for identified materials","C037–C038","Continue tracking H.B. 534/S.B. 256 if the investigation’s baseline changes; do not import H.B. 367’s proposed columns into current law."],["Bounded examples","Completed","C018–C034","Examples preserve unresolved permission and timing rather than inventing a licensed success-fee model."],["Full agreements and contract review","Open—later required pass","Limited references in C029","Review complete mandatory disclosures, execution, cancellation forms, contract terms, and actual customer agreement."],["Full funds, trust, bond, and insurance review","Open—later required pass","Limited entry conditions in C006, C016, C034–C035","Complete account-control, disbursement, reconciliation, insurance calculation, bond, and continuing-compliance analysis."],["Remedies, enforcement, collection, litigation, and limitations","Open—later required passes","Not accepted by this pass","Read applicable remedies, enforcement history, collection rules, litigation procedure, and limitations authorities in full."],["Exempt assets, secured debt, and sector-specific rules","Open—later required passes","C036 is only a narrow counseling-rule finding","Investigate each relevant debt/security/sector regime; this pass does not clear mortgage relief or secured-debt services."],["Local, tribal, conflicts, and full case-law coverage","Open—later required passes","C005, C012 identify limited boundaries","Complete jurisdiction-specific enactments, sovereign issues, conflicts analysis, and comprehensive case history."],["Overall Ohio / A066 acceptance","Not granted","All claims subject to stated bounds","Resolve component holds and complete all remaining required state categories."]]}],"claims":[{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C001","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C001","Precise assertion":"Debt adjusting has independent adjustment/compromise/discharge and receipt/disbursement routes, with relevant holding out included.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.01(A)–(B)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Actual conduct and representations determine application."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C002","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C002","Precise assertion":"Noncustodial principal-reduction negotiation can fall within Chapter 4710.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.01(B)(1)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Application. No possession-of-funds requirement in this route."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C003","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C003","Precise assertion":"Concession DMPs can qualify; general education is not automatically covered without a statutory function or relevant holding out.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.01(B)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Application. Actual promises and services still needed."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C004","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C004","Precise assertion":"Chapter 4710 contains no express consumer-purpose or blanket business-debt exclusion.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.01","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/Application. Entity-debtor residence and resident fee-cap application remain held."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C005","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C005","Precise assertion":"Resident fee protection includes temporary residence and does not expressly require an Ohio provider office.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §§4710.01(C), .02(B)–(C)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/Application. Complete jurisdiction/conflicts analysis excluded."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C006","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C006","Precise assertion":"Current Chapter 4710 has no general debt-adjuster license issuance or categorical for-profit ban; compliance duties remain mandatory.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 entire chapter, especially .02(A), (D)–(F)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Includes annual CPA audit and specified insurance; no express noncustodial exception to those provisions."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C007","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C007","Precise assertion":"Nonprofit status alone does not exclude a provider from Chapter 4710.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.03","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Separate Chapter 4712 exclusion has additional conditions."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C008","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C008","Precise assertion":"Institutional exclusions are limited to the entities, regulatory relationships, and subsidiaries enumerated.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.03(A)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Entity-specific proof required."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C009","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C009","Precise assertion":"The legal-practice exclusion concerns debt adjusting incurred in Ohio legal practice.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.03(B)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/Application. A lawyer connection alone is insufficient evidence."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C010","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C010","Precise assertion":"The own-creditor exclusion requires incidental adjustment of debt owed to that person.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.03(C)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Not a general third-party-negotiator exclusion."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C011","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C011","Precise assertion":"The finance exclusions depend on actual incorporated registrant/licensee status.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.03(D)–(E); S002 §1321.51(B)–(C); S003 §1322.01(U), (GG)–(HH)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/Application. No transfer of exemption from a generic identifier or different entity established."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C012","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C012","Precise assertion":"Nonlawyer debt negotiation is not per se UPL, but rendering legal services can constitute UPL.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S007 ¶¶9–18, 25–26","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Holding. Business-debt facts; no fee approval or universal program safe harbor."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C013","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C013","Precise assertion":"Out-of-state lawyers must satisfy applicable Ohio practice rules; remote work or nominal association is not universal Ohio-client authority.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S008 Rule 5.5(c)(1), (c)(4), (d)(4); S009 pp.1, 6–8","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/Application. Advisory opinion is historical and nonbinding."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C014","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C014","Precise assertion":"Credit-improvement, credit-obtaining, or related paid services can independently trigger Chapter 4712; qualifying deferral is included in “extension of credit.”","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S004 §4712.01(A), (C)(1), (D)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/Application. Not a determination that every settlement service is a CSO."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C015","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C015","Precise assertion":"CSO nonprofit, attorney, and institutional exclusions require their specific statutory conditions.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S004 §4712.01(C)(2), §4712.10(D); S005 §2716.03(D)(1)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Claimant bears exemption burden; nonprofit label alone insufficient."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C016","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C016","Precise assertion":"Nonexempt CSOs need a DFI certificate before business and registration before advertising; application/renewal are $100 each, with contract/bond and other requirements.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S004 §§4712.02(A), (C), (E), (H), (K), .06(A), .07(F)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. $50,000 bond; nonresident statutory agent. Regulatory fees are not consumer fees. Current operational package held."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C017","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C017","Precise assertion":"Covered CSO services connected with credit below $5,000, a term ≤1 year, or APR >28% are prohibited.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S004 §4712.071(A)–(C)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Any one condition suffices; certificate does not cure prohibition."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C018","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C018","Precise assertion":"Direct/indirect fees and contributions must satisfy reasonableness and inability-to-pay policy requirements.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02(A)(3)–(4), (B)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Numerical compliance alone is insufficient."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C019","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C019","Precise assertion":"Initial consultation or initial plan setup has a $75 ceiling for an Ohio resident.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02(B)(1)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Stacking separate initial categories not cleared."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C020","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C020","Precise assertion":"Consultation charges cannot exceed $100 in a calendar year; an initial consultation consumes part of that amount.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02(B)(1)–(2)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/Application. Separate setup-fee credit against the consultation limit unresolved."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C021","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C021","Precise assertion":"The periodic administration ceiling uses the greater of 8.5% of monthly creditor-distribution payments or $30.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02(B)(3)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Examples assume one monthly charge and an identified distribution base."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]","coordinator_addenda":[{"file":"[internal evidence reference]","clarification":"Read4710.02(B)(3) as amount PAID each month FOR creditor distribution, not an added requirement that all distribution actually completed in that month. This does not resolve fee-inclusive gross/net denominator, permit holding funds, override distribution duties, or clear repeated charges/success fees. Preserve original raw answer and example conditions.","no_current_law_clearance":true}]},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C022","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C022","Precise assertion":"A reasonable additional insufficient-funds transaction fee is permitted.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02(C)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. No exact dollar cap verified; not a generic processing surcharge."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C023","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C023","Precise assertion":"The current chapter supplies fixed stated amounts without an indexing mechanism.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02 and entire chapter","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. No CPI-derived substitution made."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C024","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C024","Precise assertion":"No current stand-alone savings-, principal-, or per-debt success-fee authorization, or general lifetime settlement-fee cap, was established.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02(A)(3), (B)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Hold. Absence of an express schedule does not prove either unlimited permission or universal prohibition."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C025","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C025","Precise assertion":"Initial-fee stacking, bundled-debit allocation, repeated submonthly billing, and statutory rounding were not resolved.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02(B)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Hold. No favorable assumption imported into examples."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]","coordinator_addenda":[{"file":"[internal evidence reference]","clarification":"Read4710.02(B)(3) as amount PAID each month FOR creditor distribution, not an added requirement that all distribution actually completed in that month. This does not resolve fee-inclusive gross/net denominator, permit holding funds, override distribution duties, or clear repeated charges/success fees. Preserve original raw answer and example conditions.","no_current_law_clearance":true}]},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C026","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C026","Precise assertion":"A state ceiling does not establish advance-fee permission; the debtor-instruction exception concerns disbursement, not fee-cap waiver.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02(A)–(B); S010 §310.4(a)(5)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/Application. Independently applicable timing must be satisfied."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C027","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C027","Precise assertion":"Chapter 4710 contains no dedicated universal cancellation-proration formula; other applicable refund duties remain possible.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02; S016 109:4-3-09(A)(2)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/limited conclusion. Consumer-transaction and nonperformance conditions matter."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C028","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C028","Precise assertion":"CSO charges generally await completion of agreed services; specified referral charges require actual resulting credit.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S004 §4712.07(A)–(B)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Read together with §4712.05’s performance framework."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C029","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C029","Precise assertion":"CSO contracts carry a three-business-day cancellation right; the conditional ongoing-service route permits specified post-performance arrangements, not general settlement advance fees.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S004 §4712.05(A)(1), (A)(3), (B)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. 60-day default/shorter prescribed period; conditional 12-month limit."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C030","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C030","Precise assertion":"Exempt legal practice remains subject to attorney-fee, contingent-agreement, and unearned-advance rules.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S008 Rules 1.5(a), (c), (d)(3), 1.16(e)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. No numerical attorney settlement-fee cap established; TSR applicability separate."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C031","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C031","Precise assertion":"TSR coverage depends on service, telemarketing, jurisdiction, and exemptions; inbound advertising calls and attorney status do not furnish blanket exclusions.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S010 §§310.2(o), (ii), .6(b)(3)–(7); S011 coverage discussion","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text/guidance. Genuine nonprofit and business-to-business status require separate analysis."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C032","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C032","Precise assertion":"Covered debt-relief fees require an executed qualifying agreement and at least one customer payment under it.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S010 §310.4(a)(5)(i)(A)–(B)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Applies to requesting as well as receiving payment."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C033","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C033","Precise assertion":"Individually resolved debts require the specified proportional-debt or uniform-savings fee allocation.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S010 §310.4(a)(5)(i)(C)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Federal allocation does not establish Ohio amount permission."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C034","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C034","Precise assertion":"The dedicated-account exception has ownership, independence, institution, referral-compensation, withdrawal, and seven-business-day return conditions.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S010 §310.4(a)(5)(ii)(A)–(E)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Funds deposited are not automatically earned provider fees."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C035","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C035","Precise assertion":"Annual audit results/opinion go to AG Consumer Protection; a summary/opinion is available by statutory written-request procedure.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S001 §4710.02(D)(1)–(2)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Filing is not approval; no records request or named-provider verification performed."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C036","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C036","Precise assertion":"The mortgage pre-purchase counseling rule is limited and preserves applicable Chapter 4710/4712 duties.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S006 1301:8-10-01(A)–(C)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Not a general debt-settlement license."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C037","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C037","Precise assertion":"Retrieved H.B. 534/S.B. 256 material showed proposals, not an operative replacement law.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S013 official summary/status; S014 official summary/progress display","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Observed status. No proposed fee or licensing provision applied as current."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C038","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C038","Precise assertion":"The historical 20% cap and 50% refund appeared in the proposed-change column of the H.B. 367 analysis.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S015 pp.5–6; compare S001","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Historical document fact. Not current Chapter 4710 rules."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C039","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C039","Precise assertion":"Current operational application/checklist/lookup evidence and any named provider’s authorization were not verified.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S017–S020 failed routes; S001/S004 statutory procedures","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Hold. Statutory procedure and actual provider status remain distinct."},"coordinator_verification_status":"held_for_additional_source_verification","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"claim_id":"S_OH-P1-C040","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_OH-P1-C040","Precise assertion":"Telemarketed credit-repair fee timing has its own promised-period and later-report requirements.","Source IDs and pinpoints":"S010 §310.4(a)(2)(i)–(ii)","Conditions, exceptions, confidence limits":"Text. Debt-relief first-payment compliance does not substitute for this rule."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_support_checked_with_recorded_scope_limits","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"}],"sources":[{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S001","urls":["https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710?utm_source=chatgpt.com","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S001","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4710, Debt Pooling Companies / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4710 ; fee text: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.02 ; exclusions: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4710.03","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"§§4710.01, .02, .03, .04, .99. Current displayed versions: .01/.04/.99 effective 2004-11-05; .02 2007-03-29, H.B. 699; .03 2023-10-03, H.B. 33.","Access and limitations":"Read A: entire short chapter, including operative fee and exclusion provisions. Ohio law. September 2023 webpage update is not the .03 effective date."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected_passages_checked_only_see_review","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S002","urls":["https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S002","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"ORC §1321.51 / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1321.51","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"§1321.51(B)–(C), certificate and registrant definitions. Effective 2018-03-23.","Access and limitations":"Read A: relevant definitions. Used only to resolve §4710.03(D), not to approve lending activities."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S003","urls":["https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S003","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"ORC §1322.01 / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1322.01","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"§1322.01(U), (GG), (HH): licensee, registered MLO, registrant. Effective 2021-09-01.","Access and limitations":"Read A: relevant definitions. Distinguishes actual Ohio status from a generic NMLS identifier."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S004","urls":["https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712?utm_source=chatgpt.com","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S004","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4712, Credit Services Organizations / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4712 ; application: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4712.02","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"§§4712.01, .02, .05, .06, .07, .071, .10(D). Current versions: .01 2018-03-23; .02 2023-12-29; .05 2021-09-01; .06/.07/.10 1996-09-26; .071 2018-10-29.","Access and limitations":"Read A: identified operative sections. Not a complete CSO contracts, remedies, or enforcement dossier."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S005","urls":["https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03","https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S005","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"ORC §2716.03 / Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.03","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"§2716.03(D)(1), definition of budget-and-debt-counseling service; effective 2008-09-30.","Access and limitations":"Read A: relevant definition, including Chapter 1702 organization and counseling/creditor-assistance purpose. Not a garnishment investigation."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S006","urls":["https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1301:8-10-01"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S006","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"OAC 1301:8-10-01, Mortgage pre-purchase counseling / Ohio Laws, DFI rule. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-1301:8-10-01","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"Entire rule (A)–(C); effective 2014-06-09.","Access and limitations":"Read A: full operative rule. March 2025 webpage update and future review date are not new effective dates. Limited subject matter."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S007","urls":["https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf","https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S007","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Ohio State Bar Assn. v. Watkins Global Network, L.L.C., 159 Ohio St.3d 241, 2020-Ohio-169 / Supreme Court of Ohio. https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2020/2020-Ohio-169.pdf","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"Decided 2020-01-23; especially ¶¶9–18, 25–26, printed pp.4–10, 13.","Access and limitations":"Read A: majority’s operative analysis and disposition. Binding Ohio Supreme Court holding on UPL; not a fee approval. Full subsequent-case citator work remains open."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S008","urls":["https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf","https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S008","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct / Supreme Court of Ohio. https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"Current compilation amended 2026-01-01; Rules 1.5(a), (c), (d)(3); 1.16(e); 5.5(c)(1), (c)(4), (d)(4). Rule 5.5 amendment history includes 2021-09-01.","Access and limitations":"Read A: identified rules and relevant history. Compilation date is not a claim that every cited clause changed in January 2026."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S009","urls":["https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf","https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S009","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Advisory Opinion 2011-2 / Ohio professional-conduct advisory authority. https://www.ohioadvop.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Op_11-002.pdf","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"Issued 2011-10-07; pp.1, 6–8 on out-of-state debt-settlement legal services and Rule 5.5.","Access and limitations":"Read A: relevant analysis. Historical, nonbinding advisory material; current Rule 5.5 controls. No separate certification of the opinion’s current administrative status."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S010","urls":["https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2","https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4","https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6","https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2?utm_source=chatgpt.com","https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4?utm_source=chatgpt.com","https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S010","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"16 CFR Part 310, Telemarketing Sales Rule / FTC, eCFR. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.2 ; https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.4 ; https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"§§310.2(o), (ii); 310.4(a)(2), (a)(5)(i)–(ii); 310.6(b)(3)–(7). Displayed as current through 2026-10-21.","Access and limitations":"Read A: exact operative provisions used. Federal common context. eCFR is an authoritative but unofficial compilation. Its Title 16 amendment date is not the effective date of each cited clause."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S011","urls":["https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business","https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S011","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Debt Relief Services & the Telemarketing Sales Rule: A Guide for Business / FTC. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/debt-relief-services-telemarketing-sales-rule-guide-business","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"Coverage, attorneys/nonprofits, advance fees, individual-debt allocation, dedicated accounts.","Access and limitations":"Read A: relevant guidance passages. Staff explanation, not a substitute for S010. Historical “new rule” framing; unrelated dated guidance was not treated as current law."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S016","urls":["https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109:4-3-09"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S016","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"OAC 109:4-3-09, Failure to deliver; substitution of goods or services / Ohio Attorney General rule, Ohio Laws. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-109:4-3-09","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"Entire operative rule; especially (A)(2)(a)–(d). Effective 2020-05-17.","Access and limitations":"Read A: full rule. June 2025 webpage update is distinct from legal effect. Consumer-transaction applicability remains necessary."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S021","urls":["https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/08/10/2010-19412/telemarketing-sales-rule"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S021","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Telemarketing Sales Rule, final amendments, 75 FR 48458 / FTC, Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/08/10/2010-19412/telemarketing-sales-rule","Exact pinpoint and legal version/status":"Published 2010-08-10; “DATES”: general amendments effective 2010-09-27, §310.4(a)(5) effective 2010-10-27. Dedicated-account discussion at printed pp.48490–48491.","Access and limitations":"Read A: identified adoption-date and explanatory passages. Historical adoption evidence; current operative wording is S010. Full lengthy preamble was not read."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S012","urls":["https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection","https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S012","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Debt Collection consumer tips / Ohio Attorney General. https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Consumer-Tips/Consumer-Tips-Debt-Collection","Exact pinpoint/status":"“Debt Consolidation” subsection. Agency consumer guidance; no legal effective date established.","Access and limitations":"Read A: supports the existence of compliance obligations. Does not provide a license, application, or provider-status determination."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S013","urls":["https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534","https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status","https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534?utm_source=chatgpt.com","https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S013","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"H.B. 534, 136th General Assembly / Ohio House. https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534 ; https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb534/status","Exact pinpoint/status":"Retrieved summary/version: As Introduced. Status showed introduction 2025-10-21, committee referral 2025-10-22.","Access and limitations":"Read A: official summary and status. Proposed replacement of Chapter 4710; no enacted replacement established."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S014","urls":["https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256","https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S014","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"S.B. 256, 136th General Assembly / Ohio Senate. https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb256","Exact pinpoint/status":"Retrieved summary/version: As Introduced; progress display showed introduction/committee stages, not enactment.","Access and limitations":"Read A: actual official summary/status display. Separate /status route was unsuccessful; proposal not treated as current law."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S015","urls":["https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/","https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S015","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Am. H.B. 367, 127th General Assembly, As Passed by the House—Bill Analysis / Ohio LSC. https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_127/legislation/hb367/supporting_documents/an_127_hb367ph/pdf/","Exact pinpoint/status":"Seven-page analysis; p.2 n.1; proposed-change column pp.5–6; history p.7 records House passage 2008-04-09.","Access and limitations":"Read A: actual document and comparison columns. Historical proposal. Its complete enactment history was not separately reconstructed; current text was independently checked in S001."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S017","urls":["https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act","https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S017","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Debt Adjusters Act business guide / Ohio Attorney General. https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Debt-Adjusters-Act","Exact pinpoint/status":"Intended operational guide.","Access and limitations":"Failed A: request rejected; alternative hostname did not yield the page. Search snippet was discovery only. Current filing instructions remain held."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S018","urls":["https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act","https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S018","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Credit Services Organization Act business guide / Ohio Attorney General. https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Credit-Services-Organization-Act","Exact pinpoint/status":"Intended agency explanation.","Access and limitations":"Failed A: rejected. Not relied upon as freshly read operational authority."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S019","urls":["https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/financial-institutions/consumer-finance/applications-and-forms"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S019","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Consumer Finance Applications and Forms / Ohio Department of Commerce, DFI. https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/financial-institutions/consumer-finance/applications-and-forms","Exact pinpoint/status":"Intended current application route.","Access and limitations":"Failed A: 404. Current form package and submission instructions not verified."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"},{"source_id":"S_OH-P1-S020","urls":["https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf","https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Home.aspx","https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_OH-P1-S020","Title / issuer and direct literal URL":"Ohio CSO Company New Application Checklist / NMLS State Resource Center. https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/PublishedStateDocuments/OH-Credit_Services_Organization_Company_New_App_Checklist.pdf","Exact pinpoint/status":"Intended Ohio-specific checklist; redirected to https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Home.aspx","Access and limitations":"Failed A: no readable current checklist delivered. Older search-result material was discovery only. No current application or provider lookup verified from this route."},"coordinator_verification_status":"unverified_in_current_scoped_review"}],"coverage":[{"topic":"Principal reduction versus concessions/distribution","researcher_record":{"Component":"Principal reduction versus concessions/distribution","Status":"Answered","Claims":"C001–C003","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Apply the definitions to actual services, advertisements, scripts, and money flow before making a provider-specific classification."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Custodial versus noncustodial","researcher_record":{"Component":"Custodial versus noncustodial","Status":"Answered at definition level","Claims":"C002, C006","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Later funds pass must determine who controls each account and which operational duties are triggered."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Generic education/referral boundary","researcher_record":{"Component":"Generic education/referral boundary","Status":"Partial","Claims":"C003, C014","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Examine actual promises and referral compensation; determine whether adjustment, credit procurement, or credit improvement is represented."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Consumer versus business debt","researcher_record":{"Component":"Consumer versus business debt","Status":"Partial","Claims":"C004, C014","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Obtain authoritative treatment of entity-debtor “residence” and the resident-specific fee provisions; separately test Chapter 4712’s buyer/purpose definitions."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Resident and remote-provider nexus","researcher_record":{"Component":"Resident and remote-provider nexus","Status":"Text answered; broader nexus open","Claims":"C005","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Research Ohio jurisdiction, conflicts, and interstate application using the actual transaction and provider location."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Ordinary Chapter 4710 market access","researcher_record":{"Component":"Ordinary Chapter 4710 market access","Status":"Answered at statutory level","Claims":"C006–C011","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Verify actual compliance and claimed exclusions; absence of a license requirement is not provider clearance."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Attorney/nonlawyer activity boundary","researcher_record":{"Component":"Attorney/nonlawyer activity boundary","Status":"Answered with factual limits","Claims":"C009, C012–C013","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Compare scripts, settlement-document handling, advice, and lawyer participation with Watkins and current practice rules. Complete subsequent-case history later."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Nonprofit and institutional exclusions","researcher_record":{"Component":"Nonprofit and institutional exclusions","Status":"Conditions answered; status unverified","Claims":"C007–C011, C015","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Obtain actual tax/entity/credential and activity evidence for the precise provider claiming exclusion."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"CSO overlap and prohibition","researcher_record":{"Component":"CSO overlap and prohibition","Status":"Rules answered; model classification partial","Claims":"C014–C017","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Determine whether the actual service obtains a qualifying deferral/extension or promises credit improvement; test each §4712.071 condition before considering registration sufficient."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Fixed fee amounts and indexing","researcher_record":{"Component":"Fixed fee amounts and indexing","Status":"Answered","Claims":"C018–C023","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"No CPI calculation needed under the retrieved current chapter. Recheck enacted law at any later launch or transaction date."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Stand-alone settlement/savings/per-debt fee","researcher_record":{"Component":"Stand-alone settlement/savings/per-debt fee","Status":"Unresolved—hold","Claims":"C024","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Locate authoritative current Ohio interpretation or a relevant merits decision applying §4710.02 to the precise nonperiodic fee; assess actual contract and service classification."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Initial-fee stacking and setup/consultation credit","researcher_record":{"Component":"Initial-fee stacking and setup/consultation credit","Status":"Unresolved—hold","Claims":"C019–C020, C025","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Obtain controlling interpretation of §4710.02(B)(1)–(2); do not approve $75 plus $75 merely from separate labels."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Bundled fee base, billing frequency, rounding","researcher_record":{"Component":"Bundled fee base, billing frequency, rounding","Status":"Unresolved—hold","Claims":"C021, C025","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Resolve gross/net allocation and aggregate treatment from authoritative material; examine payment instructions and billing schedule."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"State and TSR fee timing","researcher_record":{"Component":"State and TSR fee timing","Status":"Answered conditionally","Claims":"C026, C028–C034, C040","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Determine actual sales channel, jurisdiction, exemptions, agreement execution, customer payment, and fee allocation. Broader federal credit-repair-law analysis remains separate."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Refunds and cancellation","researcher_record":{"Component":"Refunds and cancellation","Status":"Partial","Claims":"C027, C029–C030, C034","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Complete contract, CSPA, applicable sales-channel, and remedy analysis; do not infer nonrefundability from the absence of a Chapter 4710 formula."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"AG audit filing operations","researcher_record":{"Component":"AG audit filing operations","Status":"Partial—operational evidence held","Claims":"C035, C039","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Recover the current AG instructions through a functioning official public route; verify submission destination, required materials, and any filing calendar. S017 failed."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"CSO current application and renewal instructions","researcher_record":{"Component":"CSO current application and renewal instructions","Status":"Partial—operational evidence held","Claims":"C016, C039","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Recover the current DFI/NMLS Ohio checklist, submission instructions, and any superintendent-set renewal date. S019 returned 404; S020 redirected."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Public provider lookup / actual provider status","researcher_record":{"Component":"Public provider lookup / actual provider status","Status":"Unresolved","Claims":"C011, C016, C035, C039","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Identify a working official status source; then match the exact legal entity and relevant credential. Audit records would require the statutory request route; no contact was made in this pass."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Historical and proposed-law reconciliation","researcher_record":{"Component":"Historical and proposed-law reconciliation","Status":"Answered for identified materials","Claims":"C037–C038","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Continue tracking H.B. 534/S.B. 256 if the investigation’s baseline changes; do not import H.B. 367’s proposed columns into current law."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Bounded examples","researcher_record":{"Component":"Bounded examples","Status":"Completed","Claims":"C018–C034","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Examples preserve unresolved permission and timing rather than inventing a licensed success-fee model."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Full agreements and contract review","researcher_record":{"Component":"Full agreements and contract review","Status":"Open—later required pass","Claims":"Limited references in C029","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Review complete mandatory disclosures, execution, cancellation forms, contract terms, and actual customer agreement."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Full funds, trust, bond, and insurance review","researcher_record":{"Component":"Full funds, trust, bond, and insurance review","Status":"Open—later required pass","Claims":"Limited entry conditions in C006, C016, C034–C035","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Complete account-control, disbursement, reconciliation, insurance calculation, bond, and continuing-compliance analysis."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Remedies, enforcement, collection, litigation, and limitations","researcher_record":{"Component":"Remedies, enforcement, collection, litigation, and limitations","Status":"Open—later required passes","Claims":"Not accepted by this pass","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Read applicable remedies, enforcement history, collection rules, litigation procedure, and limitations authorities in full."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Exempt assets, secured debt, and sector-specific rules","researcher_record":{"Component":"Exempt assets, secured debt, and sector-specific rules","Status":"Open—later required passes","Claims":"C036 is only a narrow counseling-rule finding","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Investigate each relevant debt/security/sector regime; this pass does not clear mortgage relief or secured-debt services."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Local, tribal, conflicts, and full case-law coverage","researcher_record":{"Component":"Local, tribal, conflicts, and full case-law coverage","Status":"Open—later required passes","Claims":"C005, C012 identify limited boundaries","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Complete jurisdiction-specific enactments, sovereign issues, conflicts analysis, and comprehensive case history."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"},{"topic":"Overall Ohio / A066 acceptance","researcher_record":{"Component":"Overall Ohio / A066 acceptance","Status":"Not granted","Claims":"All claims subject to stated bounds","Exact missing evidence / next investigation":"Resolve component holds and complete all remaining required state categories."},"coordinator_acceptance":"reviewed_component_only_not_accepted_remaining_gaps_open","coordinator_review":"[internal evidence reference]"}],"annotations":{},"corrections":[],"resolved_corrections":[],"review_history":[]}