Which place’s debt rules apply—and who can help?

S_ND PASS-01 — North Dakota provider market access and consumer fees

Fresh public-source access: October 25, 2026, Pacific time Historical baseline: October 22, 2026, treated only as the assignment baseline Actual mode/model: Regular Chat using GPT-5.6 Sol Pro as the quality-first fallback; GPT-6 Pro was not available. No Deep Research, Chrome control, Work mode, APIs, account changes, contacts, applications, purchases, CAPTCHA workarounds, other chats, private borrower data, or publication activity.

Scope: This is only the North Dakota provider-access/consumer-fee component. It is not a complete North Dakota dossier, provider authorization determination, state acceptance, A066 acceptance, or legal advice.

Bottom line

North Dakota currently has two materially different statutory pathways, not one generic “debt adjustment” license:

1. A fee-taking business whose primary purpose is obtaining a reduction of unsecured principal or current balance generally falls under N.D.C.C. Chapter 13-11, Debt-Settlement Providers. It must obtain a license from the Department of Financial Institutions before serving a North Dakota resident. The statute reaches both custodial and noncustodial models. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1
2. An agreement contemplating liquidation through structured installments or a reduction of finance charges, late fees, default fees, or delinquency fees falls under N.D.C.C. Chapter 13-07, Consumer Credit Counseling Services. Chapter 13-07 does not establish an ordinary license. It instead requires a qualifying provider serving a North Dakota resident to file an acceptable bond or security with the Attorney General and comply with the chapter’s contract, budget, trust-account, fee, and disbursement conditions. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1
3. Chapter 13-11 permits only a settlement fee, capped at 30% of savings, after the state’s performance trigger. Enrollment, setup, upfront, and maintenance fees are prohibited. Chapter 13-07 separately permits an origination fee of up to $50 and retention of up to 15% of a sum deposited for distribution, subject to unresolved first-deposit-base and cancellation-refund questions. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1
4. A nonprofit label is neither a current prerequisite nor a blanket exemption. North Dakota removed the former nonprofit limitation in 2013, replacing “nonprofit corporation” with “person.” Attorney involvement is likewise not enough by itself: the current exclusions depend on actual legal services in an attorney-client relationship or an attorney authorized in North Dakota who is genuinely engaged in the practice of law. North Dakota Legislative Branch+2
5. When the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule independently applies, its advance-fee trigger and allocation rules remain additional requirements. A North Dakota state fee ceiling is not advance-fee authorization, and a North Dakota trust account is not automatically a federally compliant dedicated account. eCFR+1

A. Substantive findings

1. Classification of conduct

1.1 Operative classification matrix

Chapter 13-11 expressly covers both direct intermediation and services helping the consumer accumulate settlement funds. It also expressly says no provider trust account is required when the provider does not hold or control consumer money other than earned settlement fees. That confirms that custody is not part of the coverage definition. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

Chapter 13-07’s definition is agreement-based, not custody-based. Its trust-account provisions become operational when the service receives payments from or for a debtor. A noncustodial Chapter 13-07 service may still meet the definition, but the 15%-of-deposit fee mechanism cannot operate without a deposited sum “for distribution.” North Dakota Legislative Branch

1.2 Marketing labels do not decide coverage

Calling a program “credit counseling,” “financial wellness,” “debt resolution,” “legal support,” or “debt management” does not control. The material questions are:

• What does the agreement contemplate?
• Is the primary purpose principal/current-balance reduction?
• Are structured installments or charge concessions contemplated?
• Is compensation received for the service?
• Does the provider hold itself out as providing the regulated service?
• Does it receive, control, or direct debtor funds?

This follows from the conduct-based definitions and the inclusion of anyone soliciting for or acting on behalf of a fee-taking debt-settlement provider. North Dakota Legislative Branch

1.3 Consumer versus business-purpose debt

Chapter 13-11 does not contain an express personal, family, or household-purpose limitation. “Consumer” means any “person,” and “person” includes individuals and legal entities. That text leans broader than ordinary consumer-purpose statutes. But “contract” is defined as an agreement with an “individual,” many operative duties use “individual,” and the territorial provision refers to a debtor who “resides” in North Dakota. North Dakota Legislative Branch

Therefore:

• Natural person with personal unsecured debt: clearly within the intended core.
• Natural person with business-purpose unsecured debt: no express purpose exclusion was found; likely covered if the service otherwise fits, but no controlling interpretation was located.
• Corporation, LLC, or other entity debt: held. The “person” definition points toward inclusion, while the “individual” provisions create a material internal ambiguity.
• Chapter 13-07 business/entity debt: also held because “debtor” is undefined and the chapter has no express purpose limitation or controlling interpretation.

A chapter title using the word “consumer” is not enough to overcome or resolve the operative definitions.

1.4 Resident and remote-provider nexus

For Chapter 13-11, a person is deemed to engage in debt settlement in North Dakota when the debtor resides in North Dakota. The DFI separately states that no physical presence in North Dakota is required for the debt-settlement license. Chapter 13-07 similarly keys the bond filing to an agreement with a debtor who resides in the state. Remote delivery therefore does not avoid either pathway. North Dakota Legislative Branch+2

2. Prohibited, licensed, bond-filed, and excluded models

2.1 Chapter 13-11: licensed activity

It is unlawful to act as a debt-settlement provider without first obtaining a Chapter 13-11 license. The issuing regulator is the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions, acting through the commissioner. The statute permits use of NMLS, and the DFI directs applicants and the public to NMLS. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

The current verified provider-side requirements include:

• Written application in the prescribed form.
• NMLS information and associated background/credit-report processing.
• Secretary of State registration if otherwise required.
• $400 nonrefundable investigation fee.
• $400 annual license fee.
• $50 annual fee for each branch location.
• At least a $50,000 surety bond, or a higher amount if validly required by rule.
• Financial-responsibility, character, fitness, and related licensing findings.
• Annual renewal; the license expires December 31. North Dakota Legislative Branch

The statute requires renewal applications at least 30 days before expiration. The DFI FAQ describes the NMLS renewal window as November 1 through December 31. The agency webpage does not repeal the statutory lead-time requirement; a provider should not treat the portal’s December 31 closing date as proof that a filing on that date satisfies §13-11-06. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

2.2 Chapter 13-11 exclusions

The current provider definition excludes, subject to the stated conditions:

• An attorney licensed or otherwise authorized to practice in North Dakota who is engaged in the practice of law.
• An escrow agent, accountant, broker-dealer, or investment adviser acting in the ordinary practice of that profession through the ordinary professional entity.
• Enumerated banks, trust companies, savings institutions, credit unions, farm-credit and similar institutions, title and insurance entities, and state-authorized lenders acting in their ordinary business.
• A salaried employee performing credit services for an employer that is not itself in the debt-settlement business.
• A Chapter 13-05-licensed collection agency collecting on its own behalf or for a third party.
• A public officer acting officially or a person acting under court order.
• Services incidental to dissolution, winding up, or liquidation of an enterprise.
• A person already licensed by DFI or registered with the AG, but only while acting in that person’s ordinary profession and not holding out as a debt-settlement provider. North Dakota Legislative Branch

The service definition separately excludes:

• Actual legal services in an attorney-client relationship by an attorney authorized to practice in North Dakota.
• Actual accounting services in a qualifying CPA-client relationship.
• Qualifying financial-planning services meeting the statutory professional conditions.
• A person engaged in Chapter 13-07 consumer credit counseling services. North Dakota Legislative Branch

Failure cases:

• Merely adding an attorney to ownership, payroll, a referral arrangement, or document review does not establish the attorney exclusion.
• A foreign attorney who is not authorized in North Dakota does not satisfy the express wording.
• An existing lender, collection, or other license is not a universal exemption; the ordinary-practice and no-holding-out conditions remain material.
• A nonprofit label is not an exemption.
• A separate consumer-paid settlement business cannot safely rely on the fact that an affiliated entity is a creditor, collector, bank, or law firm.

2.3 Self-creditor conduct

There is no express blanket “original creditor” exemption in Chapter 13-11. However, an original creditor merely compromising its own claim, without selling the debtor a separate fee-based settlement service, ordinarily would not appear to be “providing debt-settlement service in exchange for any fee or compensation” to the debtor. That is a textual inference, not a controlling North Dakota holding.

A Chapter 13-05-licensed collection agency collecting its own or a third party’s debt is expressly excluded, but the exclusion should not be extended beyond bona fide collection activity to a separate consumer-paid settlement program without additional authority. North Dakota Legislative Branch

2.4 Chapter 13-07: bond-filed activity, not ordinary licensing

Chapter 13-07 does not say that a consumer credit counseling service must obtain a license or registration. Instead, before entering an agreement with a North Dakota resident, it must file with the Attorney General a bond or other acceptable security equal to the greater of:

largest amount accrued in the service’s trust account during the prior year\text{largest amount accrued in the service’s trust account during the prior year}largest amount accrued in the service’s trust account during the prior yearor

$5,000.$5{,}000.$5,000.The bond is payable to North Dakota for the benefit of debtors damaged by the service. The provider must also satisfy the written-contract, disclosure, written-budget, trust-account, accounting, fee, disbursement, cancellation-notice, and creditor-notice provisions. North Dakota Legislative Branch

The AG’s current public page says a service providing services to an ND resident must have a surety bond on file and directs consumers to call Consumer Protection to confirm bonding. No public online Chapter 13-07 roster or current bond-filing form was located in this pass, and no call was made. North Dakota Attorney General

Chapter 13-07 contains no express attorney, bank, nonprofit, CPA, or institutional exclusion in its seven sections. Absence of an exclusion in Chapter 13-07 does not prove that no other law can affect a specific entity, but no such cross-statute exemption was established in this component.

2.5 Nonprofit history reconciled

The current law does not restrict Chapter 13-07 to nonprofits:

• The 2011 enactment used “nonprofit corporation” and created the initial nonprofit conditions while also creating Chapter 13-11 and repealing former Chapter 13-06. North Dakota Legislative Branch
• Enacted SB 2260 in 2013 struck “nonprofit corporation” and substituted “person” in §13-07-01. It made the corresponding change in Chapter 13-11’s cross-exclusion. The official bill page marks SB 2260 as passed, governor-signed, and filed March 19, 2013. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1
• The current code carries the amended “person” wording. North Dakota Legislative Branch

The exact original 2013 effective date was not independently recovered in this pass. That does not undermine the current-law conclusion because the current official code embodies the amendment.

3. Consumer and provider fees

3.1 Consumer-fee matrix

The current code contains no CPI or periodic indexing mechanism for the $50, 15%, or 30% consumer limits. No current adjustment bulletin or adopted debt-settlement-specific fee rule was located. North Dakota Legislative Branch+2

3.2 Chapter 13-11 savings formula

For a particular debt:

Savings=principal amount enrolled at contract formation−amount actually paid in full and complete satisfaction\text{Savings}

\text{principal amount enrolled at contract formation}

\text{amount actually paid in full and complete satisfaction}Savings=principal amount enrolled at contract formation−amount actually paid in full and complete satisfactionand

maximum state settlement fee=30%×Savings.\text{maximum state settlement fee}

30% \times \text{Savings}.maximum state settlement fee=30%×Savings.If the amount paid to satisfy the debt is greater than the enrolled principal amount, the statute expressly says no settlement fee is due. If the amount equals the enrolled principal, savings equal zero and the percentage cap likewise produces zero. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

The contract must identify enrolled accounts and principal amounts, itemize fees, describe when each fee becomes due, and give a good-faith estimate of total compensation. The provider may defer an otherwise lawful settlement fee only at no additional expense to the individual. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

3.3 Chapter 13-11 fee trigger

A settlement fee may not be collected until:

1. The creditor has entered a legally enforceable agreement;
2. The agreement identifies a specific dollar amount;
3. That amount will constitute full and complete satisfaction of the creditor’s claim as to that debt; and
4. “Those funds” are provided either by the provider for the consumer or directly by the consumer under the provider-negotiated settlement. North Dakota Legislative Branch

Accordingly, none of these alone establishes the state trigger:

• A creditor offer.
• Oral creditor assent without an enforceable agreement.
• A signed agreement without the required funds being provided.
• Merely starting a consumer savings account.
• One ordinary payment to the original creditor.
• A creditor agreeing only to pause collection.
• A partial payment that does not satisfy the statutory trigger.

3.4 Installment settlement ambiguity

Section 13-11-23(1)(k) recognizes a creditor certification that a payment is part of a payment plan which, upon completion, will produce full settlement. But §13-11-21(4) separately conditions collection of the fee on the specific full-satisfaction amount and “those funds” being provided. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

No controlling North Dakota decision or current DFI interpretation was found reconciling those provisions. The conservative compliance position is:

Do not collect the Chapter 13-11 fee after only the first installment unless authoritative North Dakota guidance establishes that the state’s “those funds are provided” condition is satisfied.

The federal TSR’s first-payment trigger, when applicable, does not answer this stricter state question.

3.5 Settlements above 50% of principal

A provider may not settle a debt for more than 50% of principal unless the individual assents after the creditor has assented. Thus a settlement at 80% of principal may be lawful, but only with the specified sequence of assent. North Dakota Legislative Branch

3.6 Chapter 13-11 cancellation and the “application fee” inconsistency

A consumer may cancel before the provider has fully performed every contracted or represented service. On cancellation, the provider must return:

• All unearned fees and compensation.
• All consumer settlement-account funds not disbursed to creditors.

The provider may retain an earned settlement fee, and §13-11-20 also refers to retaining an “application fee.” Refunds and a full accounting are due within seven days. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

However, §13-11-21 says the provider may charge or receive no consumer fee outside that section and expressly prohibits enrollment, setup, and upfront fees. It provides no consumer “application fee.” The $400 application fee in §13-11-04 is paid by the provider to the state.

Conclusion: the cancellation reference is not an independent authorization for a consumer application fee. No lawful consumer application-fee pathway was established. Unless a controlling interpretation resolves the inconsistency, the consumer application fee should be treated as zero.

A contract imposing an unauthorized fee is void, and a contract entered when a required provider license is absent is also void. North Dakota Legislative Branch

3.7 Chapter 13-07 fee base and first-payment ambiguity

Section 13-07-06 permits:

• An origination fee up to $50, which may be subtracted from the debtor’s initial payment.
• Retention of up to 15% of any sum deposited “for distribution,” as partial payment of the service’s total fee.
• Disbursement of the remainder to listed creditors within 45 days. North Dakota Legislative Branch

The statute does not say whether, when the $50 is deducted from the initial payment, the 15% is calculated on:

• The original gross payment; or
• The net amount remaining “for distribution.”

Because the phrase “for distribution” favors the net amount but no controlling interpretation was located, the exact base is held. A conservative calculation uses the net amount. The gross calculation is shown below only as the unresolved upper branch, not as a safe harbor.

3.8 Chapter 13-07 cancellation gap

Either party may cancel without cause upon 30 days’ written notice before automatic termination, and the service must notify the debtor’s creditors within 30 days. Chapter 13-07 does not state:

• Whether previously retained fees are refundable.
• How to treat an unearned portion of a disclosed total fee.
• The deadline for returning undistributed trust funds.
• Whether an origination fee is refundable.
• The effect of cancellation on a pending deposit’s 15% retention. North Dakota Legislative Branch

Those outcomes remain held for the agreement/funds/remedies pass. They must not be invented from Chapter 13-11’s separate seven-day rule.

4. State timing versus the federal TSR

4.1 Conditional federal baseline

The federal rule defines “debt relief service” broadly to include programs represented to renegotiate, settle, or otherwise alter terms of unsecured debt, including principal, interest, or fee reductions. “Telemarketing” generally means a plan, program, or campaign to induce purchases through telephones involving more than one interstate call. Application still depends on the complete facts and federal scope and exemptions. eCFR

When 16 C.F.R. §310.4(a)(5) applies, requesting or receiving a fee is prohibited until:

1. The provider has renegotiated, settled, reduced, or otherwise altered at least one debt under a valid customer-executed settlement agreement, DMP, or other agreement;
2. The customer has made at least one payment under that customer-creditor or customer-debt-collector agreement; and
3. For debts altered individually, the fee is allocated either:In the same proportion as that debt’s enrolled balance bears to total enrolled debt; orAs the same percentage of savings for every individual debt. eCFR

4.2 Consequences for the North Dakota pathways

Chapter 13-11: The federal first-payment condition may be met before North Dakota’s “those funds are provided” condition. If so, the state condition remains unsatisfied, and the fee should not yet be taken.

Chapter 13-07: The state’s $50 origination fee and 15%-of-deposit retention do not override the TSR. If the TSR applies, the provider cannot request or receive those amounts before the federal trigger. In addition, “15% of deposits” is not automatically one of the TSR’s two individual-debt allocation methods.

Both chapters: A state-compliant trust account is not automatically a federally compliant dedicated account. The federal rule requires, among other things, an insured financial institution, consumer ownership of funds, an account administrator that is not owned, controlled by, or affiliated with the debt-relief service, no referral compensation involving the account administrator, and withdrawal without penalty with funds returned—except properly earned fees—within seven business days. eCFR

North Dakota Chapter 13-07 requires the counseling service itself to place received payments in a trust account. Chapter 13-11 likewise permits a provider trust account. Those state structures do not by themselves establish the independent-administrator condition required by the federal dedicated-account provision.

4.3 Credit-improvement representations

If advertising or sales representations promise to remove derogatory information or improve credit history, record, or rating, the TSR has a separate fee prohibition under §310.4(a)(2). It requires both expiration of the represented performance period for all promised goods or services and provision of a consumer-reporting-agency report demonstrating the promised result, issued more than six months after the result was achieved, subject to the FCRA permissible-purpose proviso. eCFR

No North Dakota-specific advertising, script, or credit-improvement promise was supplied here. CROA and any state credit-services overlap therefore remain conditional and unresolved, rather than presumed universally applicable.

5. Regulator procedure, public lookup, and present market access

5.1 Chapter 13-11 procedure

The DFI currently directs applicants to the North Dakota NMLS State Resource Center route and directs the public to NMLS Consumer Access for license verification. It states that:

• A license is required to provide debt-settlement services to ND residents.
• No North Dakota physical presence is required.
• State application and annual fees are $400 each.
• Each branch carries a $50 annual fee.
• Additional NMLS charges apply.
• Licenses renew annually. North Dakota Government

Literal operational routes:

• North Dakota NMLS state route: https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/Pages/DynamicLicenses.aspx?StateID=ND
• NMLS checklist compiler: https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/knowledge/Products/nmls/stateresourcecenter/SitePages/Checklist-Compiler.aspx
• NMLS Consumer Access: https://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/

The DFI page was readable, but the dynamic NMLS checklist and direct Consumer Access bodies were not reliably readable through the public research tool. That is an access limitation, not evidence that the checklist, portal, or license does not exist. (Invalid URL)

No legal entity name or NMLS identifier was supplied, so no named-provider status was checked. Nothing in this report establishes that SettleADebt.com, an affiliate, or any specific provider is authorized in North Dakota.

5.2 Chapter 13-07 procedure

The verified procedure is:

1. Determine that the agreement is a Chapter 13-07 consumer credit counseling agreement.
2. Prepare the statutory written contract and written budget analysis.
3. File an acceptable bond or security with the Attorney General before entering the agreement with an ND resident.
4. Establish and operate the required trust-account and accounting system if payments will be received.
5. Observe the fee, 45-day disbursement, cancellation-notice, and creditor-notice provisions. North Dakota Legislative Branch

The current AG public page provides only phone-based consumer verification. No readable online application, bond template, provider roster, or electronic status lookup was located. The owner prohibited contacts, so the phone route was not used. North Dakota Attorney General

5.3 Rules and currentness

The current codified Administrative Code says it is updated quarterly. DFI Title 13 currently lists articles through Article 13-08 and does not display a debt-settlement-specific article. This supports a limited negative finding: no separate codified Chapter 13-11 fee schedule, CPI adjustment, or additional-bond rule was found in the current index. It does not prove the absence of uncodified orders, license conditions, informal interpretations, or future rulemaking. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

The freshest identified enacted amendment touching Chapter 13-11 was 2025 HB 1127. Its Chapter 13-11 provision changed the notice wording in §13-11-10 and did not alter the classification, consumer-fee, or fee-timing provisions analyzed here. HB 1127 became effective August 1, 2025. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

The authenticated September 2026 special-session laws contain only Chapters 660 and 661, concerning appropriations and foods/drugs, with no Title 13 amendment. North Dakota Legislative Branch

A comprehensive sweep of every proposed or prefiled 2027 measure was not completed. Proposed or future-effective legislation remains a currentness follow-up rather than an enacted-law finding.

B. Source register

B.1 Current primary and official operational sources

B.2 Enactments and currentness sources

B.3 Federal and judicial sources

C. Claim register

C.1 Classification and nexus claims

C.2 Permission and exclusion claims

C.3 Consumer-fee, timing, and refund claims

C.4 Federal interaction, case law, and currentness claims

D. Worked examples

All amounts are in dollars and rounded to the nearest cent. These are statutory-ceiling examples, not conclusions that a particular contract, provider, account, or solicitation satisfies every requirement.

Example 1 — Chapter 13-11 lump-sum settlement

Inputs

• Enrolled principal: $10,000
• Full-and-complete settlement amount: $6,000
• Contracted fee method: 30% of savings

Operator

$10,000−$6,000=$4,000 savings$10{,}000-$6{,}000=$4{,}000\text{ savings}$10,000−$6,000=$4,000 savings$4,000×0.30=$1,200$4{,}000\times 0.30=$1{,}200$4,000×0.30=$1,200Result

• Maximum state settlement fee: $1,200
• Before an enforceable full-satisfaction agreement exists and the $6,000 is provided under it: $0 collectible
• A lower contracted percentage would control if below the ceiling. Claims: C021–C022. North Dakota Legislative Branch

Example 2 — Lower debt settled above 50% of principal

Inputs

• Enrolled principal: $1,000
• Settlement: $800
• Settlement equals 80% of principal
• Contracted fee: 30% of savings

Calculation

$1,000−$800=$200$1{,}000-$800=$200$1,000−$800=$200$200×0.30=$60$200\times 0.30=$60$200×0.30=$60Result

• Maximum fee: $60
• Because the settlement exceeds 50% of principal, the consumer must assent after creditor assent.
• Fee timing still requires the §13-11-21(4) agreement-and-funds trigger. Claims: C021–C023. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

Example 3 — No savings

Branch A: amount paid exceeds principal

• Principal: $1,000
• Satisfaction amount: $1,050

The statute expressly produces no settlement fee.

Branch B: amount paid equals principal

• Principal: $1,000
• Satisfaction amount: $1,000

$1,000−$1,000=$0$1{,}000-$1{,}000=$0$1,000−$1,000=$030%×$0=$030%\times $0=$030%×$0=$0Result: no fee in either branch. Claim: C021. North Dakota Legislative Branch

Example 4 — Two debts, prior earned fee, and cancellation

Assume one consistent contractual method: 30% of savings for every debt.

Debt A

• Enrolled principal: $5,000
• Full settlement paid: $3,000
• Savings: $2,000
• Earned fee:

$2,000×0.30=$600$2{,}000\times 0.30=$600$2,000×0.30=$600### Debt B

• Enrolled principal: $10,000
• No enforceable full-satisfaction agreement and no qualifying funds provided
• Earned fee: $0

Cancellation

Assume the consumer cancels while Debt B remains unresolved.

• Provider may retain the $600 earned on Debt A.
• Provider may not manufacture a fee on Debt B.
• Provider may not switch Debt B to an enrolled-balance method after using savings for Debt A merely to generate a fee.
• All other unearned fees and all undisbursed settlement-account funds must be refunded within seven days with the statutory accounting.
• No consumer “application fee” is deducted because no lawful authorization for one was established.

Claims: C021, C022, C025, C032. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

Example 5 — Installment settlement hold

Inputs

• Principal: $10,000
• Creditor-certified settlement plan: three payments of $2,000
• Total settlement: $6,000
• Savings if completed: $4,000
• Potential ceiling if fully earned:

$4,000×0.30=$1,200$4{,}000\times 0.30=$1{,}200$4,000×0.30=$1,200After the first $2,000 installment:

• A qualifying TSR-covered program may satisfy the federal first-payment element, assuming all other federal conditions and allocation rules are met.
• North Dakota’s “those funds are provided” requirement remains unresolved.
• Conservative North Dakota collectible fee at that point: $0 held, not $400 or $1,200.
• Upon full $6,000 funding and satisfaction of all state conditions, the potential state ceiling is $1,200.

Claim: C024. North Dakota Legislative Branch+2

Example 6 — Chapter 13-07 later deposit

Assume the $50 origination fee was handled earlier and the contract’s disclosed total fee permits the charge.

Input

• New sum deposited for distribution: $400

Calculation

$400×0.15=$60$400\times 0.15=$60$400×0.15=$60$400−$60=$340$400-$60=$340$400−$60=$340Result

• Maximum retained from this deposit: $60
• Amount to listed creditors: $340
• Creditor disbursement deadline: within 45 days after deposit
• If the TSR applies, the provider must also satisfy the federal fee trigger and allocation method before taking the $60.

Claims: C027, C029, C032–C033. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

Example 7 — Chapter 13-07 initial payment: unresolved gross versus net base

Initial payment: $400 Origination fee: $50

Conservative net-base branch

$400−$50=$350 remaining for distribution$400-$50=$350\text{ remaining for distribution}$400−$50=$350 remaining for distribution$350×0.15=$52.50$350\times 0.15=$52.50$350×0.15=$52.50$350−$52.50=$297.50 to creditors$350-$52.50=$297.50\text{ to creditors}$350−$52.50=$297.50 to creditorsProvider retains:

$50+$52.50=$102.50$50+$52.50=$102.50$50+$52.50=$102.50### Unresolved gross-base branch

$400×0.15=$60$400\times 0.15=$60$400×0.15=$60$400−$50−$60=$290 to creditors$400-$50-$60=$290\text{ to creditors}$400−$50−$60=$290 to creditorsProvider retains:

$50+$60=$110$50+$60=$110$50+$60=$110Result: statutory text yields a numerical range of $102.50 to $110, but that is not a safe-harbor range. The net-base result is the conservative reading because only the post-origination balance appears to remain “for distribution.” An official interpretation is still required. Claim: C028. North Dakota Legislative Branch

Example 8 — Small initial Chapter 13-07 payment

Initial payment: $100 Origination: $50

Conservative net base

$100−$50=$50$100-$50=$50$100−$50=$50$50×0.15=$7.50$50\times 0.15=$7.50$50×0.15=$7.50$50−$7.50=$42.50$50-$7.50=$42.50$50−$7.50=$42.50- Provider retained: $57.50

• Creditor distribution: $42.50

Gross alternative, unresolved

$100×0.15=$15$100\times0.15=$15$100×0.15=$15- Provider retained: $65

• Creditor distribution: $35

Again, the gross result is not established as lawful. Federal timing may independently prevent either charge at origination. Claims: C028, C032. North Dakota Legislative Branch+1

Example 9 — Chapter 13-07 cancellation with prior fees

Assume:

• A lawful $50 origination fee was previously charged.
• $1,000 was later deposited for distribution.
• $150 was retained under the 15% mechanism.
• $850 was timely sent to creditors.
• Another $200 is presently in the trust account when the consumer gives cancellation notice.

Chapter 13-07 establishes the 30-day written-notice and creditor-notification duties. It does not provide enough text to calculate:

• Whether any part of the $200 may be retained.
• Whether the $50 or $150 must be refunded.
• The deadline for returning the $200.
• Whether some separate contract or trust rule controls.

Result: refund calculation held; no invented deduction or automatic application of Chapter 13-11’s seven-day rule. Claim: C029. North Dakota Legislative Branch

D.2 Component coverage and gap table

E. Researcher self-check

Actually read

• The full relevant text of current Chapter 13-11, including definitions, exclusions, licensing, fees, timing, trust-account treatment, cancellation, prohibited practices, enforcement, and void-contract provisions.
• The complete current Chapter 13-07, all seven sections.
• The current Title 13 chapter index showing Chapter 13-06 repealed.
• The current codified Administrative Code index and all listed DFI Title 13 articles.
• The current DFI debt-settlement FAQ and its application, lookup, physical-presence, fee, and renewal statements.
• The current AG credit-counseling consumer page.
• Enrolled 2011 HB 1038, enrolled 2013 SB 2260 and its official status page, the relevant 2025 HB 1127 amendment and effective-date table, and the authenticated 2026 special-session table of contents.
• Current eCFR §§310.2 and 310.4 as displayed through October 22, 2026.
• The identified North Dakota Supreme Court opinion through a complete secondary reproduction, including the relevant AG-authority and 45-day passages.

The statute and enactment PDFs were inspected as full text and through rendered PDF pages. Search snippets were used only for discovery, not as substitutes for the relied-on statutory passages.

Not read or not established

• The readable body of the dynamic North Dakota NMLS checklist.
• A successful direct named-provider search in NMLS Consumer Access.
• Any Chapter 13-07 AG application, bond form, filing manual, or public roster.
• An official ND Courts copy of Heitkamp from the attempted legacy route.
• A controlling interpretation of:Chapter 13-11 installment fee timing;The Chapter 13-11 “application fee” cancellation wording;Chapter 13-07 gross versus net initial deposit base;Chapter 13-07 cancellation refunds;Entity/business-purpose debtor coverage;Mixed Chapter 13-07/13-11 programs.
• A complete administrative-order, interpretive-letter, consent-order, unpublished-decision, or 2027 proposed-legislation sweep.
• Actual provider identity, contracts, NMLS number, bond acceptance, account structure, scripts, advertisements, or operating facts.
• Full agreement, funds, bonds, remedies, collection, litigation, limitations, secured-debt, sector, local, tribal, contract, or case-law coverage reserved for later passes.

Method and status limits

This was the original PASS-01 research, not an independent review of another North Dakota report. No model act was treated as enacted North Dakota law. No CPI calculation was invented. No license, bond acceptance, exemption, or provider authorization was inferred from a marketing statement or inaccessible page. No local file write or publication readiness is claimed.

Component conclusion: North Dakota offers a verifiable Chapter 13-11 licensed path for principal-reduction debt settlement and a separate Chapter 13-07 bond-filed path for structured-payment or charge-concession counseling. The principal consumer-fee ceilings are current and readable, but four consequential issues remain held: Chapter 13-11 installment timing, the cancellation “application fee” inconsistency, Chapter 13-07’s first-payment percentage base, and Chapter 13-07 cancellation refunds.

END S_ND PASS-01.