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

S_NV PASS-04 — Nevada Consumer-Money and Trust-Account Architecture

Fresh public-source access: October 25, 2026, Pacific (America/Los_Angeles) Actual model/mode: GPT-5.6 Sol Pro, Regular Chat Review posture: Same-coordinator continuation; not an independent review Component disposition: Nevada’s core statutory account architecture is substantially answered. Actual provider, bank, administrator, processor, account-contract, money-transmission, and federal-coverage facts remain unresolved.

The exact 2026 adjusted consumer-fee amounts, current NMLS checklist, named-provider status, complete government charges, and broader Nevada state dimensions remain held. Nothing here establishes operational, state, component, parent-project, A066, or publication acceptance.

A. Substantive findings

1. Nevada has two materially different consumer-money architectures

Nevada does not use “trust account,” “settlement account,” and “dedicated account” interchangeably.

1. Custodial debt-management plan: The individual makes regular payments to the provider; the provider distributes the money to creditors. Money received for creditor distribution is held in a statutory trust account under NRS 676A.260 and 676A.570. The provider holds the account, has fiduciary obligations, and must maintain individual ledgers, cash equality, monthly reconciliation, and prescribed refund procedures.
2. Principal-reduction debt settlement: The individual accumulates payments in an FDIC-insured account owned by the individual and not controlled by the provider. NRS 676A.700(2)(i)(1) separately prohibits the provider from having an ownership interest in or any control of that account. This is not a provider-held §676A.570 trust account.
3. External administrator or processor: A third-party label does not resolve the model. Nevada requires examination of actual ownership, signing authority, transfer authority, ACH rights, freeze powers, account-change rights, affiliations, referral payments, and who bears loss. Delegating the function does not remove the provider’s Chapter 676A liability, and a person receiving Nevada money for onward transmission may independently encounter Chapter 671.
4. Direct-pay or noncustodial service: Section 570 applies to money paid to the provider for creditor distribution. A provider that never receives a particular payment does not hold that payment in a §570 trust account. That fact alone does not remove the service from Chapter 676A: the broad service definition, registration provisions, agreement duties, and §676A.630 accounting for payments made by the individual at the provider’s direction may still apply. Whether such a model is a statutory “debt-management plan” under §676A.130 or another covered debt-management service depends on its actual operation. Claims S_NV-P4-C001–C003. Nevada Legislature+4

Conduct and account-model matrix

2. Complete NRS 676A.570 architecture

Account title, ownership, and beneficial position

A Chapter 676A trust account is an account held by the provider, established in an “insured bank,” separate from the other accounts of the provider and its designee, and designated as a trust account or otherwise titled to show that the money is not the provider’s or designee’s money. It may hold funds of one or more individuals for payment to those individuals’ creditors. Nevada does not prescribe one mandatory account-title phrase. Claims C003, C005–C006. Nevada Legislature+1

Money received by or for the provider for creditor distribution under a plan is held in trust for the covered individuals. It is not property of the provider or designee and is not available to their creditors, subject to the statutory recognition of the individual’s interest in the undistributed balance. This pass does not convert that state-law wording into a conclusion about bankruptcy priority, federal receivership, bank-failure treatment, garnishment by third parties, perfection, or FDIC pass-through insurance. Claim C005. Nevada Legislature+1

Financial institution, insurance, and location

For a DMP trust:

• The account must be in an “insured bank.”
• “Bank” includes federally or state-chartered commercial banks, savings institutions, credit unions, and trust companies regulated by a banking authority.
• The inspected Chapter 676A provisions do not define the required form of deposit insurance or expressly impose a Nevada-location condition on that account.
• Actual eligibility of a particular institution, account product, ownership form, and insurance treatment must be verified.

For a settlement account, the state definition is more specific: the account must be insured by the FDIC, owned by the individual, and not controlled by the provider. Claims C003, C020, C033. Nevada Legislature+2

The former money-transmission regulation NAC 671.075 did require a Nevada-located custodial or trust account, but R121-23AP expressly repealed that regulation. The current online NAC page still displays it in an outdated 2018 compilation. That displayed language is not silently imported into Chapter 676A or treated as current money-transmission law. R121-23AP was filed June 20, 2024; under NRS 233B.070(1), a permanent regulation ordinarily becomes effective when filed unless it specifies a later date. Claims C028, C033. Nevada Legislature+4

Required deposits and segregation

All money paid to a provider by or for an individual for distribution to creditors pursuant to a plan must be deposited into the trust account within two business days after receipt. The account’s statutory purpose is to hold consumer money for creditor disbursement. Claims C004, C006. Nevada Legislature+1

Read together:

• NRS 676A.260 permits a trust account to hold money for one or more individuals.
• NRS 676A.570 requires a separate record for each individual.
• The provider may not commingle that money with money of “other persons.”
• The bank cash must always equal the sum of the individual ledger balances.

Thus, Nevada permits a pooled consumer trust account, but not a pooled ledger. Provider operating money, designee money, unrelated third-party money, and undocumented suspense balances cannot be treated as ordinary trust deposits merely for convenience. If the provider must cure a shortage or payment error, the corrective funding and accounting must be separately documented rather than used to conceal commingling. Claims C006–C009. Nevada Legislature+2

Records and reconciliation

The provider must:

• Maintain an individual account record for each consumer.
• Keep the trust-account cash balance equal to the sum of all individual balances at all times.
• Reconcile each trust account at least monthly.
• Reconcile multiple trust accounts individually.
• Maintain each consumer’s debt-management-service records for five years after the consumer’s final payment.
• Provide monthly accountings, an accounting at cancellation or termination, and an accounting within five business days after a consumer request, although no more than one requested accounting per calendar month is required.

The accounting must show receipts, creditor disbursements made by or for the consumer or at the provider’s direction, deductions, reserves, and—in a settlement period—the settlement terms and settlement-fee calculation. Claims C006–C007, C014. Nevada Legislature+2

Creditor disbursement authority and timing

The provider must disburse consumer money to creditors as disclosed in the agreement. It may delay a creditor payment to the extent the consumer’s payment has not become final. The agreement must disclose the expected creditor-payment schedule, including amounts and dates, for a DMP that provides regular creditor payments. Claims C008, C019. Nevada Legislature+1

Section 570 does not supply one universal number of days after every final consumer deposit by which every creditor must be paid. The controlling timing begins with the actual agreement’s disclosed schedule, subject to payment finality and any other independently applicable law.

If the provider learns of a creditor’s final decision to reject or withdraw from the plan, it must notify the individual within five days, identify the creditor, and explain the right to modify or terminate. Because NRS 676A.120 defines an unqualified “day” as a calendar day, that five-day notice is a calendar-day period. Claims C008, C019. Nevada Legislature+1

Provider, administrator, and processor withdrawal rights

For a DMP trust, the provider has the operating responsibility to make creditor payments under the agreement. That responsibility does not make the money provider property.

NRS 676A.700(1)(e) permits a provider to initiate a transfer from an individual’s bank or other account only when the transfer:

• Returns money to the individual; or
• Before termination, is authorized by both the agreement and Chapter 676A and is for a creditor payment or fee payment.

This is a restriction on transfer initiation, not a blanket safe harbor. For settlement services, it must be read together with the express prohibition against any provider ownership or control of the settlement account. A narrowly authorized payment instruction may be distinguishable from retained control, but unilateral debit, freeze, account-change, or disposition powers require the actual account agreement and operating evidence. Claims C020–C021, C032. Nevada Legislature+1

Payment errors and suspected diversion

If a payment is missed or misdirected because of an error by the provider or another person controlling the DMP trust account, the provider must promptly correct it and reimburse the individual for creditor-imposed costs and fees. The consumer’s ledger cannot be reduced twice for the same intended creditor payment. Claim C009. Nevada Legislature

When the provider discovers or reasonably suspects embezzlement or unlawful appropriation, it must notify the Commissioner immediately by an approved method. Unless a regulation provides otherwise, it must provide a remedial-action notice within five calendar days. Claim C010. Nevada Legislature

Account relocation

Before moving a §570 trust account from one bank to another, the provider must give the Commissioner the new bank’s name, business address, and telephone number. It must provide the new account number as soon as practicable. The statute does not make the move lawful merely because notice was sent; the replacement account must still satisfy every substantive requirement. Claim C011. Nevada Legislature

Fiduciary and application controls

A provider holding funds for a consumer must act as a fiduciary with respect to those funds. An applicant proposing DMPs must identify all §570 trust accounts and irrevocably consent to Commissioner review. The application also reaches persons with trust-account access and requires audited financials when business practices involve holding, accessing, or directing consumer funds. Claims C012–C013. Nevada Legislature+2

Renewal insurance is tied to the larger of $250,000 or the highest daily §570 trust-account balance over the preceding six months. That is provider misconduct insurance, not deposit insurance and not proof that a consumer’s bank balance has FDIC pass-through coverage. Claim C035. Nevada Legislature

3. The FID third-party-designee form is disclosure and examination machinery, not permission

FID’s July 2025 Trust Account Authorization and Consent form covers both:

• Applicants that directly hold consumer money for creditor distribution; and
• Applicants that arrange or suggest a third-party designee’s special-purpose, savings, or similar account.

The form requests the applicant, designee, bank, account number, bank location, and persons with account access, and obtains consent for FID review. It does not create an exemption, authorize provider control of a settlement account, establish a designee’s independence, or prove that an account complies with Chapter 671 or the federal TSR. Claims C013, C024. Fid NV+1

The form’s use of broad “trust account” terminology should not erase the statutory distinction: a §676A.260 trust account is held by the provider, while a §676A.150 settlement account is owned by the individual and outside provider control.

4. Affiliates, administrators, and processors cannot create a pass-through loophole

Nevada defines a provider to include a person furnishing services “directly or through others.” A provider remains liable when it delegates agreement or statutory duties to an independent contractor or other person. NAC 676A.180(4), adopted through R050-10, separately prohibits using an agent, affiliate, or subsidiary to avoid Chapter 676A requirements or prohibitions. Claims C001, C022. Nevada Legislature+3

Referral and affiliate relationships also have substantive constraints:

• The provider may not receive a bonus, commission, or other benefit for referring an individual to another person.
• Payments to financially interested referrers are restricted by §676A.700(1)(g)’s particular conditions.
• Affiliate-supplied goods, services, or facilities encounter §676A.700(6)’s ownership and market-price limitations.
• If the federal TSR applies, the settlement-account administrator cannot exchange compensation for debt-relief-service referrals.

These provisions must be applied to the actual ownership, compensation, marketing, and data flows; they do not establish that every ordinary bank-processing charge is prohibited. Claim C023. Nevada Legislature+2

5. Separate Nevada money-transmission gateway

Chapter 676A registration does not itself answer whether an entity receiving or moving consumer funds must comply with Chapter 671.

Current Chapter 671 defines money transmission to include receiving money or credits for transmission from a person located in Nevada. A person engaging in that business must be licensed or act as an authorized delegate within a written licensee contract, regardless of location or delivery method, unless a statutory or Commissioner-created exemption applies. Claims C024–C025. Nevada Legislature+2

Relevant exemptions are narrow and factual:

• A depository institution has an institutional exemption.
• A payment-system operator is exempt only to the extent it processes, clears, or settles between exempt persons or licensees.
• A payee agent requires a written agreement, public holding-out by the payee, and treatment of the consumer obligation as discharged when the agent receives payment so that the consumer bears no intermediary-remittance loss.
• A payment intermediary requires an upstream licensed or exempt transmitter identified to the sender and bearing sole responsibility for transmission.
• A third-party service provider to an exempt depository institution requires a written agreement and the exempt institution’s assumption of risk and legal responsibility.
• The Commissioner may demand proof of an exemption.

The inspected current §671.020 list contains no categorical exemption merely because an entity is registered under Chapter 676A, calls itself a payment processor, or avoids direct creditor negotiation. Claim C025. Nevada Legislature+3

An authorized delegate must have a compliant written appointment, handle money according to that contract, hold transmission money net of fees in trust for the licensee, and may not use a subdelegate. A person transmitting for an unlicensed or nonexempt principal can itself be treated as furnishing money transmission and can be jointly and severally liable with that principal. Claim C026. Nevada Legislature+1

If Chapter 671 applies, it adds separate obligations:

• Forward money according to the sender agreement.
• Explain a failure to forward unless another law prohibits the explanation.
• In qualifying circumstances, issue a refund within ten days after a written request, subject to the statutory exceptions.
• Provide a transaction receipt unless an exception applies.

Those Chapter 671 provisions do not automatically replace the more specific Chapter 676A trust, accounting, and immediate-return duties. Claim C027. Nevada Legislature+1

6. Nevada settlement-account rule and the conditional federal TSR overlay

Nevada’s state rule applies to a covered Nevada debt-settlement provider regardless of whether the federal TSR ultimately applies:

• The individual owns the settlement account.
• The account is FDIC insured.
• The provider may have no ownership interest or control.
• The provider cannot settle secured, formerly secured, or Chapter 604A debt or include such debt in its fee base. The last debt-type restrictions remain P2 findings and are not expanded here.

The current eCFR’s federal debt-relief provisions apply only when the TSR’s telemarketing, customer, debt-relief-service, and exemption predicates are met. The inspected definition concerns services represented as altering terms with unsecured creditors or debt collectors; inbound and advertising exemptions have express debt-relief carve-backs, while business-to-business calls have a separate exemption. Actual calls, media, customer type, debt type, entity, and exemptions remain unknown. Claim C029. eCFR+3

When §310.4(a)(5)(ii) applies, an account used for debt-relief fees and creditor payments must satisfy all of these federal conditions:

• Insured financial institution.
• Customer ownership of the money and accrued interest, if any.
• Administrator not owned, controlled by, or affiliated in any way with the debt-relief service.
• No administrator payment or acceptance of compensation for referrals involving the service.
• Customer may withdraw from the debt-relief service without penalty.
• Following the customer’s request, all account money except fees actually earned under the federal performance prerequisites must be returned within seven business days.

The federal rule’s phrase “withdraw from the debt relief service” does not by itself define the bank’s account-closure process, revoke every ACH authorization, or guarantee immediate cash withdrawal at the bank. Those mechanics depend on the deposit agreement, administrator agreement, authorization documents, and other law. Claim C030–C031. eCFR+1

Federal account compliance does not establish Nevada compliance. For example, federal text refers to an insured financial institution, while Nevada’s settlement definition expressly requires an FDIC-insured account. Conversely, Nevada’s prohibition on provider control does not establish TSR coverage or satisfy the federal administrator-affiliation, referral-payment, accrued-interest, and seven-business-day provisions. Claim C031.

The eCFR pages inspected were marked authoritative but unofficial and up to date through October 22, 2026, with Title 16 last amended October 19, 2026. This pass did not separately audit Federal Register changes filed during October 23–25. eCFR+1

7. Termination, cancellation, failure, and money already held

Sections 570(8), 620(2), and 540(4) must be applied together to the actual balance and fee facts. This pass does not resolve a disputed contractual fee entitlement. It establishes the narrower rule that money cannot be retained merely because the provider expected eventually to earn a fee. A fee deduction requires an amount that is legally payable, with the relevant state and, where applicable, federal performance conditions already satisfied. Claim C032.

A “voluntary contribution” is not an unrestricted substitute. Until 30 days after plan completion or termination, aggregate money accepted from or for the consumer cannot exceed the total charge permitted under §676A.580. Claim C034. Nevada Legislature

B. Bounded money-ledger examples

These examples use whole dollars, so no rounding is required. Actual ledgers should use currency precision to cents. Each example assumes the provider and service are otherwise covered and properly authorized; none establishes registration, a lawful fee percentage, or approval of an actual account.

Example 1 — DMP receipt and creditor disbursement

Assumptions

• Covered custodial DMP.
• The provider receives $1,000.00 entirely for creditor distribution.
• The payment becomes final.
• The agreement schedules $600 to Creditor A, $300 to Creditor B, and a $100 reserve.
• No provider fee is included in this receipt.

Ledger

Plain text

Consumer receipt                         $1,000.00
Required trust deposit                   $1,000.00
Creditor A disbursement                  -$600.00
Creditor B disbursement                  -$300.00
Ending individual ledger                  $100.00

Trust-bank cash attributable to consumer  $100.00

The $1,000 must enter the trust account within two business days after receipt. After the scheduled payments, both bank cash and the individual ledger equal $100. Claims C004, C006–C008.

Example 2 — Pooled trust with separate ledgers

Opening

Plain text

Consumer A ledger                         $400.00
Consumer B ledger                         $600.00
Sum of individual ledgers               $1,000.00
Trust-bank cash                          $1,000.00

A $250 final creditor payment is made for Consumer A:

Plain text

Consumer A: $400.00 - $250.00             $150.00
Consumer B                                $600.00
Ending ledger sum                         $750.00
Ending bank cash                          $750.00

The account may be pooled, but Consumer A’s payment cannot be posted to Consumer B’s ledger, and the bank cash must equal the $750 aggregate. Claim C006–C007.

Example 3 — Misdirected creditor payment

Assumptions

• Consumer ledger before payment: $500.
• Agreement calls for a $250 creditor payment.
• A provider or account-controller error misdirects the payment.
• The creditor imposes a $20 late fee.

The provider must correct the $250 payment and reimburse the $20 creditor charge. The consumer cannot be charged a second $250 or have the $20 deducted from the remaining ledger.

Plain text

Opening consumer ledger                   $500.00
Proper creditor payment once corrected   -$250.00
Ending consumer ledger                    $250.00
Provider-funded creditor-fee reimbursement $20.00

The $20 remediation is not a second withdrawal from consumer funds. Claim C009.

Example 4 — Termination without a proven payable fee

Assumptions

• Current individual trust ledger: $500.
• A prior $200 creditor payment is already reflected in that $500 balance.
• Consumer terminates.
• No evidence establishes that any additional fee is presently payable.

Plain text

Current undistributed trust balance       $500.00
Prior creditor payment already posted       $0.00 additional deduction
Verified payable fee                        $0.00
Refund due                                $500.00

The earlier $200 is not subtracted twice. If later evidence establishes a legally payable fee of FFF, the conditional formula is:

Plain text

Refund = $500.00 - F

Until FFF is proven, it is not deducted. Timing is governed by the immediate/prompt statutory commands. Claims C017–C018, C032.

Example 5 — Timely cancellation

Assumptions

• Consumer paid $400.
• Cancellation was delivered within the statutory three-business-day period.
• No emergency waiver exists.
• No creditor disbursement occurred.

Plain text

Money paid                                $400.00
Creditor payments                           $0.00
Retainable cancellation fee                 $0.00
Refund                                    $400.00

If the agreement was noncompliant and cancellation occurred during the 30-day branch, the same full-refund language applies, subject to verifying that branch’s facts. Claim C016.

Example 6 — Reasonably apparent plan failure

Assumptions

• Current trust ledger: $1,250.
• Earlier creditor remittances totaling $800 have already been removed from the ledger.
• A fee amount PPP is claimed but its earning and legal payability have not been proved.

Plain text

Current undistributed balance           $1,250.00
Prior remittances already reflected         $0.00 additional deduction
Unverified fee P                            HOLD
Refund presently demonstrable           $1,250.00

If competent evidence later establishes P=$40.00P=$40.00P=$40.00 as actually payable, the conditional result would be $1,210. That arithmetic does not itself prove the $40 fee. Claim C017, C032.

Example 7 — Consumer-owned settlement account with no performance event

Assumptions

• Consumer-owned settlement account balance: $3,000.
• No debt has an executed settlement agreement.
• No consumer payment has been made under such an agreement.
• No other fee has been established as earned.

Plain text

Account balance                         $3,000.00
State settlement performance fee earned    $0.00
Federally earned fee, if TSR applies        $0.00
Consumer balance                        $3,000.00

The provider may not control this account. If the TSR applies and the consumer requests withdrawal from the debt-relief service, all $3,000 must be returned or made available within seven business days under the federal rule. The bank-account closure, ACH revocation, and card-access mechanics remain contract facts. Claims C020, C029–C032.

Example 8 — Processor classification hold

Assumptions

• A Nevada consumer sends $500 to Processor X.
• Processor X is expected to forward the $500 to a creditor.
• No license, authorized-delegate contract, payee-agent agreement, exemption order, or loss-allocation contract has been produced.

Plain text

Consumer money received                  $500.00
Authorized creditor remittance              HOLD
Processor's Chapter 671 status              HOLD
Provider's Chapter 676A compliance          HOLD
Lawfully retainable processor/provider fee  HOLD

The $500 cannot be characterized as lawfully processed merely by calling Processor X a payment processor. Claims C024–C027.

C. Focused source register

No responsive Nevada appellate decision or formal FID interpretation was relied upon. A bounded official-source search did not retrieve one squarely interpreting the examined §§676A.260, .570, or .700(2)(i); that search result is not proof that no such authority exists.

D. Focused claim register

E. Component coverage and gap table

F. Explicit remaining holds

The following are not resolved by PASS-04:

• The exact 2026 adjusted Nevada consumer-fee amounts.
• Any current NMLS state checklist or complete application manual.
• Any named provider’s registration, money-transmission license, authorized-delegate status, approved locations, or disciplinary status.
• Any actual bank account’s ownership, title, insurance, pass-through protection, interest treatment, access rights, or closure mechanics.
• Any administrator’s or processor’s ownership, affiliations, referral compensation, control rights, or Chapter 671 exemption.
• Any fee’s actual earning, allocation, lawfulness, or current numerical ceiling.
• Bankruptcy priority, bank-failure treatment, garnishment, perfection, or enforceability against third parties.
• Complete federal TSR coverage, entity exemptions, or campaign facts.
• Complete contracts, disclosures, bonds, insurance policies, remedies, collection law, litigation, limitations, secured-debt treatment, sector rules, local law, or tribal law.
• Controlling Nevada cases or formal agency interpretations not retrieved in this bounded component.

G. Researcher self-check

Freshly read in full for the relevant component

• Complete current NRS 676A.570(1)–(9).
• Complete one-page July 2025 FID Trust Account Authorization and Consent form, textually and visually.
• The complete operative federal debt-relief fee and dedicated-account passage in 16 CFR 310.4(a)(5)(i)–(ii).
• The directly relevant current Chapter 671 definitions, licensing gateway, specified exemptions, authorized-delegate, forwarding, refund, and receipt provisions.

Freshly read in selected operative passages

• NRS 676A definitions and applicability provisions.
• NRS 676A.310, .320, .370, .500, .540, .550, .580, .590, .610, .620, .630, .700, .720, and .730.
• NAC 676A.150, .170, and .180.
• R050-10A’s adoption header, §6, and §8(4), with relevant pages visually inspected.
• R121-23AP’s filing header, §8 repeal, and repealed NAC 671.075 text, with relevant pages visually inspected.
• The 2023 numerical-register entries for R121-23.
• NRS 233B.070(1).
• Current eCFR §§310.2 and 310.6 only to the extent necessary to bound debt-relief definition and exemption conditions.

Sources deliberately not upgraded

• The stale online NAC 671.075 display was not treated as current authority.
• The stale NAC 676A registration-expiration material was not reused.
• The FID form was treated as an operational disclosure/examination document, not substantive permission.
• Search results, snippets, company marketing, and association materials were not used as controlling proof.

Not read or not established

• Entire NRS Chapters 676A, 671, or 233B line by line.
• Entire R050-10A or R121-23AP beyond the identified passages.
• A complete current Chapter 671 regulation, licensing, enforcement, receivership, or 2030-future-law audit.
• A complete Federal Register or full Part 310 audit.
• Actual provider, bank, processor, administrator, referral, account, or consumer records.
• Current adjusted consumer-fee publication, NMLS checklist, or named-provider roster.
• Complete case-law universe, formal FID opinion universe, bankruptcy law, FDIC pass-through law, contracts, remedies, local law, or tribal law.

This was focused original public-primary research in the existing Regular Chat. It was not an independent review. It did not create or modify local files, control Chrome, open external browser tabs, use Deep Research, Work, Codex, APIs, purchases, account changes, filings, contacts, private borrower data, websites, or publication systems.

END S_NV PASS-04