Debt collection licence (inkassobevis)
Also known as authorisation, collection licence, licensed collection agency, inkassobevis, autorisation, godkendt inkassovirksomhed, inkassotilladelse
The inkassobevis is the authorisation from the police required in order to carry on debt collection on behalf of others.
In practice
You may not recover other parties’ claims without a licence. The licence is issued by the police, and it can be withdrawn — which is the real sanction behind good collection practice.
Lawyers may carry on collection by virtue of their admission to the bar. That is why a collection agency with lawyers in-house can take the case the whole way: the same firm runs it from the first letter to the bailiff’s court, without it having to be handed on along the way.
In-house collection (egeninkasso) — recovering your own claims — requires no licence. But the rules on the formal demand and on good collection practice apply all the same.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- A supplier is chosen without anyone asking about the authorisation. It is a matter of public record, and it is not open to negotiation.