A collection agency is a business that pursues payments on debts owed by individuals or businesses.

Some collection agencies operate as agents of other companies, and collect debts for a fee or percentage of the total amount owed. Others work on their own accounts, purchasing debts from a creditor for less than the dollar amount of the debt and aggressively persuading the debtor to make their payments.

A creditor may send debts to a collection agency in order to remove them from their accounts receivable records; the account is then written off as a loss.

Debt collection agencies adhere to all relevant laws relating to the conduct of collections agencies to prevent costly lawsuits that often result in a full waiver of the debt.

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