# Illinois Collection Agency License Verification Data (`kempdata/il-collection-agency-licenses`) Actor

Verify Illinois collection agency license status in bulk. 1,170 licensed agencies and branch offices from the official IDFPR roster. License expiration dates, renewal windows, new licensees and disciplinary markers. For creditor vendor vetting and compliance teams.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/kempdata/il-collection-agency-licenses.md
- **Developed by:** [Mark Kemp](https://apify.com/kempdata) (community)
- **Categories:**
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.50 / 1,000 agency license records

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Illinois Collection Agency Licenses

**Every licensed collection agency in Illinois — 6,000+ records from the official IDFPR roster** — agencies and branch offices, with expiring-license and new-license lead flags and disciplinary markers on every record.

### Who this is for

- **Creditors & debt buyers** — placing accounts with an unlicensed agency is a compliance failure. Bulk-verify licensure and disciplinary history against the official state record before you place.
- **Compliance vendors & attorneys** — the FDCPA/state-compliance market runs on knowing who is licensed, who is new, and who has a disciplinary record. All three are flags on every row.
- **Collection-industry suppliers** — dialer software, payment processors, letter vendors, bonds and insurance. The *new licenses* filter is a feed of agencies that just opened their doors.
- **Journalists & researchers** — the licensed universe of an industry that touches millions of consumers, in one download.

### What you get

One normalized record per license: agency name, license number, category, city, status, issue and expiration dates, computed `expires_in_days`, `is_expiring_soon`, `is_new_license`, and `ever_disciplined` flags. Export to Excel, CSV, or JSON, or pull on a schedule via API.

### One schema across every state

Every licence roster in this catalogue delivers **the same columns, in the same
order, meaning the same thing** — whichever state or profession the records came
from. Stack this dataset on top of any other KempData roster and the columns
line up.

That takes real work. Illinois writes a lapsed licensee as `NOT RENEWED` in
block capitals; Delaware writes the identical situation as `Delinquent`. Both
arrive here as `status: "lapsed"`. Names arrive SHOUTING and glued together;
they leave as `full_name`, `first_name`, `middle_name`, `last_name` in proper
case. Dates are **MM/DD/YYYY**, with an `_iso` twin for spreadsheets and imports.

**The state's own word is never thrown away.** Every translated value ships
beside a `*_raw` twin — `status_raw`, `credential_raw`, `name_raw` — holding the
source's exact string, so you can always check our work or apply your own rules.
`status_basis` tells you whether the standing is the state's published fact or
computed from the expiration date.

**`lapsed` is worth knowing about.** It is the recall pool: people who held the
licence, let it run out, and can renew. When you need experienced people in a
hurry, that is the list to call.

Full column reference: `docs/SCHEMA.md` in the source repository.

### Data source & fair use

The Illinois IDFPR professional-licensing roster on the state's official open-data API — public records the state publishes for exactly this use. No scraping; paged, rate-limit-respecting requests.

### Support

Questions answered fast — usually within hours. Want a related license category covered? Open an issue and name it.

# Actor input Schema

## `states` (type: `array`):

Which state registries to pull. Leave empty for all available states.

## `recordFilter` (type: `string`):

"Expiring soon" = licenses coming up for renewal (renewal-season leads). "New licenses" = recently issued (newly licensed collection agencies - prime prospects for compliance vendors, insurers and suppliers).

## `expiringWithinMonths` (type: `integer`):

For the expiring-soon filter: include licenses that expire within this many months.

## `newWithinMonths` (type: `integer`):

For the new-licenses filter: include licenses first issued within this many months.

## `includeBusinesses` (type: `boolean`):

Include establishment/business records in the results.

## `includeIndividuals` (type: `boolean`):

Include individual professional licenses in the results.

## `onlyActive` (type: `boolean`):

Skip expired, lapsed, and revoked licenses.

## `maxRecords` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many results. You are only charged for records actually returned.

## `socrataAppToken` (type: `string`):

Optional app token for the state open-data APIs. Not required for normal use.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "states": [],
  "recordFilter": "all",
  "expiringWithinMonths": 6,
  "newWithinMonths": 6,
  "includeBusinesses": true,
  "includeIndividuals": true,
  "onlyActive": true,
  "maxRecords": 1000
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `records` (type: `string`):

Dataset of normalized nursing home administrator license records with expiring-license and new-license lead flags.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("kempdata/il-collection-agency-licenses").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("kempdata/il-collection-agency-licenses").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call kempdata/il-collection-agency-licenses --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,kempdata/il-collection-agency-licenses"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/zeEfr66RKv8DOJMWM/builds/1spGqhlXVzoXxD4fz/openapi.json