Debt Consolidation in New York: Budget Planner vs Lender Verification

What is New York’s Budget Planner category?

DFS describes a budget planner as a nonprofit corporation that contracts to receive periodic debtor payments and distributes them among creditors, alongside counseling and education. Its Who We Supervise resource identifies separate licensing and fee oversight for that category. Match the actual service, rather than assuming it is the same as making a consolidation loan.

Official source: New York DFS: Who We Supervise, Budget Planners. Checked October 23, 2026.

Where should you start the New York status check?

DFS’s supervisory gateway links its institution search so consumers can identify licensed businesses and branches. Use the legal company and Budget Planner category when that activity fits. The separate Budget Planner Licensing page explains its NMLS licensing process; an application process or nonprofit incorporation alone is not proof of current authority.

Official source: New York DFS: Budget Planner Licensing. Checked October 23, 2026.

What does New York’s Attorney General recommend?

The Attorney General’s loans and mortgages resource advises consumers seeking debt-repayment help to confirm that the nonprofit counselor is licensed for New York budget-planning services through DFS. Distinguish that check from verification of an actual lender. Keep the agreement and payment records so the relevant authority can identify the service and concern.

Official source: New York Attorney General: Loans and mortgages, budget-planner verification. Checked October 23, 2026.

Which record should you verify before paying or borrowing?

1. Determine whether the company distributes debtor payments or supplies a new loan.
2. Check the appropriate DFS institution category and legal identity.
3. Do not substitute nonprofit incorporation for the applicable financial-services status check.

If the provider is a lender, the New York personal-loan resource guide and 50-state lending directory explain lending categories. They are not a universal license check for debt-management or settlement services.

How should you compare the payment and full repayment?

State-specific service guidance does not establish an available loan rate or eligibility. Our national mathematical examples below provide the same $12,000 net proceeds with a 3% fee withheld from gross principal at a fixed 15% nominal annual rate. The figures are not New York offers, rate limits or local market observations.

The fee is financed inside gross principal; the nominal rate is not fee-inclusive APR. Use the original data and methodology for the assumptions, payment calculator for a basic estimate, and DTI overlap worksheet and cash-budget stress test for different affordability questions.

What are the scope and update limits?

This resource synthesizes the linked official guidance as checked October 23, 2026. It does not decide a company’s license, exemption, legal compliance or availability to a particular borrower. Financial-service categories and fee schedules can change; use the agency’s current instructions for the actual business and contract. Calculations use the published version 1.0.0 dataset, independently checked before publication.

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