Debt relief in Nova Scotia
In short
All five routes out of consumer debt are open to residents in Nova Scotia. Consumer proposals and bankruptcy are federal and work the same way in every province and territory. Debt settlement and consolidation lending are regulated provincially, so the licensed providers available to you are the ones registered in Nova Scotia.
Updated
The five routes
Consumer proposal
A formal offer to your creditors, filed by a Licensed Insolvency Trustee.
Debt settlement
A licensed company negotiates with creditors on your behalf, for a fee.
Debt consolidation loan
One new loan pays out several balances, leaving a single payment.
Non-profit credit counselling
A counsellor reviews your budget and may set up a debt management plan.
Handle it yourself
For smaller balances, a plan and a payoff order often beats paying anyone.
Cities we cover in Nova Scotia
Who oversees this in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia licenses collection and debt management agencies through Service Nova Scotia, which publishes a register of licensed agencies.
Which routes apply here
Consumer proposals and bankruptcy are federal, so they work identically in Nova Scotia as in any other province or territory. Debt settlement and consolidation lending are provincially regulated, so the licensed providers available to you are specific to your province.
Free help in Nova Scotia
A Licensed Insolvency Trustee and a non-profit credit counsellor will both meet you at no cost before you commit to anything. Both directories below cover Nova Scotia.
Free resources
Find a Licensed Insolvency Trustee
The federal directory of Licensed Insolvency Trustees. Free, and the only route to a consumer proposal.
Find a non-profit credit counsellor
Non-profit member agencies. The first appointment is usually free.
Free budgeting tools
The federal budget planner. Costs nothing and needs no account.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a debt-settlement company need a licence in Nova Scotia?
- Providers offering to arrange or negotiate a settlement with your creditors in Nova Scotia are regulated under the province’s collection and debt-management agencies legislation, and Service Nova Scotia is the body that issues and can confirm a licence. Ask any company for its licence number and the name of the issuing body, then check it with that body directly rather than taking the number at face value. A Licensed Insolvency Trustee is licensed separately, by the federal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.
- How long can a creditor sue for a debt in Nova Scotia?
- Nova Scotia sets its own limitation period by statute, and this page does not quote a figure for it because we have not been able to read the current provision at source. Rather than repeat a number from a secondary summary, we would rather point you at the Act itself through the Nova Scotia Legislature, or at a lawyer who can apply the right period to your dates.
- Which debt-relief routes are federal and which are provincial in Nova Scotia?
- Consumer proposals and bankruptcy are federal. They are governed by the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and filed through a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, whose licence comes from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, so the mechanism is identical everywhere in the country. Debt settlement and consolidation lending are not: those providers are licensed province by province, which is why the list of companies available to you, and the rules they must follow, change when you cross a border. Credit counselling from a non-profit agency sits alongside both.
- Is a consumer proposal different in Nova Scotia?
- No. Consumer proposals are governed by the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, so the mechanism is the same in every province and territory. What differs is which Licensed Insolvency Trustees practise near you.
- How do I check that a provider in Nova Scotia is licensed?
- Ask for their licence number and the name of the body that issued it, then verify it with that body directly. A provider who will not give you this in writing is telling you something.
- Does this site cost anything in Nova Scotia?
- No. You are never charged. We are paid by licensed settlement companies and consolidation lenders when we introduce you, and we are paid nothing for trustee and non-profit referrals.