NARCA's Articles of Incorporation state the following purposes for which the corporation is organized:

• To further and promote the image and function of the legal profession engaged in the collection of consumer debt, creditor rights, creditor representation in bankruptcy and related areas of the laws pertaining to consumer credit.
• To educate the public and members of the credit and collection industry as to all aspects of the consumer collection industry.
• To provide an interchange of ideas for the members.
• To provide meetings, seminars and publications to further the purposes of the Association.
• To encourage and promote the adoption of legislation in the various states and in the United States favorable to the consumer collection industry, the attorney engaged in retail debt collection and the rights of the credit-granting public.
• To gather and disseminate information and material relative to consumer credit which may be valuable to the members of the Association and the general public.
• To elevate the standards and improve the practice and ethics of consumer collection law.
• To foster among its members a feeling of fraternity and mutual confidence.
• To encourage, foster and advance professional practices and ethical conduct among its members.
  

In November 1992 in New York City, 20 collection attorneys met to discuss how to develop retail collection business. They unanimously agreed that a new association should be formed to foster the idea.

At the time, nobody - including creditors - knew who the biggest law firm in each state was, or even who practiced in this field of law. NARCA saw the need to identify retail collection law firms, bind them together, and let creditors know what their members could provide to them.

Don Kramer, NARCA's first president, rented a small space near his office in St. Louis and hired an Executive Director. Almost immediately, 740 law firms indicated they wanted to be a part of NARCA, although disputes with commercial collection agencies led to a dropout of some initial members. Almost all have now rejoined NARCA.

The first NARCA Collection Conference was held at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas in 1993, with 444 attendees. In addition, NARCA developed a Membership Directory for distribution among creditors. NARCA kept growing as the benefits of an association devoted to law firms that collect consumer debt became increasingly obvious.

In order to supply the skilled management needed to run the growing organization, in 2001 Management Options, Inc. - an association management company located in Washington DC - was selected to administer NARCA’s activities. An Executive Director and staff serve NARCA’s Board of Directors, committees and members.

Past Presidents
1993-95 Don Kramer
1995-97 Warren Rosenfeld
1997-99 Stuart Blatt
1999-2001 Mike Buckles
2001-03 Adam Olshan
2003-05 Chuck Pona
2005-07 Ira Liebsker