Can the IRS assign my tax debt to a private debt collector?

In 2015 Congress passed a federal law which allowed certain private companies to collect, on the government’s behalf, outstanding inactive tax receivables. However, currently there are only four contractors that are authorized for collection: CBE Group of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Conserve of Fairport, N.Y.; Performant of Livermore, Calif.; and Pioneer of Horseheads, N.Y. Collections will only be assigned to one of these agencies, never to all four. No other private group is authorized to represent the IRS. Additionally, the IRS will always notify a taxpayer before transferring their account to a private collection agency. The IRS will send a letter to the taxpayer and their tax representative informing them that their account is being assigned to an agency and give them the agency’s contact information. Finally if you do not wish to work with the assigned private collection, you can submit a request to the private collection agency.