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Yes. Arizona requires 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education, and approved providers commonly deliver the coursework online in self-paced and live webinar formats. The annual 8 hours of continuing education are also available online through NMLS-approved providers.

Yes. Arizona requires 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education, and approved courses are commonly offered in online, self-paced formats. The 20 hours must include 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours of nontraditional mortgage lending, and 4 hours of Arizona law. You must complete the education within the three years before you apply.

Yes. Arizona loan originator applications are filed online through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLS), and the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) issues only an electronic license for this license type. The required education tracking, testing, fingerprinting, and credit-report steps are also processed through NMLS.

Yes. Mortgage licenses are issued state by state, and a license from one state does not authorize business in another. Loan originators and mortgage companies file applications through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), but each state agency makes its own approve or deny decision. A state-licensed loan originator may rely on federal Temporary Authority to originate loans in another state for up to 120 days while completing that state's requirements.

No, if you only underwrite loans. Arizona requires a loan originator license only for a person who, for compensation, takes a residential mortgage loan application, offers or negotiates the terms of a residential mortgage loan, or negotiates with a lender or note holder on a borrower's behalf to modify an existing loan. Underwriting alone is not one of those activities.

No, in most cases. Arizona requires a loan originator license only for people who, for compensation, take residential mortgage loan applications, offer or negotiate loan terms, or negotiate loan modifications on a borrower's behalf. Underwriters evaluate and decision loans rather than performing those activities, so the loan originator license does not apply to them.

Arizona does not issue a separate underwriter license. A loan originator license from the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) is required only for people who take residential mortgage loan applications, offer or negotiate loan terms, or negotiate a modification with a lender on a borrower's behalf. If your underwriting work does not include those activities, you do not need the loan originator license.

No. Arizona can issue your license in "Approved-Inactive" status if you have completed all requirements but have no sponsoring mortgage company, and you may not conduct loan origination business in that status. A sponsoring employer must submit the sponsorship request before you begin working, and the statute requires the employer's written notice of hire before the loan originator starts.

Arizona does not publish a minimum credit score for loan originator licensing. Every applicant must authorize a credit report ($15) through NMLS, and the state agency evaluates the report for financial responsibility under the SAFE Act. Arizona's published financial-responsibility standard is instead the employer surety bond of not less than $200,000 or a $100 payment to the mortgage recovery fund.

The Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) Call Center can be reached at 1-855-665-7123. For Arizona-specific loan originator licensing questions, contact the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) at (602) 771-2800 or felicensing@difi.az.gov.