How do I become a commercial loan broker?
The path above covers residential mortgage origination. The supplied material addresses only residential mortgage licensing under the SAFE Act (the 20-hour pre-licensing education, the SAFE MLO Test, and state licensing through NMLS), and commercial loan brokering is a separate activity with different requirements not covered here.
In California, commercial loan brokers are licensed under the California Finance Law (CFL) or as real estate brokers. A CFL broker files a Company Form (MU1) through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) with $300 in fees, a $100 investigation fee plus a $200 application fee. Non-residential CFL applicants need a $25,000 minimum net worth and a $25,000 surety bond. A CFL broker's license only permits brokering loans to licensed finance lenders; brokering to banks or credit unions may require a real estate license.
Sources: Cal. Fin. Code Div. 9 Ch. 1 Art. 3 (22100-22112): CFL licensing statutes.
Most commercial lending in Florida is exempt from Chapter 494, Florida Statutes, so the loan originator and mortgage broker licensing requirements of that chapter generally do not apply to a broker working only on commercial (nonresidential) loans. The Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which notes the exemptions, recommends reviewing the cited statutes and seeking legal counsel on how they apply to a specific business model.
Sources: Fla. Stat. 494.00312: Loan originator license; Fla. Stat. 494.00313: Loan originator license renewal.