What courses are required to become a mortgage lender?

Licensing courses attach to the individual mortgage loan originator role. To apply for a state license, you must complete at least 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education: 3 hours of federal law and regulations, 3 hours of ethics (covering fraud, consumer protection, and fair lending), 2 hours on nontraditional mortgage products, and 12 hours of elective instruction on mortgage origination. Some states add state-specific hours on top of the 20-hour federal minimum.

An individual license requires 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education: 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours on nontraditional mortgage products, and 12 hours of electives. Alabama adds no state-specific education hours. The courses may be taken in a classroom, online, or through another NMLS-approved delivery method, and you must also pass the SAFE test before the state will issue the license.

Alaska does not require coursework for the company-level Mortgage Broker/Lender license. That license instead requires an unaudited financial statement, a $75,000 surety bond, two control persons, an Alaska business license, and a registered agent and office in the state. The 20-hour pre-licensure education requirement applies to the individual mortgage loan originator license.

To work as an Arizona mortgage loan originator, you must complete 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education. The 20 hours must include 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics (covering fraud, consumer protection, and fair lending), 2 hours on nontraditional mortgage products, and 4 hours of Arizona law, with the state hours counted inside the 20. The coursework must be completed within the 3 years before you apply.

Mortgage loan originators in California must complete 20 hours of pre-licensing education approved by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). On the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation track, the 20 hours include 3 hours of federal law, 3 of ethics, 2 of nontraditional mortgage products, 10 of electives, and 2 of California law. On the Department of Real Estate endorsement track, the hours are 3, 3, 2, and 12, with no state-specific law hour.

Colorado requires 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education to become a mortgage loan originator: 3 hours federal law, 3 hours ethics, 2 hours non-traditional mortgage lending, 2 hours Colorado state-specific electives, and 10 hours of general electives. The 2 Colorado-specific hours may be taken as a standalone course instead. After the coursework, you must pass the National SAFE MLO Test with Uniform State Content; Colorado adds no separate state exam.

DC's mortgage lender license is a company license, and company applicants are not subject to the pre-license course and testing requirements, which apply to individual mortgage loan originators instead. The individual license requires 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education, including 3 hours of DC law, and a passing score of 75% on the SAFE MLO test.

The Florida mortgage lender license is an entity license, and it has no course requirement. The applicant must submit an audited financial statement documenting a net worth of at least $63,000, or $250,000 with a servicing endorsement, pay a $500 nonrefundable application fee plus the $100 fee under s. 494.00172 if required, and designate a principal loan originator who is licensed as a Florida loan originator. Education and testing requirements attach to the individuals, not the company.

To become a mortgage loan originator in Hawaii, you must complete at least 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education: 3 hours of federal law and regulations, 3 hours of Hawaii state law and rules, 3 hours of ethics covering fraud, consumer protection, and fair lending, and 2 hours on lending standards for nontraditional mortgage products. The state-specific hours count within the 20-hour total, not on top of it. After finishing the coursework, you have up to 12 months to submit your license application before the education must be repeated.

A mortgage lender company in Illinois operates under a Residential Mortgage License from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), which carries a $2,700 initial state fee. The company license itself has no pre-license course or testing requirement; those sit with the individual mortgage loan originators (MLOs) it employs, who each complete 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-license education.

To originate residential mortgage loans in Iowa, you must complete at least 20 hours of NMLS-approved prelicensing education: 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, and 2 hours on nontraditional mortgage products. Iowa adds no state-specific hours beyond the national 20-hour course. You must complete the education during the 3 years before you apply, and courses approved by NMLS for any state count toward Iowa's requirement.

Kansas requires no education course or test for the Mortgage Company License itself; education and testing requirements attach only to individuals who originate loans. The company must file a surety bond and show it is solvent and maintains a positive net worth. Any individual who takes residential mortgage loan applications or offers or negotiates loan terms for compensation must register as a loan originator, which requires 20 hours of pre-licensing education and a 75% passing score on the national test.

No specific courses are required for the mortgage loan company (lender) license itself. The application goes through NMLS and requires a Company Form, Individual Forms for control persons, an audited financial statement or startup statement of condition, a surety bond of at least $250,000, certified organizational documents, and a Kentucky Certificate of Authority dated within 60 days. Individuals who originate loans for the company must complete 20 hours of prelicensing education and pass the qualified written test.

Maine requires 20 hours of NMLS-approved prelicensing education before you submit an MLO application: 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours of nontraditional mortgage lending, and 12 hours of electives. Courses must be reviewed and approved by NMLS, including the provider, and may be delivered in a classroom, online, or by another approved means. Maine adds no state-specific hours beyond the national package.

In Maryland, the course requirement to originate loans is 20 hours of NMLS-approved prelicensing education. The 20 hours include 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours on nontraditional mortgage products, 3 hours of Maryland mortgage law, 2 hours of Maryland finder's fee law, and 7 hours of electives. A mortgage lender license itself is a company-level license; the 20-hour requirement applies to the individual mortgage loan originator license that the lender's employees hold.

A mortgage lender license in Massachusetts is a company license, and the Division of Banks does not require coursework for it. The applicant must show 5 years of full-time experience (or a part-time equivalent) working for a licensed mortgage lender, licensed mortgage broker, or exempt financial institution. The individual loan originator follows a separate path: 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-license education and the SAFE MLO test.

An individual who originates residential mortgage loans in Michigan needs a mortgage loan originator license, which requires 20 hours of Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry (NMLS)-approved pre-licensure education. The 20 hours include 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours of nontraditional mortgage lending, 10 hours of electives, and 2 hours of Michigan-specific content. A company license alone does not allow anyone to originate loans. After licensing, 8 hours of continuing education are required each year.

The company-level Residential Mortgage Originator license has no course requirement; its prerequisites are business registration with the Minnesota Secretary of State, a $125,000 surety bond, and experience. The individuals who take applications or negotiate loan terms need a mortgage loan originator license, which requires 20 hours of NMLS-approved prelicensing education: 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, and 2 hours on nontraditional mortgage products, with the remaining 12 hours as electives. Minnesota adds no state-specific hours beyond the national course.

The company-level residential mortgage loan broker license in Missouri has no prelicensing education or testing requirement; the 20-hour education requirement and SAFE test attach to individual mortgage loan originators. Company applicants instead must meet requirements such as a staffed full-service office in Missouri, a surety bond of at least $50,000, background and credit investigations on company managers, and the state's application and annual license fees.

Montana's education requirements attach to the individual loan originator license, not the lender entity license. A mortgage lender must designate a designated manager who is a licensed mortgage loan originator, and that license requires 20 hours of NMLS-approved prelicensing education, including 2 hours of Montana-specific content. The lender must also maintain a minimum net worth of $250,000.

An applicant for an initial Nevada mortgage company license must complete at least 30 hours of instruction in approved courses under NAC 645B.367: 3 hours federal law, 3 hours ethics, 2 hours non-traditional mortgage lending, 4 hours Nevada law and regulations, and 18 hours of electives. Courses must come from NMLS-approved providers, and hours completed for another state's license may count if the Commissioner finds them equivalent. The company must also designate a Qualified Employee who is a licensed MLO in good standing.

The required coursework is 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensure education, which must include 4 hours of New Jersey-specific content. The hours break down as 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours on non-traditional mortgage lending, 8 hours of electives, and 4 hours of New Jersey law. A mortgage lender's Qualified Individual, who must file an MU4 through NMLS, has to meet these same education requirements.

A mortgage loan company in New Mexico has no course requirement of its own, but it must designate a Qualified Individual who holds a New Mexico MLO license in Approved status. That license requires 20 hours of NMLS-approved education, including 3 hours of New Mexico law, plus a passing score on the SAFE test. The Qualified Individual also needs 2 years of relevant experience within the preceding 4 years.

New York does not require coursework for a company mortgage banker license, but the individuals who originate loans must meet an education standard. A mortgage loan originator must complete 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education, including 3 hours of New York law, and pass the SAFE MLO test before applying for a license through NMLS.

To take residential mortgage applications yourself, North Carolina requires 24 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education: 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours on nontraditional mortgage products, 12 hours of electives, and 4 hours of North Carolina statutes and rules. At the company level, a mortgage lender license has different requirements: the qualifying individual must have at least 3 years of residential mortgage lending experience and meet the state's MLO licensing requirements.

Oregon licenses mortgage lenders as companies through NMLS, and no course requirement applies at the company level. Education requirements attach to the individual loan originators those companies employ: before applying, you must complete 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensure education, including 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours on nontraditional mortgage products, and 4 hours of Oregon law.

Rhode Island does not require courses for the mortgage lender company itself, but each licensed location must have a Qualifying Individual (or Branch Manager at branches) who holds an active Rhode Island Mortgage Loan Originator license. That license requires 20 total hours of NMLS-approved prelicensure education, with the 3 hours of Rhode Island law counted inside the 20, plus a passing SAFE Test score. The company must also file financial statements and a $50,000 surety bond through NMLS.

No courses are required for the mortgage lender or servicer license itself, because that is a company license issued by the State Board of Financial Institutions with a $1,000 filing fee under S.C. Code 37-22-140. Education requirements instead apply to the individual loan originators a lender employs: each must complete 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education, including 3 hours on South Carolina law, and pass the National Test Component with Uniform State Content. The lender posts the company surety bond of at least $50,000.

To originate residential mortgage loans in Texas, you must complete 23 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education under the Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending: the 20-hour SAFE course (3 hours federal law, 3 hours ethics, 2 hours non-traditional lending, 12 hours of electives) plus 3 hours of Texas law. If you originate only secondary mortgage, home-equity, property tax, or manufactured housing loans licensed by the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner, the requirement is the standard 20 hours with no Texas-specific add-on.

West Virginia does not require education courses for a mortgage lender license, because that license covers a company rather than an individual. Instead, a lender applicant must pay a $1,250 license fee plus fingerprint and NMLS processing costs, show tangible net worth of at least $250,000, and file a surety bond of at least $100,000. The education requirements fall on the individual loan originators the company employs.

In Wyoming, the company-level Mortgage Lender/Broker license has no course requirement, but the individual mortgage loan originators it sponsors must complete 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensure education: 3 hours of federal law, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours on non-traditional mortgage lending, and 12 hours of electives. Company applicants instead submit financial statements, a business plan, background checks for control persons, and a surety bond through NMLS.