Home / State steps
Free tool · no signup · we add the order, the matrix has the values
Your state's MLO licensing steps, in order
Quick answer
What is the order of steps to get an MLO license?
Create your Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) account, finish the 20-hour pre-licensure education, pass the SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) National Test, clear a criminal background check and a credit report, obtain any required surety bond, submit your state application, then get an employer to sponsor the license. It stays inactive until that final sponsorship.
Pick your state
The nine steps below are the shared order. Choosing your state reveals its deviations and the dated links for the values.
California: what is different here
- Regulator
- California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act / California Financing Law, or the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) for real-estate-licensed originators
- State deviations
- California is a two-regulator state: an MLO is licensed either through the DFPI (a standalone MLO license) or through the DRE (for those operating under a real estate broker). Which agency you file with depends on your employer's licensing. Confirm the current DFPI vs DRE split and any California-specific PE hours on the regulator page and the matrix, linked below.
- Surety bond
- Surety bond required; amount is set by the California regulator and scaled to loan volume. See the matrix link and the DFPI page for the current figure. Not hosted here.
Official CA regulator page Fees and bond on the published matrix
Texas: what is different here
- Regulator
- Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending (SML)
- State deviations
- Texas licenses residential MLOs through the Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending (SML); certain originators tied to regulated lenders are handled by the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner (OCCC). Which agency applies depends on your employer. Confirm any Texas-specific hours on the regulator page and the matrix, linked below.
- Surety bond
- Surety/recovery-fund requirements are set by Texas; see the matrix link and the SML page for the current figure. Not hosted here.
Official TX regulator page Fees and bond on the published matrix
Florida: what is different here
- Regulator
- Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), Division of Consumer Finance
- State deviations
- Florida licenses MLOs through the Office of Financial Regulation. Confirm any Florida-specific PE hours and the state application fee on the regulator page and the matrix, linked below.
- Surety bond
- Bond/fee values set by Florida; see the matrix link and the OFR page. Not hosted here.
Official FL regulator page Fees and bond on the published matrix
New York: what is different here
- Regulator
- New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS)
- State deviations
- New York licenses MLOs through the Department of Financial Services and is known for additional state-specific requirements. Confirm New York's extra PE hours and any state-specific requirements on the regulator page and the matrix, linked below.
- Surety bond
- Bond/fee values set by New York; see the matrix link and the DFS page. Not hosted here.
Official NY regulator page Fees and bond on the published matrix
Georgia: what is different here
- Regulator
- Georgia Department of Banking and Finance
- State deviations
- Georgia licenses MLOs through the Department of Banking and Finance and requires fingerprinting and background review consistent with the SAFE Act. Confirm any Georgia-specific PE hours and fees on the regulator page and the matrix, linked below.
- Surety bond
- Bond/fee values set by Georgia; see the matrix link and the Department page. Not hosted here.
Official GA regulator page Fees and bond on the published matrix
- 1
Create your NMLS account and get your unique identifier
Set up an individual account in the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) and receive your NMLS unique identifier, the number that follows you across every state and employer.
- 2
Complete the 20-hour pre-licensure education (PE)
Finish the SAFE Act federal minimum of 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensure education from an approved course provider (12 U.S.C. 5104(c)).
- 3
Complete any state-specific extra PE hours (only if your state adds it)
Some state agencies require additional state-specific pre-licensure hours on top of the federal 20. Whether your state adds hours, and how many, is a state deviation, see the matrix link and your regulator page.
- 4
Pass the SAFE MLO National Test with UST content
Sit and pass the single SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator National Test with Uniform State Test (UST) content. Passing this one test satisfies the state-test requirement in participating states, so there is no separate per-state MLO exam.
- 5
Authorize the FBI criminal background check
Submit fingerprints and authorize an FBI criminal background check through NMLS. Your criminal history is part of the state fitness determination.
- 6
Authorize your credit report
Authorize NMLS to pull a credit report. A credit review is part of the state's character-and-fitness determination; the specific credit standard varies by state, there is no single national bright line.
- 7
Obtain a surety bond (amount set by your state)
Most states require a surety bond before the license is issued. The required bond AMOUNT is a state-specific value set by your regulator, often scaled to your loan volume, see the matrix link and your regulator page for the current figure. We do not host a bond number we have not sourced and dated.
- 8
Submit your state license application and fees
File the state license application through NMLS and pay the state application fee plus the NMLS processing fee. The state application FEE is a state-specific value, see the matrix link.
- 9
Get sponsored by an NMLS-registered employer to activate
This is the most misunderstood gate. A state-licensed MLO license stays INACTIVE until an NMLS-registered company sponsors it. In practice you generally need a job offer from a licensed lender or broker to activate your license, so the 'get a job' step is not optional and often reorders the whole plan.
This is the step most first-timers miss. Passing the test does not let you originate: an employer registered with NMLS must sponsor you first, which is why the job search usually has to start before, not after, you are licensed.
For the itemized dollar cost of these steps, use the cost-to-license breakdown. To decide whether the whole path is worth it for your expected volume, run the is-it-worth-it calculator. The per-state fee and bond values come from the getlicensemap.com state licensing matrix (Data last updated: April 2026 (confirmed on the 2026-07-23 live fetch; re-confirm at publish)).