Impact of NMLS Licensing Requirements on Mortgage Education

The efforts mortgage loan originators (MLOs) go through in their NMLS licensing and renewal processes are designed to address industry enrichment and accountability. The processes may have seemed overwhelming in their infancy, but years of communication, instruction, and outreach has created widely accepted protocols in the minds of state agencies and industry players.

What does NMLS do?

Among many other responsibilities, the NMLS oversees the mortgage loan originator education pre-licensing and continuing education programs. They create requirements and functional specifications for all approved education providers to follow. Specifically, they dictate and carry out the federal standards for how and what students are to be taught. This can include allowable course delivery formats, length of time allowed for education programs, and the review and approval of course content.

The NMLS works with state agencies to establish the national test content outlines and national tests MLOs must pass for licensure. Mortgage education and testing go hand-in-hand, and the NMLS ensures both of these experiences are aligned with the intent of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) for Mortgage Licensing Act.

Every year, the NMLS reviews and revises education and testing requirements through functional specification documents for educational providers. The revisions to the educational requirements are usually made to address any issues or enhancements to the process, which are identified through student surveys, audits, and advances in e-learning capabilities.

The NMLS also serves as a repository of education completion for mortgage loan originators. Education providers report course completion to the NMLS where it is stored and reflected within each unique profile.

The NMLS has established December 18 as the SMART deadline to complete this year’s annual mortgage continuing education requirements. Some states require lenders to complete annual requirements prior to the SMART deadline. Is your state one of them? Find out now.