Preparing for an Examination

Several factors are used to determine when licensees are scheduled for an examination, such as: prior examination ratings, transaction volume, compliance history, volume of complaints, coordination with other states when applicable, and tips from the public.

In order to be prepared for an examination, be sure to keep your business records organized. Copies of your documents should be stored systematically for timely, routine access. Be familiar with how to pull reports from your electronic systems. You will be required to provide transaction and financial records for the examination. Examination questionnaires posted on the Department’s website list examples of the standard examination requested items and questions, including all the fields that are required on the list of loans or transactions. The Department recommends creating a custom report from your system in order to capture the data points required, in anticipation of receiving a notice of examination. This will likely significantly reduce the time and potential stress of completing the questionnaire response. Maintaining your records in an organized way, and preparing for an examination before receiving notice of it, means an easier examination process.

The Department utilizes BOX.com to receive exam correspondence. If you do not have an existing account from a previous examination with us, you will be asked to create a free individual account that we will add to our secure network folders for the duration of your exam.

Please note, the Department can typically accommodate reasonable requests for scheduling changes on routine examinations with sufficient advance notice. If you have a conflict with your notified exam dates, let us know in advance and we will work with you to re-schedule the examination.

If you have any questions about your examination obligations or your compliance with Washington requirements, please feel free to contact the Department at CSExamsUnit@dfi.wa.gov