Number of Licensees
Number of licensees as of February 2025.
| License Types | As of February 2025 | As of February 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage Broker Main Office | 354 | 363 |
| Mortgage Broker Branch Office | 150 | 167 |
| Consumer Loan Main Office | 1,061 | 1,008 |
| Consumer Loan Branch Office | 2,558 | 2,879 |
| MLOs – Active | 17,805 | 16,300 |
| MLOs – Inactive | 1,258 | 1,451 |
2024 Consumer Loan Annual Assessment Filing System Available
It’s time for Consumer Loan licensees to file their 2024 Consumer Loan Annual Assessment. All filings and payments must be completed by March 1, 2025, to avoid late penalties. To get started, visit the Consumer Loan Annual Assessment website for important information.
Annual assessments for the following will be temporarily waived for activity during the 2024 calendar year:
- Residential mortgage loans in portfolio on December 31, 2023.
- Residential mortgage loans purchased during the 2024 calendar year.
- Reverse mortgage advances made during servicing.
- Reverse mortgage accrued interest.
Annual assessments for the following will be assessed in an amount up to $200,000:
- Residential mortgage loans made.
- Non-mortgage loans made.
- Residential mortgage loans brokered.
- Reverse mortgage advances made at origination.
If you have any questions, please email csexamsunit@dfi.wa.gov.
Additional Reporting Deadlines
Other upcoming reporting deadlines for Mortgage Broker and Consumer Loan licensees include:
- February 14 – Q4 2024 MCR filing deadline
- All Mortgage Broker and Consumer Loan licensees holding a license in Q4 2024
- April 1 – Financial Conditions filing deadline
- Licensees with a fiscal year end of 12/31 and who conduct mortgage brokering activities
Keeping Surety Bond Compliance
A reminder to Mortgage Broker and Consumer Loan licensees that now is the time to review and adjust the amount of your surety bond to ensure compliance. The bond amount is based on prior year activity in Washington and must be updated annually. The deadline for adjusting the bond amount depends on the license held. Mortgage Brokers must make the adjustment by March 31 and Consumer Loan licensees by March 1. Adjusting your bond amount is done by the surety provider via a rider issued in NMLS which is marked “ready” by the licensee in NMLS.
Consumer Loan Non-Renewed Branch Licenses
Consumer Loan licensees, check the license status of your Washington licensed branches. Several companies have branch licenses that weren’t renewed in NMLS, but also weren’t surrendered. The Consumer Loan license is perpetual so the license must be proactively surrendered.
Any branch license with the status of “Approved-Failed to Renew” at the end of March will be invoiced by NMLS for system fees. Companies can run a report in NMLS to double check the status of their Washington licensed branches.
Renewals Recap
A note of thanks to all the compliance staff who helped ensure company, branch, and MLO renewals were submitted timely. All renewal requests submitted on or before December 31 were either approved or the licensee was notified what was missing from the renewal. That wouldn’t have been possible if licensees didn’t submit renewals early.
Specifically looking at MLOs, the number of MLO licensees eligible for renewal was less than previous years. The number of MLOs who renewed by December 31did grow compared to last year. Since licensees have January and February to reinstate expired MLO licenses, these numbers typically change.
| Year | Renewals Submitted | Eligible for Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 18,152 | 20,683 |
| 2021 | 23,293 | 27,514 |
| 2022 | 19,610 | 32,798 |
| 2023 | 17,043 | 24,364 |
| 2024 | 17,465 | 21,487 |
As a reminder, licensees have until the end of February to submit a late renewal request to reinstate their license.
Tips for Success - MLOs
Here are a few gentle reminders from the Licensing Unit for those assisting MLOs with licensing:
- MLOs who are eligible for Temporary Authority (TA) won’t move from the Temporary Authority Eligible status unless they have completed the criminal background check (CBC) process and have sponsorship for their WA MLO license.
- When hiring an already licensed WA MLO, make sure the MLO updated their contact information, including the email address on the filing, as well as their employment history before the company submits a sponsorship request. Not making these updates can slow the process of moving the MLO’s license to the new company.
Mortgage Industry Webinar
The Department will host the next Mortgage Industry Webinar in the Spring. Materials and recordings from past webinars can be found on the Mortgage Industry Webinar webpage.