Uniform State Test Content

In a document-cure review, an audit analyst sees facts tied to Appraisal Independence Requirements. What should the file reflect?

Which statement best describes annual renewal of a state MLO license under the SAFE Act framework?

An originator under investigation for a $40,000 escrow shortfall files to surrender her license rather than respond to the regulator. Under a state law retaining authority over conduct during licensure, does surrender prevent investigation or discipline for the shortfall?

Which set of records may each have its own NMLS unique identifier?

A regulator requests loan files during an authorized examination. The licensee intentionally withholds responsive records and falsely states that they were destroyed. What is the principal concern?

A state regulator reviews a licensee who holds no surety bond but meets the state's required net-worth standard with verified net worth of $85,000. The licensee has also paid $1,200 into the state recovery fund. Must the SAFE federal minimum standards nevertheless require a surety bond, or can a state-required alternative satisfy the financial-security requirement?

An applicant has a 2019 misdemeanor conviction for writing bad checks and a discharged bankruptcy from 2021. Neither triggers a separate felony or license-revocation bar. How should the state evaluate these facts under the SAFE financial-responsibility, character, and fitness standard?

An originator took an approved 8-hour course in 2025 and books the identical course for 2026 because the content suits her practice. May the identical course count toward her SAFE continuing-education requirement in two consecutive years?

A newly licensed originator completed her 20 hours of pre-licensing education in November and asks whether that covers her continuing education for the following year. Can her prelicensing hours satisfy the separate continuing-education requirement for the following calendar year?

On 1 July an originator moves from a state-licensed brokerage to a national bank, where she becomes a registered rather than a licensed originator. What happens to her existing NMLSR unique identifier when she changes from state licensing to federal registration?

A candidate scores 72 percent on the NMLS written test on 4 March and wants to know both whether she passed and when she may sit it again. Assuming this was her first attempt, did she pass, and what is the minimum wait before her next attempt?

A borrower wants to check that the person arranging her loan is who he says he is, before she sends 3 years of tax returns. What public resource can she use to verify the originator's identity and licensing or registration information?

A company applying in 3 states asks whether the surety bond is the only way to meet the requirement. Under SAFE's federal minimum framework, can states require alternatives to a surety bond?

A licensed originator in 1 state takes an application from a borrower buying a home in a neighboring state where he holds no license. Assuming no exemption or temporary-authority provision applies, what additional state authority does he need to originate the neighboring-state loan?

An applicant pleaded guilty to felony forgery 11 years ago and to a felony assault 4 years ago, and has no other record. Assuming neither conviction has been pardoned or expunged, which convictions trigger the SAFE felony disqualification?

A federally registered MLO at a covered bank lists her NMLS identifier on a business card. A consumer asks for the identifier before any application. Under Regulation G, how must the MLO respond?

An originator takes the same 8-hour course in 2 successive years, 2026 and 2027, to meet the requirement. May the same approved course count toward SAFE continuing education in consecutive years?

An applicant submits a license application in 2026 and objects to giving fingerprints. Is furnishing fingerprints required for the SAFE licensing background-check process?

An originator arranges a $95,000 loan secured by a 2-unit building the borrower lives in half of. If the loan is primarily for personal, family, or household use, is it a residential mortgage loan within the SAFE definition?

An applicant with 3 recent charge-offs argues that credit history has no bearing on a license. Why may the licensing authority review the applicant's credit history?

An originator resigns on 15 June 2026 and starts at a new company 3 weeks later, holding an approved license throughout. In a state requiring active employer sponsorship, may she originate during the gap before the new sponsorship is approved?

An originator misses the 31 December 2026 renewal deadline and continues taking applications into January. Assuming no valid temporary authority or extension applies, may she originate after the license expires merely because reinstatement remains available?

A candidate licensed in one state moves to a second state in 2026 and asks whether the uniform content is retaken. Assuming the candidate's national test result remains valid and both states accept Uniform State Content, must that component be retaken solely because of the move?

Under the federal SAFE minimum, what is the annual CE total and the minimum hours specifically required in federal law, ethics, and nontraditional mortgage lending, before allocating the remaining hour?

A licensed originator teaches 3 hours of an approved ethics course during the year and takes no other continuing education. How many CE credit hours does she earn from teaching, and does that reach the eight-hour total?

A company subject to quarterly NMLS Mortgage Call Report loan-activity reporting originates 41 loans in the first quarter and files no activity report. Does the small number of loans excuse the quarterly filing?

A candidate is booking pre-licensing education and finds a 20-hour course advertised as SAFE-compliant. She wants to check the breakdown before paying. What minimum federal-law, ethics, and nontraditional-mortgage hours must the SAFE prelicensing course include?

A processor at a brokerage collects documents, orders 3 verifications and answers borrower questions about what the file still needs. She never quotes a rate or discusses terms. If she is an employee performing only clerical work under a licensed originator's direction and supervision, do these activities alone require an individual MLO license under the federal SAFE minimums?

An unlicensed assistant tells a caller: "On a $250,000 loan our 30-year fixed is running about 6.5% today, and I can lock that for you if you want it." Does quoting this specific rate and offering to lock it constitute offering or negotiating loan terms?

A state-licensed originator lets her license lapse on 31 December after failing to complete her 8 hours of continuing education for that year. What must she do about the missed CE before seeking reinstatement, rather than continuing to originate while unlicensed?

2 originators sit in the same room. One works for a national bank and is registered with the NMLSR. The other works for an independent brokerage and is state-licensed. Which originator is subject to SAFE's national-test and 20-hour prelicensing-education requirements?

An originator posts a social-media advertisement for a closed-end home mortgage: "Rates from 5.25%! DM me." The figure is only a simple interest rate, and the advertisement contains no APR. What must be corrected under Regulation Z, independently of any state-specific advertising identifier rule?

A brokerage of 9 staff wants to know which of them need individual licenses: 4 who quote rates and take applications, 3 who gather documents, and 2 who answer phones and book appointments. Assuming all nine are employees and the clerical staff act under proper supervision without taking applications or offering terms, which group performs the activities requiring an individual MLO license?

An originator tells a borrower her rate is locked when no lock has been placed, intending to place one within the 2 days that follow. Does telling the borrower the rate is already locked constitute a prohibited misrepresentation?

An originator registered with a bank for two years joins a state-licensed lender and submits a license application on March 3, which NMLS lists as incomplete and the state has not acted on. Assuming all temporary-authority eligibility conditions are met and no earlier termination event occurs, when does authority end if the application remains incomplete?

A processor works for 5 lenders as an independent contractor, taking no applications and quoting no terms. Does the SAFE independent-contractor processor provision require licensing despite the absence of quoted terms or applications?

A candidate fails the national SAFE MLO test on March 3, April 2, and May 5, 2026. Under the NMLS testing handbook, what minimum waiting period follows the third failed test?

An unlicensed assistant employed by a lender is asked to do 4 tasks, one of which is quoting a rate to a caller. If the other three tasks are only collecting documents, scheduling appointments, and requesting missing information, which task crosses beyond clerical work when it presents a specific loan offer?

A licensed originator lets an unlicensed assistant sign the 1003 and place the originator unique identifier on it. If the assistant signs as though they were the licensed originator rather than performing authorized clerical entry, is that use of the originator's identity proper?

An originator wants to be sponsored by 2 unaffiliated mortgage companies at the same time in one state. What state-specific sponsorship restriction must be checked before accepting simultaneous employment?

An originator tells a borrower a 6.75% rate is locked when no lock request has been submitted at all. Does claiming a nonexistent rate lock constitute a prohibited material misrepresentation?

A licensee collects a $675 appraisal fee, orders no appraisal, and cannot show where the money went. What obligation has the licensee failed to meet with respect to the collected appraisal money?

A licensee keeps its files with a vendor in another state and tells the regulator to allow 45 days for retrieval. Does using an out-of-state records vendor remove the licensee's responsibility to comply with the regulator's production requirements?

An MLO failed to complete required 2025 CE and completes NMLS-designated 2025 Late CE on 14 February 2026 during an available reinstatement process. To which year's missing CE requirement is that designated Late CE applied?

A candidate has completed 20 hours of approved pre-licensing education and asks what the federal minimum required inside those hours. What are the minimum required federal-law, ethics, and nontraditional-lending components within the 20-hour SAFE prelicensing total?

A licensed originator wants to meet borrowers at a co-working desk 40 miles from the branch on her license, twice a week. What should she check before using the co-working desk as a regular origination location?

A state regulator asks a licensee for 18 loan files and the licensee says a subpoena is needed first. Under the stipulated state examination law permitting direct access to licensee records, is a subpoena a prerequisite to this routine examination?

A state is selecting a financial-responsibility mechanism for its MLO licensing system. Under 12 U.S.C. 5107(d)(6), which approach is recognized by the SAFE Act?

An MLO decides to surrender an active state license through NMLS. After submitting the surrender filing, what should the MLO do to establish the request's disposition?

For Regulation Z compliance evidence covered by the general retention rule, excluding advertising and records with special retention periods, what is the minimum required retention period after the required disclosure or action date?