(1) Each person who acts as a mortgage lender must be licensed under this section.
(2) In order to apply for a mortgage lender license, an applicant must:

(a) Submit a completed application form as prescribed by the commission by rule.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 494.00611

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Branch manager: means the licensed loan originator in charge of, and responsible for, the operation of the branch office of a mortgage broker or mortgage lender. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Branch office: means a location, other than a mortgage broker's or mortgage lender's principal place of business or remote location:
    (a) The address of which appears on business cards, stationery, or advertising used by the licensee in connection with business conducted under this chapter;
    (b) At which the licensee's name, advertising or promotional materials, or signage suggests that mortgage loans are originated, negotiated, funded, or serviced; or
    (c) At which mortgage loans are originated, negotiated, funded, or serviced by a licensee. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Commission: means the Financial Services Commission. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Control person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, trust, or other organization that possesses the power, directly or indirectly, to direct the management or policies of a company, whether through ownership of securities, by contract, or otherwise. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. Source: OCC
  • Credit report: means any written, oral, or other information obtained from a consumer reporting agency as described in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which bears on an individual's credit worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Financial audit report: means a report prepared in connection with a financial audit that is conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards prescribed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants by a certified public accountant licensed to do business in the United States, and which must include:
    (a) Financial statements, including notes related to the financial statements and required supplementary information, prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Loan originator: means an individual who, directly or indirectly, solicits or offers to solicit a mortgage loan, accepts or offers to accept an application for a mortgage loan, negotiates or offers to negotiate the terms or conditions of a new or existing mortgage loan on behalf of a borrower or lender, or negotiates or offers to negotiate the sale of an existing mortgage loan to a noninstitutional investor for compensation or gain. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgage lender: means a person making a mortgage loan or servicing a mortgage loan for others, or, for compensation or gain, directly or indirectly, selling or offering to sell a mortgage loan to a noninstitutional investor. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Net worth: means total assets minus total liabilities pursuant to United States generally accepted accounting principles. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Office: means the Office of Financial Regulation. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Principal loan originator: means the licensed loan originator in charge of, and responsible for, the operation of a mortgage lender or mortgage broker, including all of the activities of the mortgage lender's or mortgage broker's loan originators, in-house loan processors, and branch managers, whether employees or independent contractors. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Registry: means the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, which is the mortgage licensing system developed and maintained by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators for the licensing and registration of loan originators. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Servicing endorsement: means authorizing a mortgage lender to service a loan for more than 4 months. See Florida Statutes 494.001
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) Designate a qualified principal loan originator who meets the requirements of s. 494.00665 on the application form.
(c) Submit a nonrefundable application fee of $500, and the $100 nonrefundable fee if required by s. 494.00172. Application fees may not be prorated for partial years of licensure.
(d) Submit fingerprints for each of the applicant’s control persons in accordance with rules adopted by the commission:

1. The fingerprints may be submitted to the registry, the office, or a vendor acting on behalf of the registry or the office.
2. The office may contract with a third-party vendor to provide live-scan fingerprinting.
3. A state criminal history background check must be conducted through the Department of Law Enforcement, and a federal criminal history background check must be conducted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
4. All fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement must be submitted electronically and entered into the statewide automated biometric identification system established in s. 943.05(2)(b) and available for use in accordance with s. 943.05(2)(g) and (h). The office shall pay an annual fee to the department to participate in the system and inform the department of any person whose fingerprints are no longer required to be retained.
5. The costs of fingerprint processing, including the cost of retaining the fingerprints, shall be borne by the person subject to the background check.
6. The office is responsible for reviewing the results of the state and federal criminal history checks and determining whether the applicant meets licensure requirements.
(e) Indicate whether the applicant will be seeking a servicing endorsement on the application form.
(f) Submit a copy of the applicant’s financial audit report for the most recent fiscal year, pursuant to United States generally accepted accounting principles. If the applicant is a wholly owned subsidiary of another corporation, the financial audit report for the parent corporation satisfies this requirement. The commission may establish by rule the form and procedures for filing the financial audit report, including the requirement to file the report with the registry when technology is available. The financial audit report must document that the applicant has a bona fide and verifiable net worth, of at least $63,000 if the applicant is not seeking a servicing endorsement, or at least $250,000 if the applicant is seeking a servicing endorsement, which must be continuously maintained as a condition of licensure.
(g) Authorize the registry to obtain an independent credit report on each of the applicant’s control persons from a consumer reporting agency, and transmit or provide access to the report to the office. The cost of the credit report shall be borne by the applicant.
(h) Submit additional information or documentation requested by the office and required by rule concerning the applicant or a control person of the applicant. Additional information may include documentation of pending and prior disciplinary and criminal history events, including arrest reports and certified copies of charging documents, plea agreements, judgments and sentencing documents, documents relating to pretrial intervention, orders terminating probation or supervised release, final administrative agency orders, or other comparable documents that may provide the office with the appropriate information to determine eligibility for licensure.
(i) Submit any other information required by the registry for the processing of the application.
(3) An application is considered received for the purposes of s. 120.60 upon the office’s receipt of all documentation from the registry, including the completed application form, criminal history information, and independent credit report, as well as the license application fee, the fee required under s. 494.00172, and all applicable fingerprinting processing fees.
(4) The office shall issue a mortgage lender license to each person who is not otherwise ineligible and who meets the requirements of this section. However, it is a ground for denial of licensure if the applicant or one of the applicant’s control persons:

(a) Has committed any violation specified in this chapter, or is the subject of a pending felony criminal prosecution or a prosecution or an administrative enforcement action, in any jurisdiction, which involves fraud, dishonesty, breach of trust, money laundering, or any other act of moral turpitude.
(b) Has failed to demonstrate the character, general fitness, and financial responsibility necessary to command the confidence of the community and warrant a determination that the applicant will operate honestly, fairly, and efficiently.

1. If the office has information that could form the basis for license denial under this paragraph, before denying the license, the office must notify the applicant in writing of the specific items of concern and provide the applicant with an opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding the specific items and provide any information that the applicant believes is relevant to the office’s determination.
2. For purposes of evaluating adverse information found in an applicant’s credit report, the information must be considered within the totality of the circumstances. Information provided by the applicant under subparagraph 1., or information obtained by the office by other means, may be used to provide a context for the adverse items. For example, the adverse items may have resulted from factors that do not necessarily reflect negatively upon the applicant’s character, general fitness, or financial responsibility.
3. The office may not use a credit score or the absence or insufficiency of credit history information to determine character, general fitness, or financial responsibility.
4. If information contained in a credit report is used as the basis for denying a license, the office shall, in accordance with s. 120.60(3), provide with particularity the grounds or basis for denial. The use of the terms “poor credit history,” “poor credit rating,” or similar language does not meet the requirements of this paragraph.
(5) The office may deny a license if the applicant has had a mortgage lender license or its equivalent revoked in any jurisdiction and shall deny a license if any of the applicant’s control persons has had a loan originator license or its equivalent revoked in any jurisdiction.
(6) A person required to be licensed under this part, or an agent or employee thereof, is deemed to have consented to the venue of courts in this state regarding any matter within the authority of this chapter regardless of where an act or violation was committed.
(7) A license issued in accordance with this part is not transferable or assignable.
(8) A mortgage lender or branch office license may be annulled pursuant to s. 120.60 if it was issued by the office by mistake. A license must be reinstated if the applicant demonstrates that the requirements for obtaining the license under this chapter have been satisfied.
(9) Each lender, regardless of the number of branches it operates, shall designate a principal loan originator representative who exercises control of the licensee’s business, and a branch manager for each branch office. Each mortgage lender must keep the office informed of the persons designated as prescribed by commission rule, which includes documentation of the individual’s acceptance of such responsibility. If the designation is inaccurate, the branch shall be deemed to be operated under the full charge, control, and supervision by each officer, director, or ultimate equitable owner of a 10-percent or greater interest in the mortgage lender business, or any other person in a similar capacity during that time.
(10) All mortgage lender licenses must be renewed annually by December 31 pursuant to s. 494.00612. If a person holding an active mortgage lender license has not applied to renew the license on or before December 31, the mortgage lender license expires on December 31. If a person holding an active mortgage lender license has applied to renew the license on or before December 31, the mortgage lender license remains active until the renewal application is approved or denied. A mortgage lender is not precluded from reapplying for licensure upon expiration of a previous license.
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