(a) Individuals applying for a mortgage loan originator license shall complete and file a form as prescribed by the commissioner and shall pay a nonrefundable licensing fee of one hundred dollars ($100). The fee may be decreased or increased by rule of the commissioner, and constitutes the licensing fee for the first year of licensing or part of the first year. Each such application form shall be in writing and under oath and shall contain any information the commissioner deems necessary, including the following:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 45-13-302

  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of financial institutions or the commissioner's designated representative. See Tennessee Code 45-13-105
  • Community: means a city, town, or incorporated village in this state, or where not within any of the foregoing, a trade area in this state. See Tennessee Code 45-1-103
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • 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
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. Source: OCC
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Individual: means a natural person. See Tennessee Code 45-13-105
  • 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.
  • License: means a license issued to a mortgage lender, mortgage loan broker, mortgage loan servicer or mortgage loan originator under this chapter, as applicable. See Tennessee Code 45-13-105
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. Source: OCC
  • Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry: means a 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 licensed mortgage loan originators. See Tennessee Code 45-13-105
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Origination services: means the activities of a mortgage loan originator performed with regard to a residential mortgage loan. See Tennessee Code 45-13-105
  • Person: means an individual, sole proprietorship, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust, association or any other legal entity, however organized. See Tennessee Code 45-13-105
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) The individual‘s name, date of birth, social security number and address;
(2) The name of any person for whom the individual intends to provide origination services and the address of the office at which the individual will be stationed;
(3) Information pertaining to the individual’s personal history and experience; and
(4) The individual’s authorization for the commissioner or the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, or both, to obtain:

(A) An independent credit report obtained from a consumer reporting agency, as defined in § 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(p)); and
(B) Information related to any administrative, civil or criminal findings by any governmental jurisdiction.
(b) In connection with an application for a mortgage loan originator license, the applicant shall furnish fingerprints to the commissioner or the commissioner’s duly authorized agent, such as the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, for submission to the federal bureau of investigation or any other governmental agency or entity, or both, authorized to receive the information, such as the Tennessee bureau of investigation, for a state, and/or national and/or international criminal history background check, as well as authorization for a criminal history background check. The results of the criminal history background check shall be forwarded to the commissioner. All costs incurred in conducting the criminal history records check shall be paid by the applicant, in addition to any other application and investigative fees.
(c) No mortgage loan originator license shall be issued unless the commissioner makes at a minimum the following findings:

(1) The applicant has never had a mortgage loan originator license revoked in any governmental jurisdiction; provided, that a subsequent formal vacation of the revocation shall not be deemed a revocation;
(2)

(A) The applicant has not been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony in any domestic, foreign or military court:

(i) During the seven-year period preceding the date of application for a mortgage loan originator license; or
(ii) At any time preceding the date of application, if the felony involved an act of fraud, dishonesty or a breach of trust or money laundering;
(B) Provided, that any pardon of a conviction shall not be a conviction for purposes of subdivisions (c)(2)(A)(i) and (ii);
(3) The applicant has demonstrated the financial responsibility, character and general fitness to command the confidence of the community and to warrant a determination that the applicant will operate honestly, fairly and efficiently within the purposes of this chapter. An individual has shown that the individual is not financially responsible when the individual has shown a disregard in the management of the individual’s own financial condition;
(4) The applicant has completed the prelicensing education requirements set forth in § 45-13-304; and
(5) The applicant has passed a written test that meets the test requirement described in § 45-13-305.
(d) Upon submission of a properly completed application form, including submission of fingerprints and payment of all applicable fees, the commissioner shall investigate the application to determine whether the applicant qualifies for a license. If the commissioner finds the applicant so qualified, the commissioner shall issue the applicant a mortgage loan originator license that shall expire on December 31 in the year it was issued. If the commissioner does not find the applicant so qualified, the commissioner shall notify the applicant in writing, stating the basis for denial. If the commissioner denies an application or fails to act on a complete application within ninety (90) days, the applicant may make a written demand to the commissioner for a hearing on the question of whether the license should be granted. Any hearing requested under this subsection (d) shall be conducted under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5; provided, that the individual has requested the hearing in writing within thirty (30) days following the date of the commissioner’s denial. At the hearing, the burden of proving that the individual is entitled to a mortgage loan originator license shall be on the individual.
(e) The commissioner shall keep a current roster showing the names of all licensed mortgage loan originators.
(f) The commissioner shall have the authority to require a criminal history background check under subsection (b) at any time as a condition of continued licensure of a mortgage loan originator. Upon request of the commissioner, a mortgage loan originator shall furnish written consent to a criminal history record check and a set of the mortgage loan originator’s fingerprints in a form acceptable to the commissioner. Failure to provide the consent and fingerprints within thirty (30) days of the commissioner’s request constitutes grounds for the commissioner to suspend or revoke the mortgage loan originator’s license or to deny renewal of the license.
(g) Any costs associated with a credit report pulled under this section shall be paid by the applicant.