California Mortgage License Renewal & NMLS Continuing Education Guide

Trying to figure out what NMLS-approved continuing education you need to renew your California mortgage loan originator license? You are in the right place!

California MLO Continuing Education Requirements:

DRE or DFPI? Your California MLO license was either issued by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) or the Department of Real Estate (DRE). Each has different education requirements. If you are not sure, look up your record on the NMLS website.

DRE Requirements: If you are a mortgage loan originator licensed with the DRE, you only need to take the minimum 8-hour NMLS continuing education required by the SAFE Act. No California-specific education is required. All education must be completed by December 31. You may also choose our dual-credit NMLS/DRE CE course which provides 8 hours of both NMLS and DRE real estate CE credit. If you need all 45 hours for renewing your real estate license, you can get our 45-hour Ed-Pak SAFE DRE/NMLS real estate package. It includes 8 hours for your CA mortgage license renewal and everything else for your CA real estate license renewal.

DFPI Requirements: If you are a mortgage loan originator licensed with the DFPI, you must take 7 hours of core mortgage continuing education and a 1 hour California DFPI elective course. All education must be completed by December 31. Get your DFPI mortgage license renewal package here.

General SAFE Act CE Requirements: The SAFE Act requires licensed Mortgage Loan Originators to take a minimum of 8 hours of continuing education (CE) every year. The NMLS mortgage continuing education license renewal credit hours must be in the following categories:

• 3 hours of Federal Laws and Regulations
• 2 hours of Ethics topics covering fraud, fair lending, and consumer protection issues
• 2 hours of non-traditional mortgage training
• 1 hour of electives

Each state has its own continuing education requirements. If you are licensed in other states, check with each state to learn if you need to take any state-specific electives. See the NMLS education chart for details.

Don't wait until the last minute! Be sure to get your CE done at least 10 days before the due date. This will allow time for the CE credit to be uploaded to the NMLS database and for you to complete your license renewal paperwork. If you take your CE on December 31, you will certainly NOT get your license renewed on time.

What happens if I miss the deadline? If you miss the NMLS CE deadline, then you will need to take a designated "Late CE" course for makeup credit (look for "Late CE" in the course title). These courses become available on January 1 and apply retroactive credit to years of CE that were missed. Regular CE courses will not count for retroactive credit.

I completed my CE. Now what? When a course is completed, OnlineEd will upload your credits to the NMLS database within one business day. We will send you a notification by email when this is done. Afterward, you can move forward with renewing your license through the NMLS website.

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