Starting January 1, 2011, mortgage broker and mortgage solicitor licenses in Hawaii will expire. Anyone wanting to do mortgage loan origination in Hawaii will need to be a licensed mortgage loan originator. This new licensing program changes the requirements of who needs to be licensed in Hawaii and also imposes standards for licensure.
The SAFE Act (Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008) requires that each state pass SAFE compliant legislation and participate in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS). The NMLS system replaces each state’s existing system for license application, amending a license, surrendering or renewing a license.
This new licensing program will be regulated by the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Division of Financial Institutions (DFI) rather than the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division.
Applicants to be licensed as Hawaii mortgage loan originators will need to take twenty hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education and pass a national and state SAFE test. The national test can be taken by prospective applicants now, however the state test is expected to be available around November 5, 2010. Prospective applicants will likely be able to schedule a state test exam date starting October 5, 2010.
Even though the state portion of the SAFE Test is not available yet, ProSchools suggests individuals complete the 20 hour NMLS education now and pass the National Test. Then once the details of what will be on the state test are available (usually about 4-6 weeks prior to the test being available), ProSchools will have a Hawaii exam prep to help prepare for that test. Be sure to check out the full text of the Hawaii law and its ammendments. If you just need to get started, check out the NMLS website.