What it takes to get a mortgage loan officer license in Arizona
Arizona Mortgage Loan Originator License Requirements
Issued by Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions
Total Course Hours
20 hrs
National & Elective
16 hrs
Arizona-Specific
4 hrs
License Fee
$350
Of the 20 hours, 4 must cover Arizona law and rules and the other 16 are the national SAFE Act topics and electives.
20 hours in total, 4 of them on Arizona law, taken out of the 20 rather than added to it. Arizona designates more of its 20 to state law than most states do.
Requirements verified 2026-08-11 against the official source.
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How to become a mortgage loan officer in Arizona
Originating mortgage loans in Arizona takes 20 hours of pre-licensing education from a provider approved by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, usually written NMLS. Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions issues the license and calls it the Arizona Loan Originator License.
The number to slow down on is the 4. Arizona requires 4 of those 20 hours to cover its own mortgage law, and they come out of the 20 rather than being added on top of them. So the total matches a state that asks for nothing of its own, which is exactly what catches people out: a generic 20-hour national course looks like the whole requirement and leaves you 4 hours short of an Arizona license.
Watch the name. Arizona calls it the Arizona Loan Originator License rather than a mortgage loan originator license, which is the term NMLS and every course provider uses. It is the same license.
Continuing education is a separate annual obligation and it does not track the pre-licensing rules. Arizona wants 8 hours every year, 1 of them on Arizona law.
Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions charges $350 to apply for the Arizona Loan Originator License, plus $150 for initial license fee. NMLS charges its own processing fees on top of that and those are the same in every jurisdiction, so the license costs more than the state's own figure suggests. The cost breakdown adds up the whole stack.
5 providers in this comparison sell pre-licensing courses for Arizona, priced from $89 to $699. Read the coverage column before the price column: a package that skips the 4 Arizona hours is cheaper and does not get you licensed.
Arizona mortgage license FAQ
How many hours of coursework do I need to become a loan officer in Arizona? ▾
20 hours in total, of which 4 must cover Arizona law and rules and the remaining 16 are the national SAFE topics and electives. Note that the 4 Arizona hours come out of the 20 rather than being added to it, so a generic 20-hour SAFE course will not cover them. Every hour has to come from an NMLS-approved course provider.
What exam do I have to pass in Arizona? ▾
The SAFE Act national test carrying uniform state content. Every state and territory has adopted it, so there is no separate Arizona exam behind it. You need 75 percent to pass.
What does the license itself cost in Arizona? ▾
$350 to Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, plus the fees NMLS charges to process the application. Course tuition is separate and varies by provider. The cost breakdown page has the full stack.
Do I need a surety bond in Arizona? ▾
We have not confirmed this against Arizona's own rules yet, so check with Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions before you budget for one. Under the federal SAFE Act an originator has to be covered by a bond, but in most states an employee is covered by their employer's.
What does an Arizona mortgage license cost in total?
Course tuition is only part of it. See the full stack of state and NMLS fees.