What it takes to get a mortgage loan officer license in Florida
Florida Mortgage Loan Originator License Requirements
Issued by Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Division of Consumer Finance
Total Course Hours
20 hrs
National & Elective
18 hrs
Florida-Specific
2 hrs
License Fee
$195
Of the 20 hours, 2 must cover Florida law and rules and the other 18 are the national SAFE Act topics and electives.
20 hours in total, 2 of them on Florida law, taken out of the 20 rather than added to it.
Requirements verified 2026-08-11 against the official source.
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How to become a mortgage loan officer in Florida
Originating mortgage loans in Florida takes 20 hours of pre-licensing education from a provider approved by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, usually written NMLS. Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Division of Consumer Finance issues the license and calls it the Florida Loan Originator License.
The number to slow down on is the 2. Florida requires 2 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 2 hours short of a Florida license.
Watch the name. Florida calls it the Florida 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. Florida wants 8 hours every year, 1 of them on Florida law.
Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Division of Consumer Finance charges $195 to apply for the Florida Loan Originator License. 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 Florida, priced from $79 to $639. Read the coverage column before the price column: a package that skips the 2 Florida hours is cheaper and does not get you licensed.
Florida mortgage license FAQ
How many hours of coursework do I need to become a loan officer in Florida? ▾
20 hours in total, of which 2 must cover Florida law and rules and the remaining 18 are the national SAFE topics and electives. Note that the 2 Florida 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 Florida? ▾
The SAFE Act national test carrying uniform state content. Every state and territory has adopted it, so there is no separate Florida exam behind it. You need 75 percent to pass.
What does the license itself cost in Florida? ▾
$195 to Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Division of Consumer Finance, 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 Florida? ▾
We have not confirmed this against Florida's own rules yet, so check with Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Division of Consumer Finance 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 a Florida mortgage license cost in total?
Course tuition is only part of it. See the full stack of state and NMLS fees.