What it takes to get a mortgage loan officer license in Illinois
Illinois Mortgage Loan Originator License Requirements
Issued by Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking
Total Course Hours
20 hrs
National & Elective
20 hrs
Illinois-Specific
None
License Fee
$200
All 20 hours are the national SAFE Act topics and electives. Illinois designates none of them to state law.
Illinois designates none of the 20 hours to state law, so the federal SAFE course is the whole pre-licensing requirement here. That is not true in most states, and a course bought for Illinois will not necessarily satisfy a neighboring one.
Illinois requires every originator to be covered by a surety bond, but where the originator is an employee or exclusive agent of a licensee, that licensee's bond is used in place of an individual one. The amount reflects the dollar volume of loans originated.
Requirements verified 2026-08-11 against the official source.
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Provider profiles
How to become a mortgage loan officer in Illinois
Originating mortgage loans in Illinois takes 20 hours of pre-licensing education from a provider approved by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, usually written NMLS. Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking issues the license and calls it the Illinois Mortgage Loan Originator License.
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking charges $200 to apply for the Illinois Mortgage 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.
4 providers in this comparison sell pre-licensing courses for Illinois, priced from $249 to $599. The lowest price on a provider's site is sometimes an add-on rather than a full pre-licensing course, so the table marks which packages cover the national hours.
Illinois mortgage license FAQ
How many hours of coursework do I need to become a loan officer in Illinois? ▾
20 hours, none of which Illinois designates to state law. The course has to come from an NMLS-approved provider.
What exam do I have to pass in Illinois? ▾
The SAFE Act national test carrying uniform state content. Every state and territory has adopted it, so there is no separate Illinois exam behind it. You need 75 percent to pass.
What does the license itself cost in Illinois? ▾
$200 to Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, 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 Illinois? ▾
Yes. Illinois requires every originator to be covered by a surety bond, but where the originator is an employee or exclusive agent of a licensee, that licensee's bond is used in place of an individual one. The amount reflects the dollar volume of loans originated.
What does an Illinois mortgage license cost in total?
Course tuition is only part of it. See the full stack of state and NMLS fees.