What it takes to get a mortgage loan officer license in Louisiana
Louisiana Mortgage Loan Originator License Requirements
Total Course Hours
20 hrs
National & Elective
20 hrs
Louisiana-Specific
None
License Fee
$200
All 20 hours are the national SAFE Act topics and electives. Louisiana designates none of them to state law.
Louisiana 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 Louisiana will not necessarily satisfy a neighboring one.
Louisiana requires every originator to obtain and maintain a surety bond, but an originator employed by or acting as exclusive agent for a licensed broker, lender or servicer satisfies it with evidence of the employer's bond. A deposit account held for the Office of Financial Institutions can stand in for the bond.
Requirements verified 2026-08-11 against the official source.
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Provider profiles
How to become a mortgage loan officer in Louisiana
Originating mortgage loans in Louisiana takes 20 hours of pre-licensing education from a provider approved by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, usually written NMLS. Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions issues the license and calls it the Louisiana Mortgage Loan Originator License.
Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions charges $200 to apply for the Louisiana 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 Louisiana, 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.
Louisiana mortgage license FAQ
How many hours of coursework do I need to become a loan officer in Louisiana? ▾
20 hours, none of which Louisiana designates to state law. The course has to come from an NMLS-approved provider.
What exam do I have to pass in Louisiana? ▾
The SAFE Act national test carrying uniform state content. Every state and territory has adopted it, so there is no separate Louisiana exam behind it. You need 75 percent to pass.
What does the license itself cost in Louisiana? ▾
$200 to Louisiana Office of 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 Louisiana? ▾
Yes. Louisiana requires every originator to obtain and maintain a surety bond, but an originator employed by or acting as exclusive agent for a licensed broker, lender or servicer satisfies it with evidence of the employer's bond. A deposit account held for the Office of Financial Institutions can stand in for the bond.
What does a Louisiana mortgage license cost in total?
Course tuition is only part of it. See the full stack of state and NMLS fees.