What it takes to get a mortgage loan officer license in Minnesota
Minnesota Mortgage Loan Originator License Requirements
Issued by Minnesota Department of Commerce
Total Course Hours
20 hrs
National & Elective
20 hrs
Minnesota-Specific
None
License Fee
$90
All 20 hours are the national SAFE Act topics and electives. Minnesota designates none of them to state law.
Minnesota 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 Minnesota will not necessarily satisfy a neighboring one. Continuing education still carries a Minnesota-specific hour: 8 hours a year, 1 of which must cover Minnesota law even though pre-licensing does not.
Requirements verified 2026-08-11 against the official source.
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How to become a mortgage loan officer in Minnesota
Originating mortgage loans in Minnesota takes 20 hours of pre-licensing education from a provider approved by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, usually written NMLS. Minnesota Department of Commerce issues the license and calls it the Minnesota Residential Mortgage Originator License.
Watch the name. Minnesota calls it the Minnesota Residential Mortgage 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. Minnesota wants 8 hours every year, 1 of them on Minnesota law.
Minnesota Department of Commerce charges $90 to apply for the Minnesota Residential Mortgage 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 Minnesota, 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.
Minnesota mortgage license FAQ
How many hours of coursework do I need to become a loan officer in Minnesota? ▾
20 hours, none of which Minnesota designates to state law. The course has to come from an NMLS-approved provider.
What exam do I have to pass in Minnesota? ▾
The SAFE Act national test carrying uniform state content. Every state and territory has adopted it, so there is no separate Minnesota exam behind it. You need 75 percent to pass.
What does the license itself cost in Minnesota? ▾
$90 to Minnesota Department of Commerce, 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 Minnesota? ▾
We have not confirmed this against Minnesota's own rules yet, so check with Minnesota Department of Commerce 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 Minnesota mortgage license cost in total?
Course tuition is only part of it. See the full stack of state and NMLS fees.