What it takes to get a mortgage loan officer license in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Mortgage Loan Originator License Requirements
Total Course Hours
20 hrs
National & Elective
17 hrs
Pennsylvania-Specific
3 hrs
License Fee
$200
Of the 20 hours, 3 must cover Pennsylvania law and rules and the other 17 are the national SAFE Act topics and electives.
20 hours in total, 3 of them on Pennsylvania law. Those 3 come out of the 20 rather than being added to it, so the total is the same as a state with no requirement at all, but a generic national course still will not satisfy it.
Requirements verified 2026-08-11 against the official source.
Some links below are paid placements: we may earn a commission if you enroll through one. It does not change what you pay, which providers are listed, or the prices recorded here. How this works.
Showing 4 of 4 courses
Provider profiles
How to become a mortgage loan officer in Pennsylvania
Originating mortgage loans in Pennsylvania takes 20 hours of pre-licensing education from a provider approved by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, usually written NMLS. Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities issues the license and calls it the Pennsylvania Mortgage Loan Originator License.
The number to slow down on is the 3. Pennsylvania requires 3 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 3 hours short of a Pennsylvania license.
Continuing education is a separate annual obligation and it does not track the pre-licensing rules. Pennsylvania wants 8 hours every year, 1 of them on Pennsylvania law.
Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities charges $200 to apply for the Pennsylvania Mortgage Loan Originator License, plus $22 for pennsylvania state police criminal history check. 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 Pennsylvania, priced from $89 to $649. Read the coverage column before the price column: a package that skips the 3 Pennsylvania hours is cheaper and does not get you licensed.
Pennsylvania mortgage license FAQ
How many hours of coursework do I need to become a loan officer in Pennsylvania? ▾
20 hours in total, of which 3 must cover Pennsylvania law and rules and the remaining 17 are the national SAFE topics and electives. Note that the 3 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania? ▾
The SAFE Act national test carrying uniform state content. Every state and territory has adopted it, so there is no separate Pennsylvania exam behind it. You need 75 percent to pass.
What does the license itself cost in Pennsylvania? ▾
$200 to Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, 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 Pennsylvania? ▾
We have not confirmed this against Pennsylvania's own rules yet, so check with Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities 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 Pennsylvania mortgage license cost in total?
Course tuition is only part of it. See the full stack of state and NMLS fees.