What it takes to get a mortgage loan officer license in Tennessee
Tennessee Mortgage Loan Originator License Requirements
Total Course Hours
20 hrs
National & Elective
18 hrs
Tennessee-Specific
2 hrs
License Fee
$100
Of the 20 hours, 2 must cover Tennessee law and rules and the other 18 are the national SAFE Act topics and electives.
20 hours in total, 2 of them on Tennessee law. Those 2 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.
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How to become a mortgage loan officer in Tennessee
Originating mortgage loans in Tennessee takes 20 hours of pre-licensing education from a provider approved by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, usually written NMLS. Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions issues the license and calls it the Tennessee Mortgage Loan Originator License.
The number to slow down on is the 2. Tennessee 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 Tennessee license.
Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions charges $100 to apply for the Tennessee Mortgage Loan Originator License, plus $100 for tennessee license registration fee. 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 Tennessee, priced from $70 to $639. Read the coverage column before the price column: a package that skips the 2 Tennessee hours is cheaper and does not get you licensed.
Tennessee mortgage license FAQ
How many hours of coursework do I need to become a loan officer in Tennessee? ▾
20 hours in total, of which 2 must cover Tennessee law and rules and the remaining 18 are the national SAFE topics and electives. Note that the 2 Tennessee 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 Tennessee? ▾
The SAFE Act national test carrying uniform state content. Every state and territory has adopted it, so there is no separate Tennessee exam behind it. You need 75 percent to pass.
What does the license itself cost in Tennessee? ▾
$100 to Tennessee Department 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 Tennessee? ▾
We have not confirmed this against Tennessee's own rules yet, so check with Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions 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 Tennessee mortgage license cost in total?
Course tuition is only part of it. See the full stack of state and NMLS fees.