§ 2139 — Title insurance agents; licensing

§ 2139. Title insurance agents; licensing. (a) The superintendent may\nissue a license to any person, firm, association or corporation that has\ncomplied with the requirements of this chapter, authorizing the licensee\nto act as a title insurance agent of any authorized title insurance\ncorporation.\n (b) Any such license issued to a firm or association shall authorize\nonly the members thereof, named in such license as sub-licensees, to act\nindividually as title insurance agents thereunder, and any such license\nissued to a corporation shall authorize only the officers and directors\nthereof, named in such license as sub-licensees, to act individually as\ntitle insurance agents thereunder. Every sub-licensee acting as title\ninsurance agent pursuant to such a license shall be authorized so to act\nonly in the name of the licensee. At least one designated sub-licensee\nmust have a financial or other beneficial interest in the licensee.\n (c) Every individual applicant for a license under this section and\nevery proposed licensee shall be eighteen years of age or older at the\ntime of the issuance of such license.\n (d) Before any original title insurance agent's license is issued,\nthere shall be on file in the office of the superintendent an\napplication by the prospective licensee in such form or forms and\nsupplements thereto, along with a fee in the amount of forty dollars for\neach year or fraction of a year in which the license shall be valid, and\ncontaining information the superintendent prescribes.\n (e) The superintendent shall, in order to determine the competency of\nevery individual applicant and of every proposed sub-licensee for the\ntitle insurance agent license, require such individual to submit to a\npersonal written examination and to pass the same to the satisfaction of\nthe superintendent. The examination shall be held at such times and\nplaces as the superintendent shall from time to time determine. Every\nindividual applying to take any written examination shall, at the time\nof applying therefor, pay to the superintendent or, at the discretion of\nthe superintendent, directly to any organization that is under contract\nto provide examination services, an examination fee of an amount that is\nthe actual documented administrative cost of conducting said qualifying\nexamination as certified by the superintendent from time to time. An\nexamination fee represents an administrative expense and shall not be\nrefundable. The superintendent may accept, in lieu of any such\nexamination, the result of any previous written examination, given by\nthe superintendent, which in the superintendent's judgment, is\nequivalent to the examination for which it is substituted.\n (f) Every individual seeking to qualify to obtain a license under\nsubsection (b) of this section shall be required to pass the type or\ntypes of examination prescribed by the superintendent. An individual\nshall not be deemed qualified to take the examination unless the\nindividual has successfully completed a course or courses, approved as\nto method and content by the superintendent, covering the title\ninsurance business and requiring not less than twenty hours of classroom\nwork or the equivalent in correspondence work or similar instruction.\nSuch course or courses shall have been given by an institution meeting\nthe standards prescribed by subparagraph (A) of paragraph one of\nsubsection (c) of section two thousand one hundred four of this article.\n (g) No such written examination or pre-licensing education shall be\nrequired of any:\n (1) applicant who files an application under this section within one\nyear after the effective date of this subsection and who demonstrates to\nthe satisfaction of the superintendent that such applicant or its\nprospective sub-licensee has, without interruption, regularly and\ncontinuously performed the functions of a title insurance agent for a\nperiod of at least five years immediately preceding the filing of such\napplication and is competent and trustworthy to act as a title insurance\nagent;\n (2) applicant who has passed the written examination given by the\nsuperintendent for a title insurance agent's license and was licensed as\nsuch, or of an applicant who was licensed as a title insurance agent but\ndid not pass such an examination, provided the applicant applies within\ntwo years following the date of termination of the applicant's license;\nor\n (3) applicant seeking to obtain a license as a title insurance agent,\nwhen such applicant is a licensed attorney-at-law in this state provided\nthat such attorney is in good standing with the New York state office of\ncourt administration.\n (h) The superintendent may refuse to issue to an applicant a title\ninsurance agent's license if, in the superintendent's judgment, the\nproposed licensee or any sub-licensee:\n (1) is not trustworthy and competent to act as such agent;\n (2) has given cause for the revocation or suspension of such a\nlicense; or\n (3) has failed to comply with any prerequisite for the issuance of\nsuch license.\n (i) (1) Every license issued to a business entity pursuant to\nsubsection (a) of this section shall expire on June thirtieth of\nodd-numbered years.\n (2) Every license issued to an individual born in an odd-numbered year\nshall expire on the individual's birthday in each odd-numbered year.\nLicenses issued to individuals born in even-numbered years shall expire\non the individual's birthday in each even-numbered year.\n (3) Every license may be renewed for the ensuing period of twenty-four\nmonths upon the filing of an application in conformity with this\nsubsection.\n (4) The license may be issued for all of such two year terms, or upon\napplication made during any such term, for the balance thereof.\n (5) Any license shall be considered in good standing within the\nlicense term unless:\n (A) revoked or suspended by the superintendent pursuant to this\narticle; or\n (B) if at the expiration date of the license term, the licensee fails\nto file a renewal application, provided the license was in good standing\nduring the term.\n (6) Before the renewal of any title insurance agent's license shall be\nissued, the licensee shall have:\n (A) filed a completed renewal application in such form or forms, and\nsupplements thereto, and containing such information as the\nsuperintendent may prescribe; and\n (B) paid such fees as are prescribed in this section.\n (7) If an application for a renewal license shall have been filed with\nthe superintendent before the expiration of such license, then the\nlicense sought to be renewed shall continue in full force and effect\neither until the issuance by the superintendent of the renewal license\napplied for or until five days after the superintendent shall have\nrefused to issue such renewal license and shall have given notice of\nsuch refusal to the applicant and to each proposed sub-licensee. Before\nrefusing to renew any such license, except on the ground of failure to\npass a written examination, the superintendent shall notify the\napplicant of the superintendent's intention to do so and shall give the\napplicant a hearing.\n (8) The superintendent may, in issuing a renewal license, dispense\nwith the requirements of a verified application by any individual\nlicensee or sub-licensee who, by reason of being engaged in any military\nservice for the United States, is unable to make personal application\nfor such renewal license, upon the filing of an application on behalf of\nsuch individual, in such form as the superintendent shall prescribe, by\nsome person or persons who in his or her judgment have knowledge of the\nfacts and who make affidavit showing such military service and the\ninability of such title insurance agent to make personal application.\n (9) An individual licensee or sub-licensee who is unable to comply\nwith license renewal procedures due to other extenuating circumstances,\nsuch as a long-term medical disability, may request a waiver of such\nprocedures, in such form as the superintendent shall prescribe. The\nlicensee or sub-licensee may also request a waiver of any examination\nrequirement or any other fine or sanction imposed for failure to comply\nwith renewal procedures.\n (10) An application for the renewal of a license shall be filed with\nthe superintendent not less than sixty days prior to the date the\nlicense expires or the applicant shall be subject to a further fee of\nten dollars for late filing.\n (11) No license fee shall be required of any person who served as a\nmember of the armed forces of the United States at any time, and who (A)\nshall have been discharged therefrom under conditions other than\ndishonorable, or (B) has a qualifying condition, as defined in section\none of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other\nthan bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or (C) is a\ndischarged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans'\nservices law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or\ndishonorable from such service, in a current licensing period for the\nduration of such period.\n (12) Except where a corporation, association or firm licensed as a\ntitle insurance agent is applying to add a sub-licensee or the date of\nthe expiration of the license is changed, there shall be no fee required\nfor the issuance of an amended license.\n (13) The superintendent may issue a replacement license for a\ncurrently in-force license that has been lost or destroyed. Before such\nreplacement license shall be issued, there shall be on file in the\noffice of the superintendent a written application for such replacement\nlicense, affirming under penalty of perjury that the original license\nhas been lost or destroyed, together with a fee of fifteen dollars.\n (j) The superintendent may refuse to issue a license or renewal\nlicense, as the case may be, to any applicant if the superintendent\nfinds that the applicant has been or will be:\n (1) receiving any benefit or advantage in violation of section six\nthousand four hundred nine of this chapter; or\n (2) acting in a manner inconsistent with:\n (A) regulations by the superintendent which are promulgated in\naccordance with the relevant provisions of the federal real estate\nsettlement procedures act of 1974, as amended; or\n (B) section twenty-one hundred thirteen of this article.\n (k) For the purposes of this chapter, any person or entity performing\nany activity related to the procurement or issuance of a title insurance\npolicy, as the result of an authorization or request from a licensed\ntitle agent or title insurance corporation, shall be presumed to be\nacting under the authority of such licensed agent or title insurance\ncorporation, for the purpose of performing such activity so authorized\nor requested.\n