(a) Application for a license or registration shall be in writing, under oath, and in the form prescribed by the Commissioner and shall contain the legal name, any fictitious name or trade name, and the address of the residence and place of business of the applicant; if the applicant is a partnership corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or other entity, the name and title of each key individual and person in control of the applicant; the county and municipality with street and number, if any, where the business is to be conducted; and such further information as the Commissioner may require.
(b) At the time of making an application, the applicant shall pay to the Commissioner a fee for investigating the application and a license or registration fee for a period terminating on the last day of the current calendar year. The following fees are imposed on applicants:
(1) For an application for a lender license under chapter 73 of this title, $1,000.00 as a license fee and $1,000.00 as an application and investigation fee for the initial license. For each additional lender license from the same applicant, $500.00 as a license fee and $500.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(2) For an application for a lender license under chapter 73 of this title for a lender only making commercial loans, $500.00 as a license fee and $500.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(3) For an application for a mortgage broker license under chapter 73 of this title, other than a mortgage broker that meets each of the requirements of subdivisions (4)(A) and (B) of this subsection, $500.00 as a license fee and $500.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(4) For an application for a mortgage broker license under chapter 73 of this title that meets each of the following requirements, $250.00 as a license fee and $250.00 as an application and investigation fee:
(A) the applicant is an individual sole proprietor; and
(B) no person, other than the applicant, shall be authorized to act as a mortgage broker under the applicant’s license.
(5) For an application for a mortgage loan originator license under chapter 73 of this title, $50.00 as a license fee and $50.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(6) For an application for a sales finance company license under chapter 73 of this title, $350.00 as a license fee and $350.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(7) For an application for a loan solicitation license under chapter 73 of this title, $500.00 as a license fee and $500.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(8) [Repealed.]
(9) For an application for a consumer litigation funding company registration under chapter 74 of this title, $200.00 as a registration fee and $300.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(10) For an application for a money transmission license under chapter 79 of this title, $1,000.00 as a license fee, $1,000.00 as an application and investigation fee, and $25.00 as a license fee for each authorized delegate location.
(11) For an application for a check cashing and currency exchange license under chapter 79 of this title, $500.00 as a license fee and $500.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(12) For an application for a debt adjuster license under chapter 83 of this title, $250.00 as a license fee and $500.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(13) For an application for a loan servicer license under chapter 85 of this title, $1,000.00 as a license fee and $1,000.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(14) For an application for a personal information protection company license under chapter 78 of this title, $500.00 as a license fee and $500.00 as an application and investigation fee.
(c) In connection with an application for a license, the applicant, each key individual, each person in control of the applicant, and any other person the Commissioner requires in accordance with NMLS guidelines or other multistate agreements shall furnish to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry information concerning each person’s identity, including:
(1) fingerprints for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any governmental agency or entity authorized to receive such information for a state, national, and international criminal history background check;
(2) personal history and experience in a form prescribed by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry, including the submission of authorization for the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry and the Commissioner to obtain:
(A) an independent credit report and credit score obtained from a consumer reporting agency described in 15 U.S.C. § 1681a for the purpose of evaluating the applicant’s financial responsibility at the time of application; and the Commissioner may obtain additional credit reports and credit scores to confirm the licensee’s continued compliance with the financial responsibility requirements of this part; and
(B) information related to any administrative, civil, or criminal findings by any governmental jurisdiction;
(3) if the individual has resided outside the United States at any time in the last 10 years, an investigative background report prepared by an independent search firm that meets the following minimum requirements:
(A) the search firm demonstrates that it has sufficient knowledge, resources, and employs accepted and reasonable methodologies to conduct the research of the background report;
(B) the search firm is not affiliated with nor has an interest with the individual it is researching; and
(C) the investigative background report is written in the English language and contains the following:
(i) if available in the individual’s current jurisdiction of residency, a comprehensive credit report, or any equivalent information obtained or generated by the independent search firm to accomplish such report, including a search of the court data in the countries, provinces, states, cities, towns, and contiguous areas where the individual resided and worked;
(ii) criminal records information for the past 10 years, including felonies, misdemeanors, or similar convictions for violations of law in the countries, provinces, states, cities, towns, and contiguous areas where the individual resided and worked;
(iii) employment history;
(iv) media history, including an electronic search of national and local publications, wire services, and business applications; and
(v) financial services-related regulatory history, including money transmission, securities, banking, insurance, and mortgage-related industries; and
(4) any other information required by the NMLS or the Commissioner.
(d) The applicant shall provide a list of any material litigation in which the applicant has been involved in the 10-year period preceding the submission of the application.
(e) If an applicant is a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or other entity, the applicant shall also provide:
(1) the date of the applicant’s incorporation or formation and state or country of incorporation or formation;
(2) if applicable, a certificate of good standing from the state or country in which the applicant is incorporated or formed;
(3) a brief description of the structure or organization of the applicant, including any parent or subsidiary of the applicant, and whether any parent or subsidiary is publicly traded;
(4) the legal name, any fictitious or trade name, all business and residential addresses, and the employment, in the 10-year period preceding the submission of the application, of each key individual and person in control of the applicant;
(5) a list of any criminal convictions, material litigation, or disciplinary actions in which any executive officer, manager, responsible individual, director of, or individual in control of, the applicant has been involved in the 10-year period preceding the submission of the application;
(6) a copy of the applicant’s audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year and, if available, for the two-year period preceding the submission of the application;
(7) a copy of the applicant’s unconsolidated financial statements for the current year, whether audited or not, and, if available, for the two-year period preceding the submission of the application;
(8) if the applicant is publicly traded, a copy of the most recent 10-K report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and
(9) if the applicant is a wholly owned subsidiary:
(A) a copy of audited financial statements for the parent company for the most recent fiscal year; and
(B) of a corporation publicly traded in the United States, a copy of the parent corporation’s most recent 10-K report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or if the applicant is a wholly owned subsidiary of a corporation publicly traded outside the United States, a copy of similar documentation filed with the regulator of the parent corporation’s domicile outside the United States.
(f) If the applicant is not an individual, the name and address of the applicant’s registered agent in this State.
(g) Upon the filing of an application, the Commissioner shall investigate the financial condition and responsibility, financial and business experience, character, and general fitness of the applicant and any person named in the application. The Commissioner may conduct an on-site investigation of the applicant, the cost of which the applicant shall bear pursuant to section 18 of this title.
(h) This section does not apply to a person applying for a commercial lender license under section 2202a of this title. (Added 2019, No. 20, § 2; 2019, No. 70, § 1; amended 2019, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2021, No. 25, § 2, eff. May 12, 2021; 2023, No. 110 (Adj. Sess.), § 30, eff. July 1, 2024.)