§ 2103 — Approval of application and issuance of license

(a) Upon the filing of an application, payment of the required fees, and satisfaction of any applicable bond and liquid asset requirements, the Commissioner shall issue a license to the applicant if the Commissioner finds:
(1)(A) The financial condition and responsibility, financial and business experience, competence, character, and general fitness of the applicant command the confidence of the community and warrant belief that the business will be operated honestly, fairly, and efficiently pursuant to the applicable chapter of this title. If the applicant is a corporation, partnership, or association, such findings are required with respect to each key individual and each person in control of the applicant.
(B) For purposes of assessing whether a person is financially responsible, the Commissioner may consider how the person has managed his or her own financial condition, which may include factors such as whether the person has:
(i) current outstanding judgments, except judgments solely as a result of medical expenses;
(ii) current outstanding tax liens or other government liens and filings;
(iii) foreclosures within the past three years; or
(iv) a pattern of seriously delinquent accounts within the past three years.
(2) Allowing the applicant to engage in business will promote the convenience and advantage of the community in which the applicant will conduct its business.
(3) The applicant, each key individual, and each person in control of the applicant has never had a financial services license or similar license revoked in any governmental jurisdiction, except that a subsequent formal vacation of such revocation shall not be deemed a revocation.
(4) The applicant, each key individual, and each person in control of the applicant has not been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony in a domestic, foreign, or military court:
(A)(i) during the seven-year period preceding the date of the application for licensing and registration; or
(ii) at any time preceding such date of application, if such felony involved an act of fraud or dishonesty, a breach of trust, or money laundering; and
(B) provided that any pardon or expungement of a conviction shall not be a conviction for purposes of this subsection.
(5) The applicant has satisfied the applicable surety bond and liquid asset requirement as follows:
(A) for an application for a lender license, mortgage broker license, mortgage loan originator license, or loan solicitation license, the applicable bond and liquid asset requirements of sections 2203 and 2203a of this title;
(B) for an application for a litigation funding company registration, the financial stability requirement of section 2252 of this title;
(C) for an application for a money transmitter license, the net worth and security requirements of sections 2540 and 2541 of this title;
(D) for an application for a debt adjuster license, the bond requirement of section 2755 of this title; and
(E) for an application for a loan servicer license, the bond requirement of sections 2903 and 2907 of this title.
(6) For an application for a mortgage loan originator license, the applicant has satisfied the prelicense education requirement of section 2204a of this title and the prelicensing testing requirement of section 2204b of this title.
(b)(1) If the Commissioner finds the applicant does not meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, the Commissioner shall not issue a license.
(2) Not later than 60 days after an applicant files a complete application, the Commissioner shall notify the applicant of the denial, stating the reason or reasons therefor.
(3) If the applicant does not file a timely request for reconsideration pursuant to section 2104 of this title, the Commissioner shall:
(A) return to the applicant the bond, if any, and any amounts paid for the applicable license fee; and
(B) retain the investigation fee to cover the costs of investigating the application.
(c)(1) If the Commissioner finds that an applicant meets the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, he or she shall issue the license not later than 60 days after an applicant submits a complete application.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this title, a license is valid until the licensee surrenders the license or the Commissioner revokes, suspends, terminates, or refuses to renew the license.
(d) For good cause shown and consistent with the purposes of this section, the Commissioner may waive or modify the requirements of subdivision (a)(3) of this section; provided, however, that the Commissioner may not waive the requirement of subdivision (a)(3) of this section for applicants for a mortgage loan originator license.
(e) If an application remains incomplete for 120 days, the Commissioner may deem the application abandoned or withdrawn.
(f) If an applicant avails itself or is otherwise subject to a multistate licensing process:
(1) the Commissioner is authorized to accept the investigation results of a lead investigative state for the purposes of reaching the findings in subsections (a)–(d) of this section if the lead investigative state has sufficient staffing, expertise, and minimum standards; or
(2) if Vermont is a lead investigative state, the Commissioner is authorized to investigate the applicant pursuant to subsections (a)–(e) of this section.
(g) 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; amended 2019, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 2023, No. 32, § 3, eff. July 1, 2023; 2023, No. 110 (Adj. Sess.), § 31, eff. July 1, 2024.)