The Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) is the legal system of record for licensing in all participating states, the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories.  In these jurisdictions, NMLS is the official and sole system for companies and individuals seeking to apply for, amend, renew and surrender licenses managed in the NMLS on behalf of the jurisdiction’s governmental agencies.  NMLS itself does not grant or deny license authority.

NMLS was created by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR).  It is owned and operated by the State Regulatory Registry LLC (SRR), a wholly owned subsidiary of CSBS.  The system has been built and maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

System Goals

NMLS streamlines the licensing process for both regulatory agencies and the mortgage industry by providing a centralized and standardized system for mortgage licensing.

System History

The NMLS initiative was begun by state mortgage regulators in 2004 in response to the increased volume and variety of residential mortgage originators and the need to address these changes with modern tools and authorities.

System Governance

NMLS is owned and operated by the State Regulatory Registry LLC (SRR), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.  SRR is governed by a six member Board of Managers comprised of state banking commissioners and a representative of AARMR.  The SRR Board of Managers is responsible for all system development, operations, and policy matters concerning NMLS.   To assist it in making decisions and handling operational matters,  the SRR Board of Managers created the Mortgage Licensing Policy Committee, comprised of 11 state mortgage regulators.  Additionally, the SRR Board of Managers created various taskforces and boards to provide input into the decision making process.  See Organizational Chart.

System Decision Making

The SRR Board of Managers and the Mortgage Licensing Policy Committee are the two primary decision-making bodies for NMLS.  The SRR Board of Managers is ultimately responsible for all decisions, but relies on the MLPC consider and make decisions concerning issues that affect state agency and industry use of NMLS, licensing policy consideration, uniform forms, etc.  See NMLS Policy Making Process.