What To Do If Your Florida License Expires on August 31, 2010 and You're Not Sure Whether You Want to Renew It?

I’m located in Ridgewood, New Jersey and a lot of my clients are licensed in Florida, mostly as correspondent lenders. It’s a natural fit as many New Yorkers and New Jerseyans moved to Florida either for retirement or to live a lifestyle in the sun. Florida licenses have historically expired on August 31st. This year starts a big change in Florida licensing, including the transition to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS). Some of my clients indicated that they may not transition their license to the NMLS and wondered what to do if their license (or branch license) expired August 31, 2010 and they had loans in the pipeline.

If you have a Florida license that expires on August 31, 2010, you should be aware that it has automatically been extended through December 31, 2010. During this period, all licensees will transition their licenses to the NMLS and the Department of Financial Regulation will not know until December 31, 2010 whether you have complied with all of the requirements to transition your license and renew your license (whether you have done your testing, criminal background check, etc). This automatic extension gives you time to decide whether you still have a reason to be licensed in Florida.

If you do not believe that it makes sense for you to maintain your Florida license, then close all of your loans that are in the pipeline now and stop originating new ones. If you decide before December that you would like to keep your Florida license, start familiarizing yourself with Florida’s licensing requirements and the NMLS. The transition period for Florida starts October 1, 2010 and do your transition as early as possible to ensure that your license will extend into 2011.

Contact Robin Gronsky at Robin@Mortgagelicensesolutions.com if you need help with the NMLS or with your licensing applications (company or loan originator). I’ll keep what you tell me confidential but I cannot give you any specific legal advice until you become a client of the firm. This is done by written agreement only.