Why Your License Renewal Fees May Be So Cheap

I just renewed the licenses for one of my mortgage broker clients and its 6 loan originators. I used the company’s credit card for payment of the renewal fees and sent the payment confirmations (I print out every payment confirmation for every client) to my client with an explanation of what each confirmation was for. I also sent my client a quick memo explaining that this year’s renewal fees were much cheaper than next year’s renewal fees would be.

Why are this year’s renewal fees cheaper? My client has multiple licenses and some of its state licenses were transitioned to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) in 2008, some in 2009, and some in 2010. The states which transitioned onto the NMLS in 2008 and 2009 charged full renewal fees for the company, its branches, and its loan originators. The state that transitioned to the NMLS in 2010 did not charge a renewal fee because it essentially charged the renewal fee when the transition to the NMLS took place. For that state, my client paid only an NMLS administrative fee which is $30. For a company with one branch and 6 loan originators, it meant that my mortgage broker client was not paying hundreds of dollars in renewal fees at this time.

Next year, at this time, all of the company’s state banking departments will charge full renewal fees. This means that that this client (and all licensees) must have a stash of cash to pay for its renewals at one time. There is no more spreading out your renewal fees. And all states now renew annually (my client had a state license that renewed every two years) plus all the loan originators need to take continuing education next year.

If you are a mortgage lender or broker or a loan originator, and you transitioned to the NMLS in 2010, you spread out some of your fees over the course of this year. It may seem fairly inexpensive to now renew your licenses under the new statute. But, next year, you will be paying the full amount due in November or December. And you will need to take continuing education. Make sure you have enough in reserves to pay these necessary expenses.