How Do You Get a Mortgage License in Colorado?

Colorado licensing has two sides: the NMLS steps every state uses and a set of Colorado steps run by the Division of Real Estate. Most delays come from treating them as one line instead of two. We'd start both sides in the first week of your course, which is also how the Division orders things, with the Colorado background check listed as step one.

What's on the NMLS Side?

• Your NMLS account and ID: the record that ties your education, test, and license together.
• The NMLS national background check: separate from Colorado's fingerprint check.
• 20 hours of approved education: including Colorado's 2 hours.
• The SAFE MLO Test: the national test with uniform state content, passed at 75 percent or higher.

What's on the Colorado Side?

• Colorado fingerprints: a Colorado fingerprint based criminal history check, listed first in the Division's process.
• E&O insurance and a surety bond: both must be in place before you apply.
• The Division's application: filed in the Division's own online licensing system once your NMLS registration processes, which can take 24 to 48 hours.
• Renewal: Colorado MLO licenses run on an annual calendar cycle and expire on December 31.

The Division's seven licensing stepsDivision Programs Mortgage Loan Originator Licensing Mortgage Loan Originator Steps For Initial Dre.colorado.gov lay out the full order, and its MLO programMortgage Loan Originator Program Dre.colorado.gov page links to each form.

How Do You Run Both Sides at Once?

Start the slow pieces early and let them finish while you study. In your first week, open your NMLS account and schedule your Colorado fingerprints. While you're in the course, start the NMLS background check and get quotes for E&O coverage and a surety bond. By the time your SAFE MLO Test score posts, the Colorado side should be waiting for you, and the application is the only step left.

The cost is doing paperwork before you know you'll pass, which can feel premature. We'd still do it, because each background check and policy runs on its own clock, and stacking them after the test can add weeks. If you're still deciding whether this career fits, hold off and start with our guide to MLO career fitPre License Should I Become A Mortgage Loan Originator Resources.

What Does Colorado's Education Requirement Include?

The Division's qualifying education pageDivision Programs Mortgage Loan Originator Education Mortgage Loan Originator Qualifying Education Dre.colorado.gov splits the 20 hours like this: 3 hours of federal law, 3 of ethics, 2 of nontraditional mortgage lending, 2 of Colorado specific defined electives, and 10 of general electives. The Colorado hours can be built into a 20 hour package or taken as a standalone course.

Colorado also oversees the schools. Any provider that enrolls Colorado residents in MLO prelicensing must be approved by the Colorado Private Occupational School Board as well as NMLS, so Colorado courses carry two approvals. Other states set the bar differently. Washington requires at least 22 hours including 4 on Washington law, as our guide to Washington's requirementsPre License How To Become A Mortgage Loan Officer In Washington Resources explains, and Texas adds 3 hours of state law, covered in our Texas requirementsPre License What Are The Texas Mortgage Education Requirements Resources guide.