It’s that time of year! The NMLS annual renewal period begins on November 1, and ends on December 31. It’s important to handle your renewal requirements as early as possible, given that failure to renew in a timely manner may result in license termination.
For starters, you’ll want to ensure that your NMLS record is up-to-date and that all licenses are in a status eligible for renewal. But here are a few more key things that you can do to prepare:
Know the deadlines
Not every NMLS license has a December 31 renewal submission deadline. For example, all West Virginia licenses have a November 1 deadline, which is the same day that the renewal period begins. And a number of states have deadlines that are earlier in December. Deadlines can be found on the NMLS Resource Center’s Annual Renewal page.
Renewal submission deadlines aren’t the only dates requiring your attention. Some agencies require that renewal requests be submitted by a specific date to guarantee approval of the renewal before the end of the year. If a company or individual fails to meet such a deadline, then they may find themselves in a position of not being authorized to conduct business beginning on January 1, and until such time that the renewal request is approved.
It’s more than clicking “renew”
While a number of NMLS license renewals can be completed by selecting the license and paying a renewal fee, many have other requirements. For some companies, this may include submitting items like loan or financial data, evidence of worker’s compensation insurance, or updated schedules of costs and fees. The general expectation is that these items will be submitted within five days of the submission of the renewal request.
These requirements are spelled out on the renewal checklists available on the NMLS Resource Center’s Annual Renewal page. But be sure to review the checklists regularly as some regulators have still not updated them from last year and some have been known to update them as late as December.
Criminal background check authorization and fingerprinting may be required
Pay special attention to whether a criminal background check authorization is required as a condition for renewal. This requirement most often applies to individuals licensed as mortgage loan originators, but some agencies also apply it to natural person owners, officers, directors, qualifying individuals, and branch managers. Where such authorization is required, the individual’s NMLS Individual Form will need to be recalled and then re-attested to after the authorization is granted.
Relatedly, if an individual’s fingerprints are more than three years old, he or she will need to be re-fingerprinted by the NMLS’s fingerprinting vendor, Fieldprint. If required, scheduling of such fingerprinting should be made a priority (as calendars fill up quickly during the holiday season).
APPROVED can help
Need assistance with license renewals? Check in with APPROVED. Our team of licensing veterans is available and happy to assist with all of your renewal-related needs.