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What do I need for a Hawaii mortgage loan originator license?

If you work as a mortgage loan originator on a dwelling in Hawaii and you are not exempt, you need a license. An applicant completes at least twenty hours of pre-licensing education and passes a written test with a score of seventy-five percent or better. After the course, you have up to twelve months to apply, or you repeat it.

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The rule, fact by fact

Course hours
At least twenty hours of pre-licensing educationThe statute includes three hours of state law and rules among them.
Verified. files.hawaii.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Cost
$110 for the NMLS National Test. This is not the course priceNMLS lists the fee in its test specifications table.
NMLS Resource Center · SAFE MLO Test overview (opens website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Online accepted
Yes. A classroom, online, or any other means NMLS approvesThe sentence covers pre-licensing education only.
Same source and date as above
Passing score
A passing score is seventy-five per cent of the correct answers or betterThe statute sets this for a qualified written test.
Verified. files.hawaii.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Valid for
Up to twelve months after the education to apply, or the education is repeatedThe clock starts when you complete the pre-licensing education.
Same source and date as above

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check whether you need the license. Unless a person is specifically exempt, they may not act as a mortgage loan originator on a dwelling in Hawaii without first getting a license and keeping it annually. Among those exempt are an exempt registered mortgage loan originator acting for an insured depository institution or an institution regulated by the Farm Credit Administration. A licensed attorney who negotiates a client's loan as an ancillary matter is exempt too, unless the attorney is compensated by a lender, a mortgage loan originator company, or other mortgage loan originator, or by an agent of one.

  2. Step 2. Pick a course NMLS approves. Use the NMLS course provider list. The statute says NMLS reviews and approves the course provider along with the course.

  3. Step 3. Take at least twenty hours. The statute says they include three hours of federal law and regulations, three of state law and rules, three of ethics and two on lending standards for the nontraditional mortgage product marketplace. Courses may be offered in a classroom, online, or by other means NMLS approves. After you finish, you have up to twelve months to apply, or you repeat the hours.

  4. Step 4. Pass the written test. The statute says a score of seventy-five per cent of the correct answers or better is a pass.

Before you pay

Before you pay, check that NMLS has approved both the course and its provider, and that you can apply within twelve months of finishing it.

Questions

Do courses I took for another state count?

Pre-licensing education requirements NMLS approved for any state are accepted as credit toward completing Hawaii's pre-licensing education requirements.

How many times can I retake the test?

You may take a test three times, with each retest at least thirty days after the one before. After failing three consecutive tests, you wait at least six months before taking the test again.

What if my license lapses?

A licensed originator who fails to maintain a valid license for a period of five years or longer retakes the test. Time as an exempt registered mortgage loan originator does not count toward the five years.

Where can I take the test in Hawaii?

The Hawaii DFI says the tests are given by third-party providers, Prometric and Pearson VUE, and that at present the testing centers are located only on Oahu.

What does the written test cover?

The statute says the test must adequately measure knowledge in appropriate subject areas, among them ethics, federal law and regulations on mortgage origination, and state law and rules on mortgage origination.

What to do next

Start with the Hawaii statute on pre-licensing education. Then pick a course NMLS approves.

files.hawaii.gov

Sources we read