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What do I need for a New Hampshire mortgage loan originator license?

In New Hampshire, unless an exemption applies, a person must get and keep a license before engaging in the business of a mortgage originator. The pre-licensing requirement is at least twenty hours of approved education. The person must also pass a qualified written test, scoring at least seventy-five percent correct answers.

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The rule, fact by fact

Course hours
At least twenty hours of approved educationThe law names the topics that make up these hours, listed in the questions below.
Verified. gc.nh.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Cost
$110 for the SAFE MLO Test, as NMLS lists it. This is not the course priceWe haven't confirmed a course price from a source.
NMLS Resource Center · SAFE MLO Test overview (opens external website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Valid for
Licenses expire December 31; late-year first licenses run through the next December 31A first license issued from November 1 through December 31 gets the longer term.
Verified. gc.nh.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Online accepted
Yes. A classroom, online, or any other means the registry approvesThe statute says this about pre-licensing education in general.
Same source and date as above
Passing score
A passing score is not less than seventy-five percent correct answersThe statute sets this for a qualified written test.
Same source and date as above

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check whether you need the license. Unless an exemption applies, a person must get and keep a license under the New Hampshire mortgage chapter before engaging in the business of a mortgage originator. An originator's license is only in effect while the originator is employed or retained by a licensed mortgage banker, broker or servicer, or by an exempt person that has registered or made a filing as an exempt entity on the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.

  2. Step 2. Pick a course the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry, called the registry on this page, approves. The statute has the registry review and approve pre-licensing courses, and that review includes the course provider. Education the registry approved for any state counts toward the New Hampshire requirement.

  3. Step 3. Take at least twenty hours. The statute lets pre-licensing education be offered in a classroom, online, or by any other means the registry approves.

  4. Step 4. Pass a qualified written test. The registry develops it, and a test provider the registry approves gives it. After failing three consecutive tests, an individual waits at least six months before taking it again.

Before you pay

Before you pay, check that the registry has approved both the course and its provider.

Questions

What must the twenty hours include?

At least three hours of federal law and regulations, three of ethics, and two on lending standards for the nontraditional mortgage product marketplace. A person who did not previously pass a written test specific to New Hampshire mortgage laws also needs two hours of New Hampshire mortgage law.

What if I am licensed in another state?

The commissioner may conditionally approve an application from an originator currently licensed in another state who has met the requirements the statute lists up to the lending standards training. That license expires after sixty days unless the applicant proves the two hours of New Hampshire mortgage law and a passed written test.

What does the test cover?

A test counts as a qualified written test only if it measures knowledge in subject areas including ethics, and federal and state law on mortgage origination. NMLS lists 120 questions, with 115 scored. The five unscored pre-test questions have no effect on your pass or fail result.

What if my license lapsed, and what does renewal take?

A licensed originator who fails to keep a valid license for five years or longer must retake the test. Time spent as a registered mortgage loan originator does not count toward those five years. Renewing a license takes at least eight hours of approved education.

What to do next

Start with the New Hampshire statute on licensing requirements. Then pick a course the registry approves.

gc.nh.gov

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