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State Cert Guide

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

To get a Utah mortgage loan originator license, you complete five Utah-specific prelicensing hours within twelve months before you apply. If you are not currently licensed in any state, you also complete twenty hours of national prelicensing coursework and pass the national test. If you are licensed in another state, the five Utah hours still apply.

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The rule, fact by fact

Course hours
Five Utah-specific prelicensing hours, taken within twelve months before applyingThese hours must come from a course the division approves.
Verified. adminrules.utah.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
National hours
Twenty hours of national prelicensing coursework the nationwide database approvesThis applies to an individual who is not currently licensed in any state. A person who passed this course before, held a license and let it expire takes continuing education instead.
Same source and date as above
Cost
$110 for the SAFE MLO Test, as NMLS lists it. This is not the course priceThe same NMLS table lists the question count and the test length.
NMLS Resource Center · SAFE MLO Test overview (opens website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Valid for
Renew by December 31; a license obtained on or after November 1 renews a year laterA license that is active on October 31 renews in the same calendar year.
Same source and date as above
Continuing education
Eight hours of continuing education plus a division-approved course on Utah lawThe rule splits the hours across federal law, ethics, lending standards and mortgage origination.
Same source and date as above

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check which path fits you. An individual who is not currently and validly licensed in any state follows the steps the rule lists for a Utah mortgage loan originator license. An individual currently and validly licensed in another state follows a separate list in the same rule, which also calls for five hours of Utah-specific mortgage loan originator prelicensing coursework within twelve months before applying.

  2. Step 2. Choose a Utah-specific course from a provider the division certifies. Utah law bars a person without that certification from providing Utah-specific prelicensing courses. Older material may still say fifteen hours: in approved meeting minutes, the Residential Mortgage Regulatory Commission describes the move from fifteen prelicensing hours to five as officially active.

  3. Step 3. Take the five Utah-specific hours within twelve months before you apply. If you are not currently licensed in any state, also take twenty hours of national prelicensing coursework the nationwide database approves.

  4. Step 4. Pass the qualified written national test. The division may not license an individual who has not first passed it, and an originator who has not met the federal minimum competence requirements is not considered to have passed.

Before you pay

Before you pay, check that the division certifies the provider of the Utah-specific hours.

Questions

How is a first renewal different?

If you complete the national prelicensing coursework in the calendar year of your first renewal, you are exempt from the nationwide database continuing education and the division-approved course on Utah law for that renewal. Before your first renewal, you still complete a division-approved continuing education course for new loan originators.

I got licensed in November. Do I owe continuing education that year?

Yes, unless you completed the national prelicensing coursework during that calendar year. If you were licensed on or after November 1, you are not required to renew in your first year, but you still complete the continuing education required for renewal before December 31 of your first year of licensure.

How late can I reinstate an expired license?

A license that expires on December 31 can be reinstated until February 28 of the following year. To reinstate, you complete the Utah law course and eight hours of continuing education. Hours completed after the license expires must be approved as late continuing education. If the course for new loan originators was required for your renewal before the license expired, you also complete it before reinstating.

What if I miss the February 28 deadline?

You must reapply for licensure. If you reapply by December 31 of the calendar year after the license expires, you complete the Utah law course and the continuing education required to reinstate. If you reapply later, you complete eight hours approved as late continuing education and the Utah law course, and you take and pass the five-hour Utah-specific course within twelve months before reapplying.

How long is the test, and what is the passing score?

NMLS lists the national test as 120 questions, 115 of them scored, with 190 minutes of test time. NMLS says MLOs seeking state licensure need a score of 75% or better to pass. We haven't confirmed a retake limit from Utah's rule or statute, so check NMLS before you book.

What to do next

Start with the Utah Residential Mortgage Practices and Licensing Rules. Then pick a course from a certified provider.

adminrules.utah.gov

Sources we read