Texas Continuing Education Requirements
Continuing Education Hours
Mortgage Broker
15 hours, including 8 hours of CORE courses and 7 hours in either Core courses, Ethics courses or Continuing Education courses, are required every 2 years.
Loan Officer
15 hours, including 8 hours of CORE courses and 7 hours in either Core courses, Ethics courses or Continuing Education courses, are required every 2 years.
License Term
A Mortgage Broker license and a Loan Officer license are valid for two years from date the license was issued.
CE Subject Requirements
Core Courses- courses that relate to residential mortgage lending and focus on topics covered by the Texas pre-licensing exam, such as (but not limited to):
- Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B
- Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and Regulation X
- Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Regulation B
- Mortgage Broker License Act (MBLA) and Regulation
- General loan terms and definitions, etc.
Ethics or Continuing Education Courses- courses that deal with the customs and usage of the mortgage lending industry and topics that are relevant to mortgage brokers and loan officers, such as (but not limited to):
- Loan origination
- Loan processing
- Appraisal Process
- Underwriting
- Credit Analysis, etc
Course Presentation: Classroom, Classroom Equivalent, Correspondence and On-Line courses
Study requirements: the student must read the course material before they can complete the final examination.
Final Exam Requirements
Monitor Requirements: Exams must be monitored by a disinterested third party. A disinterested third party is an individual that is not related to the student by blood, adoption, or marriage as a parent, child, grandparent, sibling, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle or first cousin, and is not an employee or employer of the student.
Exam Rules:
- Open Book- course material and outside information can be used while taking the examination
- 70% to pass and receive certificate of completion
- MAX 3 test attempts- if the exam cannot be passed on the second attempt, the student must retake the course before a third attempt is allowed. If after the 3rd attempt the course still cannot be passed, the student must take a new course.
CE Carryover Allowance
Credit hours may not be carried over to the next biennium.
Certificate of Completion
WebCE will provide each student with the ability to print their certificates of completion online once the student has passed the exam.
CE Completion Reporting
WebCE will email continuing education completions to the Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending once a week.
License Renewal Process
A mortgage broker or loan officer may renew their license up to 90 days prior to the license expiration date. Example: If your license expires December 1, 2009, you may renew your license any time after September 1, 2009.
If the mortgage broker or loan officer allows their license to expire, they will have 90 days to renew the license and pay a late fee of $187.50.
If they fail to renew within the first 90 days, they must re-apply for the license, and that includes successful completion of the pre-licensing exam, obtaining new fingerprint cards and submitting payment for the background check.
Helpful Links
Check your SML license number Click Here
License Renewal Application Click Here
Renew your license online Click Here
Go to the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending Click Here
State Contact Information
Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending
Phone: 877.276.5550
512.475.1360 (Licensing)
Fax: 512.475.1360
Email: smlinfo@sml.state.tx.us
Mailing Address:
2601 North Lamar, Suite 210
Austin, TX 78705
The Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending offers a form in which licensees can provide feedback regarding Continuing Education. If you would like to provide feedback regarding continuing education courses, please fill out this form here and send it to:
Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending
Attn: Continuing Education Coordinator
2601 N. Lamar, Suite 210
Austin, TX 78705
Last updated on 9/18/2009