Education FAQ - Continuing Education (CE)
Q. What are the Continuing Education (CE) requirements?
- Three (3) hours of Federal law and regulations;
- Two (2) hours of ethics that shall include instruction on fraud, consumer protection, and fair lending issues;
- Two (2) hours of training related to lending standards for the nontraditional mortgage product market; and
- One (1) hour of undefined instruction on mortgage origination.
Q. What are SMART Deadlines?
- SMART Deadlines are set each year to help ensure MLOs complete their CE in time for courses to be reported into NMLS and to allow time for submitting the renewal application.
Q. When do I need to complete CE?
A. The CE requirement is set based on license approval date and is required to be completed prior to submitting for license renewal. See the for additional details and deadlines.
Q. Will NMLS block renewal for a license if the MLO is not CE compliant?
A. Yes. NMLS will validate the MLO is compliant with BOTH Federal and State annual CE requirements as a condition for applying for renewal.
Q. Can I take the same CE course two years in a row?
A. No, the SAFE Act specifically prohibits the taking of the same course in successive years. See the .
Q. Will the system place a license item for CE?
A. The system will automatically place a license item on each MLO license if the MLO is not yet CE compliant for the license on or around July 15 of that year. The license setting will be cleared by the system once the MLO has become compliant for CE (both federal and any state requirement).
Q. Are MLOs notified if CE is required?
NMLS sends monthly CE notifications as reminder that CE needs to be completed.
Q. Why does my record show “Pending CE” for this year?
The course completion record shows “pending” for the current year because on January 1 the system set a CE requirement for the new calendar year. For example, just as you may have completed CE in 2023 to renew a license for 2024, you will be required to complete CE in 2024 to renew the license for 2025.
Q. When is CE required?
A. CE is required in the same year as licensure unless Federal PE was also completed that year. See for the Uniform CE policy.
Q. What if an MLO completed state-specific PE this year, are they still required to complete CE?
A. Yes. If an MLO is already licensed with Federal PE compliance in a previous year and completes state-specific PE for another license, the MLO is still required to complete CE for that agency for the current year. For example: An MLO is licensed in OR in 2016; in 2021, they complete 4 hours of WA state-specific PE and are granted a WA license on 6/12/21. The MLO is still required to complete CE in 2021 (including the 1hour of WA CE state-specific) as condition for renewal in both OR and WA.
Q. What if an MLO is licensed on November 15?
A. If an MLO is licensed between November 1 and December 31 of any year, they will not be required to complete CE for that year. On Jan 1, YYYY, NMLS will automatically set the CE requirement for the next year. However, if the license status date is entered with a date prior to November 1 during the renewal period, the MLO will be required to complete CE for that year.
Q. What about CE compliance for MU2 individuals?
A. NMLS is not currently tracking CE compliance for MU2 individuals. However, requirements for MU2 individuals are listed on the charts and the requirements are being manually reviewed by relevant state agencies. Look up an agency in the