California – Department of Real Estate
CA DRE PE and CE Requirements for MLOs
Pre-Licensure Education Requirements
New state-licensed MLOs are required to complete 20 hours of NMLS-approved education. This education must include 3 hours of Federal law, 3 hours of ethics (which shall include fraud, consumer protection, and fair lending issues), 2 hours of non-traditional mortgage lending, plus 12 hours of undefined education (referred to as electives).
Number of hours is 3/3/2/12 = 20
CA-DRE does not have a requirement for instruction on state-specific law.
PE Expiration: Pending Enactment See the State Licensing Checklist Compiler for details.
Continuing Education Requirements
MLO: Every state licensed MLO (in any approved status) is required to complete at least 8 hours of NMLS approved education annually beginning the year they are licensed (unless PE was completed in the same year). Annual CE education must include 3 hours of Federal law, 2 hours of ethics (which shall include fraud, consumer protection, and fair lending issues), 2 hours of non-traditional mortgage lending, plus one (1) additional hour of undefined (referred to as an elective).
Number of hours is 3/2/2/1 = 8
Additional Persons: N/A
| If I became federal compliant for PE between 2009–2024 | and was licensed between 2009–2025 | am I required to complete CE in 2025 | YES |
| If I became federal compliant for PE in 2025 | and I was approved for an initial license in 2025 | am I required to complete CE in 2025 | No |
Deadline
The deadline to complete CE is December 31. However, MLOs with CA-DRE are prevented from applying to renew their license if they have not completed CE. Since it may take as long as seven (7) days for a course provider to report a course completion into NMLS, MLOs are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last minute to try to complete CE or they may be prevented from submitting for renewal on time.