Y CombinatorCalifornia Financing Law License
- Surety bond
- $25,000
- Net worth
- $250,000
Statutory minimum, payable to the commissioner through an authorised insurer.
Same figure CRMLA requires, easy to miss given the lower CFL fee and bond.
DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25)
Making consumer and commercial loans as a finance lender under Division 9 of the Financial Code, including residential mortgage lending.
A company lending in California that lacks, or does not want, a CRMLA or Department of Real Estate licence. Many California mortgage lenders hold CFL instead, so treating CRMLA as the state’s mortgage licence is wrong.
Also searched as CFL license, California Finance Lenders License, CFLL, California Lenders Law License. California issues the California Financing Law License.
Requirements
Surety bond
$25,000 statutory minimum, payable to the commissioner and issued by an authorised insurer, covering commissioner-levied expenses, fines and fees as well as losses from non-compliance. Cal. Fin. Code § 22112
Tangible net worth
$250,000, the same figure CRMLA requires, despite CFL’s far lower application fee and bond. § 22112 is silent on net worth, so confirm the figure with DFPI rather than read the silence as none. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25)
Financial statements
Unaudited financial statements at application, with no annual financial statement requirement afterward, unlike CRMLA’s audited CPA opinion at application plus audited annual filing. DFPI, California Financing Law FAQ
Annual report by 15 March
One consolidated report for the whole company, not one per licensed location, due 15 March with no fee to file. See Renewal for the signed verification requirement and the filing penalty. Cal. Fin. Code § 50307
What the annual report covers
§ 22159(a) says business conducted "within the state". DFPI’s own instructions say all business under the licence, "either in or outside the State of California". CRMLA is the opposite, California loans only. Both statements stand unreconciled. Cal. Fin. Code § 22159(a)
Annual assessment
A pro rata assessment billed each September, with a $250 floor per licensed location, in place of a renewal fee. See Other costs for the late payment charge. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25)
Control persons and fingerprints
10 percent direct or indirect is the threshold; a natural person indirectly owning 25 percent or more files in their own right. Live Scan costs $20 per person, or $62 per fingerprint card where unavailable regionally, regardless of nationality or residence. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25)
Not required in California
A California Financing Law licence is renewed every year like an MLO licence.
The company licence is perpetual under § 22700(a); it is only the individual MLO licence under § 22700(b) that renews annually.
Cal. Fin. Code § 22700A CFL broker licence lets you broker residential mortgage loans to any lender.
DFPI says it reaches only loans made by CFL-licensed finance lenders, not credit unions or banks, so the ordinary case of placing loans with those investors needs a Real Estate Law licence instead.
DFPI, California Financing Law FAQCRMLA is the California mortgage lender licence.
It is one of three routes; § 50002(c)(10) exempts a CFL licensee from CRMLA while acting under that licence’s authority.
Cal. Fin. Code § 50002(c)(10)DFPI publishes an examination hourly rate you can budget from.
Both the statute and DFPI’s fee index say only "estimated average hourly cost", with no figure given, in either regime.
DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25)
Other costs
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual assessment | At least $250 per location | Pro rata, billed each September, with a $250 floor per licensed location; late payment costs 1 percent of the assessment per month. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25) |
| Additional location | $200 | Plus $100 investigation, and up to $86 of further fees. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25) |
| Annual report | No fee | Free to file, but a report uploaded without its signed verification page is treated as never filed. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25) |
| Penalty, unnotified location change | Up to $500 | Changing a business location without notification, § 22153. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25) |
| Penalty, violation of law, rule or order | Up to $25,000 per violation | § 22172. Once a penalty order is final, payment is due within five business days. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25) |
| Penalty, failure to file reports | Up to $25,000 in aggregate | § 22715, and it applies in both regimes. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25) |
Renewal
- Expiry
- Neither company licence expires: § 50123(a) says a residential mortgage lender licence "shall remain in effect until suspended, surrendered, or revoked", and § 22700(a) says the same of finance lender, broker and program administrator licences, "shall remain in effect until they are surrendered, revoked, or suspended". The distinction is deliberate: § 22700(b), the next subsection, makes MLO licences renewable annually. Cal. Fin. Code § 22700
- Annual reporting
- CRMLA is due 1 March, under oath, in the commissioner’s prescribed form, with audited financials within 105 days of fiscal year end. CFL is due 15 March, unaudited and free to file; a report missing its signed verification page counts as never filed, and failing to file carries penalties up to $25,000 in aggregate. Cal. Fin. Code § 50307
After approval
What obliges you to file something, and how long you have.
| If this changes | You owe | Deadline | Approval first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change of control | Notice to DFPI, with each incoming control person filing an MU2 and clearing fingerprints at the 10 percent direct or indirect threshold. | Not stated in the Financial Code | Yes |
| Officers, directors, partners, managers, members or trustees | A notice form and Live Scan request for the incoming person, plus an updated management chart identifying the lowest level of management. | Not stated | No |
| Legal name or trade name | A fictitious business name statement bearing the county clerk’s seal for each California name, then add the name in NMLS; a fictitious name may not substitute where the Secretary of State has issued a forced or assumed name. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17900 | Not stated | No |
| Books and records location | Update the address and the comment describing the record keeping plan and the software used. | Not stated | No |
| Annual report | A report filed with the commissioner under oath, in the form the commissioner prescribes, in place of a renewal. Cal. Fin. Code § 50307 | 1 March (CRMLA), 15 March (CFL) | No |
"Not stated" means the source sets the obligation without a day count, not that the filing can wait.
Holding it
- Examinations
- Billed at DFPI’s estimated average hourly cost; neither the statute nor the fee index attaches a figure. DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25)
- Surrender
- One of the three events § 22700(a) names as ending the licence, alongside revocation and suspension; there is no expiry to let it lapse quietly. Cal. Fin. Code § 22700
Sources
- Cal. Fin. Code § 22700 Company licences perpetual in (a), MLO licences annual in (b).
- Cal. Fin. Code § 22112 The finance lender and broker surety bond minimum.
- Cal. Fin. Code § 50002(c)(10) The CFL exemption from CRMLA, and its condition.
- Cal. Fin. Code § 22004 Limits a CFL broker to loans made by finance lenders.
- Cal. Fin. Code § 22159(a) The CFL annual report’s "within the state" scope.
- DFPI, California Financing Law FAQ A CFL broker licence excludes credit unions and banks.
- Cal. Fin. Code § 50307 The annual report due 1 March, in place of a renewal.
- DFPI-ADM 510, Index of Fees, Fines and Penalties (Rev. 10-25) The Department’s fee, fine and penalty index.
- DFPI Conditions of Use Puts DFPI material in the public domain.
Read from the sources above on August 25, 2026. Requirements change without notice, so confirm anything you are about to rely on with California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Corrections to licensing@payna.com.
Where Payna comes in
A CFL broker licence reaches only loans made by other CFL-licensed finance lenders, so brokering to a bank or credit union falls outside it even though the licence reads like a general California lending credential. Payna also tracks that the CRMLA exemption holds only while acting under CFL authority, not as a blanket exemption.
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