Y CombinatorFlorida Mortgage Broker License
- Surety bond
- None
- Net worth
- None
None in chapter 494. Florida relies on the Mortgage Guaranty Trust Fund, funded by the $100 on each filing.
None. The chapter sets net worth in part III, which governs mortgage lenders; a broker files no financial statement at all.
Soliciting, negotiating or placing Florida residential mortgage loans for others, without funding them.
Any company brokering Florida residential mortgage loans. A licensed Florida mortgage lender may broker under its own licence and does not need this one as well.
Also searched as Florida Mortgage Brokerage License, Florida Mortgage Broker Business License. Florida issues the Mortgage Broker License.
Requirements
MU1 and fee through NMLS
A completed application with a $425 nonrefundable fee, plus the $100 Mortgage Guaranty Trust Fund fee. Neither is prorated. Fla. Stat. § 494.00321
Principal loan originator, with a year behind them
They must have held a loan originator licence for at least 1 year, or satisfy the office that they spent a year actively in a mortgage-related business. One person, one broker: they cannot cover two. Fla. Stat. § 494.0035
Fingerprints and credit on every control person
State and federal criminal history plus an independent credit report, at the applicant’s cost, for each control person. Fla. Stat. § 494.00321
Principal place of business
A broker must maintain and transact business from one. The statute does not put it in Florida, and the books have to live there. Fla. Stat. § 494.0039
Branch licences
Each branch is licensed at $225 and renewed at $225, with a designated branch manager who is a licensed loan originator. Fla. Stat. § 494.0036
Third-party funds segregated on receipt
Any third-party fee goes immediately into a segregated federally insured account in Florida and stays there until disbursement. One account is fine if the source of each dollar is traceable. Fla. Stat. § 494.0038
Renew by 31 December
A broker who has applied by 31 December stays active while the office reviews. One who has not is expired that day, with reinstatement open only to 1 March. Fla. Stat. § 494.00322
Not required in Florida
A Florida mortgage broker needs a surety bond or a net worth.
Neither. The net worth rules sit in part III and reach mortgage lenders only, and no bond appears anywhere in chapter 494.
Fla. Stat. ch. 494 (2025)Any licensed loan originator can be the principal loan originator.
Not for a broker: they need a year licensed, or a year in a mortgage-related business. The lender rule has no year at all, so the same person can qualify to run a lender and not a broker.
Fla. Stat. § 494.0035Bad credit disqualifies the application.
The office may not use a credit score, or the absence of credit history, to judge fitness, and must read adverse items in context. "Poor credit history" is not a legally sufficient ground for denial.
Fla. Stat. § 494.00321
Other costs
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage Guaranty Trust Fund | $100 | On the initial application and on every renewal. Fla. Stat. § 494.00172 |
| Reinstatement | $250 | 1 January to 1 March. Lower than the broker renewal fee, which is unusual. Fla. Stat. § 494.00322 |
| Branch office | $225 | Per branch, initial and renewal, plus $225 to reinstate. Fla. Stat. § 494.0036 |
Renewal
- Deadline
- Both licences expire 31 December. Applying on time keeps the licence active while the office reviews, so the filing date is what matters, not the approval date. Fla. Stat. § 494.00612
- Missing it
- Miss 31 December and the status becomes "failed to renew", curable up to 1 March with a reinstatement fee: $250 broker, $475 lender, $225 per branch. On 1 March the licence is expired and the only route back is a new application. Fla. Stat. § 494.00612
- Annual reporting
- Lenders only: an annual financial audit report by an independent licensed CPA, filed within 120 days of fiscal year end. A wholly owned subsidiary may file its parent’s report instead. Fla. Stat. § 494.0063
After approval
What obliges you to file something, and how long you have.
| If this changes | You owe | Deadline | Approval first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anything on the application form | A written report on the form the commission prescribes. Fla. Stat. § 494.004 | 30 days after effective | No |
| Principal loan originator | A written amendment. The replacement needs the same year of service the original did. Fla. Stat. § 494.0035 | 30 days after effective | No |
| Control person added or removed | A written amendment. A new control person without an MU2 on file triggers fingerprints and a credit report. Fla. Stat. § 494.004 | 30 days after effective | No |
| Felony or moral-turpitude conviction | Written notice covering the licensee or any control person. Florida asks for this twice, in writing and again on a prescribed form. Fla. Stat. § 494.004 | 30 days | No |
| Bankruptcy, voluntary or involuntary | Report the action to the office. Fla. Stat. § 494.004 | 30 days | No |
| Form of business organization | A written amendment. Check first whether a new entity was formed, because a licence is not transferable or assignable. Fla. Stat. § 494.004 | 30 days after effective | No |
"Not stated" means the source sets the obligation without a day count, not that the filing can wait.
Holding it
- Record retention
- Three years from the date of original entry, at the principal place of business, including each closing statement signed by a borrower and every receipt for expenses paid on a borrower’s behalf. Fla. Stat. § 494.0016
- Surrender
- The licence cannot follow a sale: it is not transferable or assignable, so a buyer applies in its own name. Branch licences are separate credentials and are surrendered one at a time. Fla. Stat. § 494.004
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 494.00321 The broker application, its $425 fee and the 31 December expiry.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.00322 The $375 renewal and the $250 reinstatement fee.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.0035 The broker’s one-year principal loan originator rule.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.004 Broker reporting duties and the bar on transferring a licence.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.0036 The $225 broker branch licence and its own reinstatement.
- Fla. Stat. ch. 494 (2025) The whole chapter, which imposes no company surety bond.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.0038 Immediate segregation of third-party funds by a broker.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.0039 Requires a principal place of business, located anywhere.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.00172 The $100 Mortgage Guaranty Trust Fund fee on every filing.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.0016 Three-year retention at the principal place of business.
- Florida Office of Financial Regulation The agency that issues and supervises both licences.
Read from the sources above on August 26, 2026. Requirements change without notice, so confirm anything you are about to rely on with Florida Office of Financial Regulation. Corrections to licensing@payna.com.
Where Payna comes in
The broker licence turns on a person, not a balance sheet: the principal loan originator needs a year of service the lender licence never asks for, and cannot cover two brokers at once. Payna tracks that individual’s own licence beside the company’s, because losing them is the one failure here that no amount of money fixes quickly.
Explore
Other licences in Florida
Mortgage Broker License elsewhere
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