Y CombinatorFlorida Mortgage Lender License
- Surety bond
- None
- Net worth
- $63,000
None in chapter 494. Florida uses net worth and the Mortgage Guaranty Trust Fund instead.
$250,000 with a servicing endorsement. Continuously maintained as a condition of licensure, not just proved once at application.
Making mortgage loans, or servicing them for others, on Florida residential property, and brokering as well.
Any company making, servicing or selling Florida mortgage loans to a noninstitutional investor. Servicing beyond the grace period needs the endorsement, not a second licence.
Also searched as Florida Mortgage Lender Servicer License, Florida Mortgage Banker License, Florida Mortgage Servicer License. Florida issues the Mortgage Lender License.
Requirements
MU1 and fee through NMLS
A completed application with a $500 nonrefundable fee, plus the $100 Mortgage Guaranty Trust Fund fee. Neither is prorated for a partial year, so filing in December costs a full year. Fla. Stat. § 494.00611
Principal loan originator
One person with full charge, control and supervision of the business, who must hold a Florida loan originator licence. Unlike the broker rule, no year of prior service is required. Fla. Stat. § 494.00665
Net worth, audited
At least $63,000, or $250,000 with a servicing endorsement, documented by a financial audit report under US GAAP and continuously maintained. A wholly owned subsidiary may rely on its parent’s report. Fla. Stat. § 494.00611
Servicing endorsement
Declared on the application, not applied for later as a separate licence. Only a lender continuously maintaining $250,000 net worth may hold one. Fla. Stat. § 494.0067
Fingerprints and credit on every control person
State and federal criminal history through FDLE and the FBI, plus an independent credit report the applicant pays for. Fingerprints are retained, so later control persons are screened one at a time. Fla. Stat. § 494.00611
Florida registered agent
A registered agent in Florida for service of process. This is the only genuinely in-state requirement: no office, branch or employee has to sit in Florida. Fla. Stat. § 494.0067
Branch licences
Each branch is licensed at $225 and renewed at $225, in the lender’s name, with a named branch manager who is a licensed loan originator. Fla. Stat. § 494.0066
Not required in Florida
A Florida mortgage lender must post a surety bond.
Chapter 494 imposes none. The only bond it mentions is the fidelity or financial guaranty bond a servicer under $7.5 million may post instead of the annual servicing audit.
Fla. Stat. ch. 494 (2025)Florida issues a separate mortgage servicer licence.
It does not. Servicing is an endorsement on the lender licence, declared on the application rather than applied for later.
Fla. Stat. § 494.0067You may service for six months before you need the endorsement.
The definition says four. § 494.001(36) defines the endorsement as authorising servicing for more than 4 months, which is not the more than 6 months in § 494.0067(8). Work to four and ask OFR.
Fla. Stat. § 494.001(36)A net worth shortfall can be fixed by the next renewal.
Stop taking new applications at once, report within 2 days, then cure inside 60 days, or 120 if you self-reported ahead of an examination. At 120 days the licence is deemed relinquished and cancelled.
Fla. Stat. § 494.00721
Other costs
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage Guaranty Trust Fund | $100 | On the initial application and on every renewal. Suspended if the fund passes $5 million, and reimposed below $1 million. Fla. Stat. § 494.00172 |
| Reinstatement | $475 | 1 January to 1 March only. Equal to the renewal fee. Fla. Stat. § 494.00612 |
| Branch office | $225 | Per branch, initial and renewal alike, plus $225 to reinstate. Fla. Stat. § 494.0066 |
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 to the office on the prescribed form. The trigger is any change to information in the application or a prior amendment, which is broader than it sounds. Fla. Stat. § 494.0067 | 30 days after effective | No |
| Principal loan originator | A written amendment. The replacement must hold a Florida loan originator licence. Fla. Stat. § 494.00665 | 30 days after effective | No |
| Control person added or removed | A written amendment. Anyone new who has not filed an MU2 goes through fingerprints and a credit report, and the office may act if the licensee no longer qualifies afterwards. Fla. Stat. § 494.0067 | 30 days after effective | No |
| Net worth falls below the minimum | Report to the office, stop taking new applications, then cure within 60 days, or 120 if you self-reported ahead of an examination. Fla. Stat. § 494.00721 | 2 days | No |
| Felony, moral-turpitude crime or final administrative action | Report on the prescribed form. It reaches any principal officer, director or 10 percent ultimate equitable owner, not just the company. Fla. Stat. § 494.0067 | 30 business days | No |
| Bankruptcy, voluntary or involuntary | Report the action to the office. Fla. Stat. § 494.0067 | 30 business days | No |
| Ownership or control | No prior approval and no separate control filing. Florida handles ownership through the control-person amendment above. Fla. Stat. § 494.0067 | No requirement | 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, held at the principal place of business named on the licence. The office can authorise another location, and can require the records produced somewhere convenient in Florida. Fla. Stat. § 494.0016
- Surrender
- A Florida licence cannot be sold with the company: it is not transferable or assignable, so a buyer files its own application and waits. Branch licences are separate credentials and have to be dealt with one by one. Fla. Stat. § 494.0067
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 494.00611 The lender application, its $500 fee and the net worth tiers.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.00612 The $475 renewal and the 1 March reinstatement cutoff.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.00665 The lender’s principal loan originator, with no year of service.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.0067 Lender reporting duties, the registered agent and servicing.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.00721 The cure clock that cancels a licence at 120 days.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.0063 The annual audit, due 120 days after fiscal year end.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.001(36) Defines the servicing endorsement at more than 4 months.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.0066 The $225 lender branch licence, initial and renewal.
- Fla. Stat. ch. 494 (2025) The whole chapter, which imposes no company surety bond.
- Fla. Stat. § 494.0076 The servicing audit, and the only bond in the chapter.
- 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
Florida ties one number to one checkbox: taking the servicing endorsement raises your net worth floor permanently, with a 2-day reporting alarm and a 120-day cancellation clock behind it. Payna holds the endorsement and the tier it commits you to together, so drifting below it surfaces as a deadline rather than an examination finding.
Explore
Other licences in Florida
Mortgage Lender License elsewhere
Filing in Florida?
We will check these requirements against what you already hold, and show what the filing looks like on Payna.
Request a DemoBOOK A DEMO
See how Payna runs licensing.
Tell us a little about the company and we’ll walk through how Payna handles licensing and compliance in every US state.