Georgia

State rules

Regulator

Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. Filings run through NMLS. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1000 et seq.

Renewal

Licences expire 31 December. The statute requires the renewal application by 1 December; filing properly by then preserves the right to operate past 1 January. Fee $900 for a lender, $400 for a broker, plus a $300 late fine after 1 December. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1005(a)

Missing the deadline

Late renewals run from 2 to 31 December for the fine shown under Other costs, but without the operate-pending-approval protection. After 31 December there is no renewal route: an expired licensee must file a new licence request, with a fresh investigation fee. Georgia DBF, How Do I Renew My Mortgage License

Annual reporting

Financial statements are due through NMLS within 90 days of fiscal year end, and whether they must be audited turns on licence type rather than any dollar threshold: a broker files unaudited GAAP statements certified by the licensee and may elect audited ones, a lender needs an independent CPA opinion that includes an evaluation of internal controls, a subsidiary lender may file its parent’s consolidated audited statements plus its own unaudited ones, and a covered servicer adds an internal control assessment, a net worth computation, validation of servicing rights valuation, verification of fidelity and errors and omissions cover, and testing of risk management controls. The board must separately receive a formal annual risk management assessment. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 80-11-2-.05

In-state office

No operating office is required in Georgia, and the main office may sit anywhere. The only mandatory footprint is a registered agent and a registered office where that agent can be served; the former physical-office reciprocity test at § 7-1-1003.1 is now reserved. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1003(b)(4)

Branches

Georgia issues branch approvals rather than branch licences, at $330 per office with no renewal fee, and the Department instructs applicants in capitals not to file for out-of-state offices, since those do not require its approval. A location including a personal residence is a branch if its address appears on letterhead or business cards, if Georgia consumers are received or directed there, if loan files are kept there, or if you reimburse its rent or utilities; an unstaffed storage facility is not. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 80-11-1-.03

Change of control

Acquiring 10 percent or more of the voting shares or ownership needs prior approval and a $500 non-refundable fee, more than a Georgia broker licence costs, and the Department has 60 days from a completed application to decide unless it extends by order. Acquisitions by an already-licensed or exempt person, a commonly owned affiliate, or by bequest, descent, survivorship or operation of law skip the application but owe written notice within 30 days of closing. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1008

Mortgage call report

A Georgia statutory obligation in its own right, not only an NMLS or federal artifact, with the board of directors expressly accountable for filing it accurately and on time. The origination and servicing schedule is due quarterly within 45 days of quarter end, so 15 May, 14 August, 14 November and 14 February; the financial condition schedule follows the same quarterly clock for lenders and servicers and is annual within 90 days of calendar year end for brokers. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1004.1