Georgia Mortgage Lender License

Requirements

1. Registered agent and registered office

   A Georgia registered agent with a physical address, and a registered office where that agent can be served: the only mandatory Georgia footprint, and a Georgia corporation’s agent must match the Secretary of State record. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1003(b)(4)

2. Surety bond

   $250,000 as an electronic surety bond through NMLS, held continuously and replaced at once if anyone recovers against it. The Department may require more on origination volume but has published no schedule. Sponsored originators ride the company bond. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1003.2

3. Net worth and liquidity

   $100,000 net worth held continuously, plus $1,000,000 of liquidity a warehouse line can satisfy. It excludes related-party receivables, goodwill, intangibles and pledged assets, and is measured at the licensee level, so a parent balance sheet does not help. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1022(c)

4. Covered servicer test

   A lender servicing or subservicing 2,000 or more loans for others is a covered servicer and must meet Federal Housing Finance Agency seller/servicer eligibility standards instead of the $100,000 figure, whether or not it is approved for GSE servicing. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1000(5.3)

5. Financial statements, audited

   Due through NMLS within 90 days of fiscal year end, covering three years. A lender needs an external audit: an independent CPA opinion evaluating internal controls. The split is by licence type, not any dollar threshold. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1010

6. Board and governance framework

   A board, or a similar body, keeps a written governance framework proportionate to your size and risk and is accountable for accurate regulatory reporting. An annual risk management assessment must reach it as a formal report. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1023

7. Control persons at 10 percent

   Each files an MU2 with a credit report, an FBI check, a state background check and a Verification of Lawful Presence affidavit. A felony inside seven years bars; a disqualifying crime under the Act bars for life unless set aside or pardoned. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1004(i)

8. A complete application

   A deficient application draws a notice of intent to administratively withdraw, with 30 days to cure. Notice counts as given once posted in NMLS, so no human ever has to reach you for the clock to start, and fees are non-refundable. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1003(d)

9. Per closed loan fee

   $10 on every Georgia residential mortgage loan closed, collected from the borrower and remitted by the first business day of September and of March. A missed date costs $100, and an agent who fails to collect is personally liable. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1011(b)

Renewal

Deadline

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. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1005(a)

Missing it

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

Holding it

Record retention

Five years from three different start dates: flat five years for some categories, five years from final disposition of the application for loan files (closing, denial or cancellation), and five years from when a person stopped working for you for employee records. Records sit at the principal place of business unless you first notify the Department through NMLS, and anything held elsewhere must be produced within five business days of a written request. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 80-11-2-.01(4)

Examinations

At least once every 60 months; the Department may examine more often without prior notice, accept another regulator’s report, or waive it on your filings and history. The fee is under Other costs. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 80-5-1-.03(1)

Surrender

A voluntary surrender needs the Department’s consent and, by statute, counts as a revocation. Surrender the Georgia branch approvals too and clear every outstanding invoice first; the request is free, and surrender does not impair obligations under existing contracts. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1017(c)

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