The Florida Senate

494.0033  Mortgage broker's license.--

(1)  Each natural person who acts as a mortgage broker for a mortgage brokerage business or acts as an associate for a mortgage lender or correspondent mortgage lender must be licensed under this section. To act as a mortgage broker, an individual must be an associate of a mortgage brokerage business, a mortgage lender, or a correspondent mortgage lender. A mortgage broker may not be an associate of more than one mortgage brokerage business, mortgage lender, or correspondent mortgage lender.

(2)  Each initial application for a mortgage broker's license must be in the form prescribed by rule of the commission. The commission may require each applicant to provide any information reasonably necessary to make a determination of the applicant's eligibility for licensure. The office shall issue an initial license to any natural person who:

(a)  Is at least 18 years of age and has a high school diploma or its equivalent.

(b)  Has passed a written test adopted and administered by the office, or has passed an electronic test adopted and administered by the office or a third party approved by the office, which is designed to determine competency in primary and subordinate mortgage financing transactions as well as to test knowledge of ss. 494.001-494.0077 and the rules adopted pursuant thereto. The commission may prescribe by rule an additional fee that may not exceed $100 for the electronic version of the mortgage broker test. The commission may waive by rule the examination requirement for any person who has passed a test approved by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators, or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development if the test covers primary and subordinate mortgage financing transactions. The commission may adopt rules prescribing an additional fee that may not exceed $50 for an applicant to review his or her completed and graded mortgage broker test. The commission may adopt rules regarding the administration of the testing process, including, but not limited to, procedures relating to pretest registration, test security, scoring, content, result notification, retest procedures and fees, postexamination review, and challenge provisions.

(c)  Has submitted a completed application and a nonrefundable application fee of $200. An application is considered received for purposes of s. 120.60 upon receipt of a completed application form as prescribed by commission rule, a nonrefundable application fee of $200, and any other fee prescribed by law.

(d)  Has filed a complete set of fingerprints for submission by the office to the Department of Law Enforcement or the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. A fingerprint card submitted to the office must be taken by an authorized law enforcement agency. The office shall submit the fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement for state processing, and the Department of Law Enforcement shall forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal processing. The cost of the fingerprint processing may be borne by the office, the employer, or the person subject to the background check. The Department of Law Enforcement shall submit an invoice to the office for the fingerprints received each month. The office shall screen the background results to determine if the applicant meets licensure requirements.

The commission may require by rule information concerning any such applicant or person, including, but not limited to, his or her full name and any other names by which he or she may have been known, age, social security number, qualifications and educational and business history, and disciplinary and criminal history.

(3)  Any person applying after July 1, 1992, must have completed 24 hours of classroom education on primary and subordinate financing transactions and the laws and rules of ss. 494.001-494.0077 to be eligible for licensure. The commission may adopt rules regarding qualifying hours.

(4)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), it is a ground for denial of licensure if the applicant has committed any violation specified in ss. 494.001-494.0077 or has pending against her or him any criminal prosecution or administrative enforcement action, in any jurisdiction, which involves fraud, dishonest dealing, or any other act of moral turpitude.

(5)  An initial mortgage broker's license is valid for the remainder of the biennium in which the license is issued.

(6)  A mortgage broker license may be canceled if it was issued through mistake or inadvertence of the office. A notice of cancellation must be issued by the office within 90 days after the issuance of the license. A notice of cancellation shall be effective upon receipt. The notice of cancellation shall provide the applicant with notification of the right to request a hearing within 21 days after the applicant's receipt of the notice of cancellation. A license shall be reinstated if the applicant can demonstrate that the requirements for obtaining the license pursuant to this chapter have been satisfied.

History.--ss. 20, 50, ch. 91-245; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 10, ch. 95-313; s. 544, ch. 97-103; s. 10, ch. 99-213; s. 529, ch. 2003-261; s. 9, ch. 2006-213; s. 5, ch. 2007-182.