The South Carolina State Board of Financial Institutions and the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs will begin using the National SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) Test with Uniform State Content starting this week.
The test combines both the national and state testing requirements of the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, which requires all MLOs to be registered or state-licensed through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLS).
Now, a total of 57 state agencies in the United States use the test, which was first launched in April 2013. Twenty state agencies initially adopted the test and the rest have come since then.
Previously, South Carolina licensees had to take two tests: one national and one state. The new test replaces the separate, state-specific tests. A license applicant who passes the test will not need to take any additional state-specific tests to hold a license within participating states.
“South Carolina’s adoption of the National Test with Uniform State Content represents another critical step toward a single national testing standard for MLOs,” said John Ducrest, commissioner of the Louisiana Office of Financial Regulation and Chairman of the State Regulatory Registry LLC. “As the test nears full adoption, nearly all MLOs nationwide are now able to fulfill their requirements with a single test, simplifying and streamlining the licensing process.”