Does the state require a physical location within the state?
No.

Is there individual loan officer licensing?
Yes.

What are lenders, brokers and loan officers called?
Colorado law defines individuals as mortgage brokers. Lenders are licensed as Supervised Lenders if applicable.

What is the cost of a license? Surety bond? Are there net worth requirements?
The Colorado Mortgage Broker Registration Act requires individuals who broker a mortgage, act as a mortgage broker, or offer to do either to register with the Division of Real Estate. Companies are not eligible for registration. The application fee is $200. The act imposes a fingerprinting requirement. Also, before registering, an applicant must provide a $25,000 surety bond. Registered mortgage brokers must renew their registration every three years.

The Colorado Consumer Credit Code requires lenders, other than supervised financial organizations, to obtain a license in order to make supervised loans.

The fee for a supervised lender license is $400. There is a separate $50 license fee per branch location.

Renewal fees of $400 per location are due on January 31 of each year regardless of the date of original issue.

A "supervised loan" is a consumer loan in which the rate of the loan finance charge exceeds 12 percent per year. Excluded from this definition are purchase money first mortgage loans and loans made to refinance a purchase money first mortgage loan that fall below the 12 percent threshold.

Other first mortgages, second mortgages, and home equity loans that meet or exceed the interest rate threshold of 12 percent are considered to be supervised loans.

Is there a pre-licensing education requirement? Is there a test?
Yes All mortgage broker applicants must complete 40 hours of licensing education and pass a two-part exam prior to applying for a mortgage broker license.

Is there a CE requirement?
9 hours continuing education is required every 3 years.

Mortgage brokers are required to start the nine-hour continuing education requirements during their second three-year renewal cycle.

No continuing education is required until after the mortgage broker’s first three-year renewal cycle.

Are there different requirements for mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders (i.e. can you broker under a lender license?).
Companies are not licensed as brokers. All licenses are individual licenses. A Supervised Lender license may be required by a company in certain situations (see the section on licensing).

Are there any state specific high cost loan provisions?
See the section on predatory lending.

Are there any state specific predatory lending laws?
The Colorado Consumer Equity Protection Law became effective January 1, 2003. This act limits or prohibits several practices including refinancing a loan within one year of closing (flipping), financing optional credit insurance (packing), approving a loan without regard to the borrower's ability to repay, including unrestricted prepayment penalty terms in a loan agreement and encouraging a borrower to default on a loan while processing a loan to replace the loan for which the default is encouraged.

The act places additional restrictions on “covered loans.” A covered loan is defined as a consumer credit mortgage loan transaction that is considered a mortgage under Section 152 of the federal Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA) and regulations adopted by the Federal Reserve Board except that if the total points and fees on a loan paid by the borrower at or before closing exceed 6 percent of the total loan amount, the loan will be considered a covered loan if the loan otherwise meets the requirements of this definition.

Closing practices – attorney or title state? Wet or dry settlement?
Colorado is treated as a wet funding state for purchases only. It is considered a good funds state for refinancings.

Are there 2nd mortgage policies and/or restrictions? Do you need a separate license to do 2nd mortgages?
A Supervised Lenders license may be required for second mortgages (see the section on licensing).

Who is the regulator and what is their contact information?
Mortgage brokers:
Division of Real Estate
1560 Broadway Suite 925
Denver 80202
Phone: (303) 894-2166
Fax: (303) 894-2683
www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/mb/Index.htm

Supervised Lenders:
John W. Suthers, Attorney General
Department of Law
1525 Sherman Street, 5th floor
Denver, CO 80203
Phone number: (303) 866-4500
Fax number: (303) 866-5691
www.ago.state.co.us/

DISCLAIMER: The data contained here is for informational purposes only. It should not be the sole resource for licensing decisions. Please consult the regulator and/or an attorney that specializes in these matters before taking action.

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