Who makes this
About OriginatorExam
Independent practice for the SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Test, National Component with Uniform State Content, written from the law it is set on.
Why it exists
Most practice tests for this exam are quizzes with no sources behind them. Get a question wrong and you are told the letter, not the rule, with no way to check whether the rule was ever right. That matters more on this exam than most, because the exam is closed book.
So we built this one the other way round. The law comes first, the questions are written from it, and most answers link straight to the section they come from, here on the site. That is the federal law itself: the SAFE Act and the chapters of the United States Code around it, and the Parts of the Code of Federal Regulations made under them, Regulation Z among them. It is for anyone sitting the SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Test, National Component with Uniform State Content, first time or retake, in any state, because every state-licensed originator sits this one paper.
How the work is checked
We write every question and article on this site from the public sources cited beside it: the United States Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, the federal agency handbooks and examination manuals, and the model state law. Nothing here comes from a course book, someone else's question bank, or memory. Before a question goes live we check it against the source, then go back and check it again with the draft out of sight, working from the cited section alone. If it does not hold up, it is fixed or it goes. Where an answer rests on the law, it links to the section, reproduced here, so you can read it yourself rather than take our word for it. If you spot a mistake, tell us and we will put it right as quickly as we can.
Of the questions themselves: Most carry the provision they rest on, as a link into the law on this site. The others are written from a standard form or a published guide, which is not law and is not reproduced here, so they carry the explanation alone.
The sources page says when each source was last fetched and checked.
Independence
OriginatorExam is independent and not affiliated with NMLS, the State Regulatory Registry, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors or Prometric.
NMLS and SAFE MLO name the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and its test, operated by the State Regulatory Registry LLC. They appear here only to describe the exam.
OriginatorExam has nothing to do with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System. They run the exam; we help you get ready for it.
Privacy
We store as little as we can: your email address, your answers, and whether you have paid. No ads, and we do not sell your data. Your card number never reaches us, and nothing here identifies you to NMLS. Details on the privacy page.
Corrections
Spotted a wrong answer or a bad question? Every question inside an account has a report box, and anyone can write to support@originatorexam.com. We will fix it.
Also from the same team
OriginatorExam is one of the Blackletter sites. The idea is the same on each: every question written from the statute, the section beside the answer. The others are BrokerExam, for the RIBO Level 1 broker exam, DealerPrep, for the OMVIC exam and LBExam, for the CSLB Law and Business exam. This site does it for the SAFE mortgage loan originator test, where the law is federal, the thresholds move every January, and nothing comes into the room with you.