South Carolina Mortgage Broker Branch License

Who is required to have this license? Any person (natural person, partnership, limited liability company, limited partnership, corporation, association, or other group engaged in joint business activities, however organized), unless exempt, who acts as a mortgage broker, for compensation or gain, or in the expectation of compensation or gain, either directly or indirectly, by: (i) soliciting, processing, placing, or negotiating a mortgage loan for a borrower from a mortgage lender or depository institution or offering to process, place, or negotiate a mortgage loan for a borrower from a mortgage lender or depository institution, (ii) engaging in tablefunding of mortgage a loan, or (iii) acting as a loan correspondent whether those acts are done by telephone, by electronic means, by mail, or in person with the borrowers or potential borrowers. ‘Act as a mortgage broker’ also includes bringing a borrower and lender together to obtain a mortgage loan or rendering a settlement service as described in 12 U.S.C. 2602(3) and 24 C.F.R. Part 3500.2(b). This license should only be applied for by a company that also holds or is applying for a South Carolina Mortgage Broker license. South Carolina’s Licensing of Mortgage Brokers Act can be found here and the accompanying regulation here. Activities Authorized Under This License This license authorizes the following activities: • First mortgage brokering • High cost home loans – Broker • Home equity lending/lines of credit – Broker • Manufactured housing financing – Broker • Reverse mortgage brokering • Second mortgage brokering • Third party mortgage loan processing • Third party mortgage loan underwriting Pre-Requisites for License Applications • Branch Location: An office of the licensee acting as a mortgage broker that is separate and distinct from the licensee's principal office/headquarters. The Department may license a personal residence of a loan originator as a branch office if it is located more than seventy-five miles from a commercial branch office location. The loan originator must qualify as a branch manager. • Branch Location: Applicants must be located within the United States of America and its territories. • Branch Manager: Each branch office of a mortgage broker must have a South Carolina-licensed loan originator, with at least three years of experience in financial services or financial services related business, who is in charge of and responsible for the business operations of the branch location. SC-DCA does not issue paper licenses for this license type. Document Uploads • Documents that must be uploaded to the Document Uploads section of the Branch Form (MU3) in NMLS are indicated in the checklist below. When uploading documents: • Follow the guidance in Document Upload Descriptions and Examples. • Only upload documents relevant to the company application. • Only upload documents where there is a selectable document category. If inappropriate documents are uploaded that should not be, you will be contacted by your regulator and asked to remove them from NMLS. • Do not upload the same company documents multiple times. Generally, unless the document is state-specific, if the document has already been uploaded for another state, a new upload is not required unless changes have been made. • If a document previously uploaded has been revised, delete the old document and replace it with the new document (history of the old document will remain in NMLS). • For state-specific documents (e.g., Document Samples), be sure to indicate the applicable state. Helpful Resources • Branch Form (MU3) Filing Quick Guide • Document Upload Descriptions and Examples • Payment Options Quick Guide • License Status Definitions Quick Guide Agency Contact Information Contact SC-DCA licensing staff by phone at 803-734-4249or send your questions via email to SCMortgageBroker@scconsumer.gov for additional assistance.