NMLS SAFE MLO Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.
Download the PDFTest mechanics
- 120 questions (115 scored + 5 unscored) · 190 minutes · $110 per enrollment · pass at 75%
- Retakes: 30-day wait between attempts · 180 days after every 3rd fail · new paid enrollment each time
- Outline: Origination 27% · Federal law 24% · General knowledge 20% · Ethics 18% · UST 11%
- Answer by current law, not outdated prep material
The clocks (most-tested numbers)
- Loan Estimate: within 3 business days of application (6 items: name, income, SSN, address, est. value, loan amount)
- Closing Disclosure: received 3 business days before consummation (APR change / product change / added prepay penalty restarts it)
- Rescission: 3 business days — refinance of principal dwelling only, never purchases
- ECOA action notice: 30 days · RESPA servicing-transfer protection: 60 days
- PMI: request cancellation at 80% LTV · automatic termination at 78% (loan current)
Regulation map
- Reg Z = TILA · Reg X = RESPA · Reg B = ECOA · Reg C = HMDA
- RESPA §8: no kickbacks/referral fees — disclosure never cures
- ECOA protected: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, public assistance
- FCRA: permissible purpose to pull credit · GLBA: privacy notice + opt-out
- ATR: verified ability to repay · LO Comp: pay cannot follow loan terms (rate)
Products in one line each
- ARM: rate = index + margin; caps first/periodic/lifetime (2/2/5)
- FHA: low down + upfront & annual MIP · VA: 0 down, veterans, funding fee · USDA: rural + income limits
- Conforming = saleable to Fannie/Freddie within limit; above = jumbo
- HECM reverse: 62+, no monthly P&I, due on leaving home
- Balloon = lump sum due · NegAm = balance grows · Note = promise, mortgage = pledge
- 1 point = 1% of loan, buys rate down · Monthly interest = balance × rate ÷ 12
UST numbers
- PE: 20 hours (3 fed law / 3 ethics / 2 nontraditional / 12 elective)
- CE: 8 hours/year (3/2/2/1) — don't swap 20 and 8
- Felony w/ fraud or dishonesty: permanent bar · other felonies: 7 years
- NMLS ID on applications + ads · originate only under active sponsorship
Ethics reflexes
- Named schemes: occupancy fraud · straw buyer · silent second · flipping · equity stripping
- Consent, small size, or good intent never cure a misstatement
- Appraisal independence: no pressure, no target numbers, from anyone
- Steering + discouraging protected income = fair-lending violations
- When in doubt: stop the file, document, escalate
Frequently asked questions
What is worth reviewing in the final hour before the appointment?
The numbers, in one pass: the TRID three-day clocks, ECOA's 30 days, RESPA's 60-day protection, PMI's 80/78 pair, the 20-hour PE and 8-hour CE structures, and the regulation map (Z-TILA, X-RESPA, B-ECOA, C-HMDA). These are the facts that decay fastest under nerves and score the most reliably.
How should I manage the 190 minutes?
At 120 questions in 190 minutes you have about ninety seconds per item — enough to read carefully once, answer, flag genuine uncertainties and move. Budget a final half hour for flagged items. Running out of time is rare for candidates who resist re-deliberating settled answers.
Does this sheet replace the 20-hour pre-licensure course?
No — the 20 hours of NMLS-approved education are a legal prerequisite for licensure, not a study suggestion, and this sheet assumes you've completed them. Its job is consolidation: compressing what the course and the practice bank taught into the facts you carry into the room.
Sources
- 1.SAFE MLO National Test with Uniform State Test Content Outline — NMLS / Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) (accessed Aug 6, 2026)
- 2.MLO Testing Handbook — 10.0 Retaking a Failed Test / Waiting Period — NMLS / Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) (accessed Aug 6, 2026)
- 3.MLO Testing Handbook — 1.0 Overview and Test Specifications — NMLS / Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) (accessed Aug 6, 2026)
Official sources
Every exam fact on this page traces to a primary document published by the body that administers the exam.
- SAFE MLO National Test with Uniform State Test Content OutlineNMLS / Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS)mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org
- MLO Testing Handbook — 1.0 Overview and Test SpecificationsNMLS / Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS)mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org
- MLO Testing Handbook — 10.0 Retaking a Failed Test / Waiting PeriodNMLS / Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS)mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org
Last verified against the official exam content outline: