NMLS SAFE MLO Practice Test: Free Mortgage Loan Originator Exam Questions

454 practice questions for the SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Test, the national test with Uniform State Content you must pass with 75% or better for any state MLO license. They follow the NMLS content outline, weighted the way the real test is: federal mortgage laws 24%, uniform state content 11%, general mortgage knowledge 20%, origination activities 27% and ethics 18%. Many are moments from the desk: the borrower who wants a debt left off, the Loan Estimate handed over on a Monday, the gift check from the seller's company, the agent who asks for the buyer's credit score. Each is tagged to its outline topic, so your score report shows exactly where you miss, and every answer explains why the best choice is best and links the federal rule behind it.

The real test: 120 multiple-choice questions (115 scored, 5 unscored pretest) in 190 minutes, at a test center or online with a live proctor, and you need 75% to pass, a mark set by the SAFE Act. The fee is $110. A failed test means a 30-day wait, then 30 days again, then 180 days after three failures in a row. It covers 5 content areas: federal mortgage-related laws (24%), uniform state content (11%), general mortgage knowledge (20%), mortgage loan origination activities (27%) and ethics (18%). Our practice test is full length, 115 scored questions plus 5 unscored in 190 minutes, split like the outline, passing at 87 of 115.

Here: 454 questions. Our own practice questions, built on the NMLS SAFE MLO National Test with Uniform State Test content outline and written from the federal text itself (RESPA / Reg X, TILA / Reg Z including TRID, ECOA / Reg B, HMDA, FCRA, GLBA, the Bank Secrecy Act rules, the Homeowners Protection Act, the SAFE Act with Regs G and H, and the CSBS/AARMR Model State Law), with every answer's source named. Topics are the test's 5 content areas. Not NMLS's test questions. Free.

What's on the test

"On the test" is the rough share of a 115-question test for each topic, following the exam's published weights.

10 sample questions

1. Which of these loans is covered by RESPA?

   • A.A loan on vacant land with no plan to build within two years
   • B.A refinance of an owner-occupied single-family home
   • C.A loan to buy a 40-acre farm used for growing crops
   • D.A temporary construction loan the builder repays in 9 months
   Show answer

   B. A refinance of an owner-occupied single-family home

   ML-1 · 1. Federal Mortgage-Related Laws · 12 CFR 1024.2, 12 CFR 1024.5

2. Which is one of the stated purposes of the SAFE Act?

   • A.Setting a national cap on the origination fees and points an originator may charge on any home loan
   • B.Giving consumers free access to an originator's employment history and public enforcement actions
   • C.Replacing state mortgage regulators with one federal licensing agency
   • D.Requiring every originator to work for a federally insured bank or credit union
   Show answer

   B. Giving consumers free access to an originator's employment history and public enforcement actions

   ML-88 · 2. Uniform State Content · 12 U.S.C. 5101

3. Which loan feature keeps a loan from being a qualified mortgage under the general QM definition?

   • A.An interest-only period
   • B.An escrow account for property taxes and insurance
   • C.A 30-year fixed rate with level payments
   • D.A 15-year term with a fully amortizing payment
   Show answer

   A. An interest-only period

   ML-116 · 3. General Mortgage Knowledge · 12 CFR 1026.43

4. Before the borrower has received the Loan Estimate and said they intend to proceed, which fee may the creditor collect?

   • A.A rate lock deposit equal to half of one discount point, credited back at closing
   • B.A $450 appraisal fee, as long as it is refundable
   • C.A bona fide and reasonable fee for the credit report
   • D.A $500 application fee
   Show answer

   C. A bona fide and reasonable fee for the credit report

   ML-166 · 4. Mortgage Loan Origination Activities · 12 CFR 1026.19

5. A title company pays a lender $2,000 a month under a "marketing services agreement," and the amount rises and falls with the number of closings the lender sends. What is the problem?

   • A.Only that the agreement should be renewed every year
   • B.The payments track referrals, so they look like a Section 8 kickback in disguise
   • C.None, since any written contract makes a payment legal
   • D.Only that the title company must also pay the borrowers a share of the money each month
   Show answer

   B. The payments track referrals, so they look like a Section 8 kickback in disguise

   ML-61 · 5. Ethics · 12 U.S.C. 2607, 12 CFR 1024.14

6. Under Reg X, who is a "mortgage broker"?

   • A.A secondary market investor that buys closed loans in bulk
   • B.A lender's salaried loan officer who takes applications and quotes rates at a branch office
   • C.A non-employee intermediary who renders origination services between a borrower and a lender
   • D.A title agent who conducts the closing and records the deed
   Show answer

   C. A non-employee intermediary who renders origination services between a borrower and a lender

   ML-2 · 1. Federal Mortgage-Related Laws · 12 CFR 1024.2

7. The SAFE Act was enacted as part of which law?

   • A.The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010
   • B.The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003
   • C.The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
   • D.The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999
   Show answer

   C. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008

   ML-89 · 2. Uniform State Content · 12 U.S.C. 5101

8. What is the longest loan term a qualified mortgage may have?

   • A.30 years
   • B.35 years
   • C.50 years
   • D.40 years
   Show answer

   A. 30 years

   ML-117 · 3. General Mortgage Knowledge · 12 CFR 1026.43

9. A shopper asks for a written estimate of terms before applying. If the creditor gives one, what must it say?

   • A.That the actual rate, payment and costs could be higher, and to get an official Loan Estimate
   • B.That the shopper must apply within 24 hours to keep the quoted rate
   • C.Nothing special, since an early estimate of terms counts as the Loan Estimate if the shopper later applies
   • D.That the estimate is a binding offer for 10 business days
   Show answer

   A. That the actual rate, payment and costs could be higher, and to get an official Loan Estimate

   ML-167 · 4. Mortgage Loan Origination Activities · 12 CFR 1026.19

10. A loan officer rents a desk in a real estate office for $1,500 a month when similar desks rent for $200. What does RESPA say?

    • A.Nothing, since rent is never a thing of value
    • B.It is fine, as long as the agents in the office send at least two buyers a month to the loan officer
    • C.It is fine, if the lease is in writing
    • D.The amount above fair market rent can be a disguised payment for referrals
    Show answer

    D. The amount above fair market rent can be a disguised payment for referrals

    ML-62 · 5. Ethics · 12 CFR 1024.14, 12 U.S.C. 2607

What the study guide does

• Short study rounds and flip cards.
• A practice test built like the real one: 115 questions, 87 to pass.
• Pass Meter: your chance of passing if you sat the test today, worked out from your own answers.
• An explanation for every answer.