NMLS Reference Wiki
A free, searchable reference library for the NMLS SAFE mortgage loan originator exam — concepts, federal statutes, and CFR sections explained in plain language.
Study notes. AI-assisted reference for NMLS SAFE exam prep — verify against primary sources (CFR, statute, CFPB) before relying on it. Not legal advice.
224 pages
Concepts (148)
Plain-language explanations of the rules, terms, and processes tested on the NMLS SAFE exam.
- 12 CFR § 1026 Subpart B – Open-End Credit
- 12 CFR § 1026 Subpart D – Miscellaneous
- 12 CFR § 1026 Subpart E – Special Rules for Certain Home Mortgage Transactions
- 12 CFR § 1026.25 Record Retention
- 12 CFR § 1026.3 Exempt Transactions
- 12 CFR 1026 43 Refinancing Non Standard Mortgages
- Ability-to-Repay (ATR) Rule
- Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)
- Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM)
- Administrative Dissolution
- Adverse Action Disclosures
- Affiliate (HPML Escrow Rule)
- Affordable Housing
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
- Anti-Steering Provisions
- Area Median Income (AMI)
- Automated Collateral Evaluation Plus Property Data Report (ACE+ PDR)
- Automated Underwriting Systems (AUS)
- Average Prime Offer Rate (APOR)
- Balloon Payment
- Business Day
- Callable Bonds
- Cash to Close Calculation (Closing Disclosure)
- Cash-out Refinance
- CFPB Loan Originator Rule
- Changed Circumstance or Other Triggering Event (TILA-RESPA)
- Clear Title
- Closing Costs
- Collateral Representation and Warranty (R&W) Relief
- Competitive Interest Rates
- Complete Loan Application Definition
- Compliance with Labor Laws
- Condominium and Common Interest Community Project Eligibility
- Conforming and High-Balance Loan Limits
- Consumer Credit and Loan Structures
- Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- Consummation (Mortgage Lending)
- Content Governance and Maintenance
- Contract Date (Comparable Sale)
- Conventional Loans
- Credit Risk Assessment
- Credit Score
- Data Use Agreements
- Day 1 Certainty™
- Demand Feature
- Depreciation (Tax)
- Digital Mortgage Process
- Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance
- DU Validation Service
- Due Diligence (SAPP Context)
- Duration (Bonds)
- Economic and Population Growth, and Property Value Appreciation
- Effective Property Tax Rate
- Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)
- Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law Poster
- Escrow Accounts
- Event-Based Reporting (Fannie Mae)
- Fannie Mae Demand and Dispute Resolution Process
- Fannie Mae Forms 1007 and 1025 (Rental Income Documentation and Calculation)
- Fannie Mae Mortgage Insurance Requirements
- Fannie Mae to Fannie Mae Refinance
- Federal Government Shutdown Impact on Mortgage Lending
- Federally Registered MLO
- FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual
- Financial Literacy and Housing Counseling
- Fixed-Rate Mortgage
- Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE)
- GSE Patch (Expired)
- High-Cost Mortgage (HOEPA Loan)
- Home Equity and Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
- Homeowners Protection Act (HPA) and Mortgage Insurance (MI)
- Income Eligibility Requirements (USDA)
- Inheritance Tax
- Intangible Value
- Investment Property
- Judicial Foreclosure
- Lead-Based Paint Hazards, Abatement, and Regulations
- Legislative Updates - MLO Responsibility
- Lender Channel/Flow Deliveries
- Lender Overlays
- Limited Liability
- Liquid Reserves
- Loan Eligibility
- Loan Estimate – Balloon Payment Sample (H-24E)
- Loan Estimate (LE) and Good Faith Estimate (GFE)
- Loan Fallout and Pair-Off Arrangements
- Loan Modification and Rate and Term Refinance
- Loan Product Information
- Loan-Level Price Adjustment (LLPA)
- Mandatory Workplace Notice
- Market Value and Other Valuation Concepts
- MISMO Data Standards and Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset (ULDD)
- MLO Ethical Conduct, Financial Responsibility, and Duty of Care
- Mortgage Banking and Regulatory Reporting
- Mortgage Guarantee (USDA/RD)
- Mortgage Loan Fraud and Misrepresentation
- Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO)
- Mortgage Loan Quality Assessment and Risk Management
- Mortgage Origination Channels
- Mortgage Servicing
- Mortgage Servicing Rights (MSR)
- Mortgage Shopping Worksheet
- Municipal Bonds
- National Do-Not-Call Registry
- Negative Convexity (MBS)
- Negotiated (Bulk) Transactions
- Net Tangible Benefit
- No Down Payment and No Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
- Owner-Occupancy Affidavit
- Partial Payment Policy Disclosure (Closing Disclosure)
- Payment Deferral
- Positive Convexity
- Prepayment Option (Mortgages)
- Projected Payments Table (Closing Disclosure)
- Prudent Underwriting Judgment
- Qualified Mortgage (QM)
- Radon Gas Requirements
- Radon Mitigation
- Radon-Resistant Construction
- Rate and Term Refinance
- Real Estate Lending Standards
- Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA): Home Warranty Companies’ Payments to Real Estate Brokers and Agents Interpretive Rule
- Rebuttable Presumption (Qualified Mortgage)
- Reserves (Mortgage Underwriting)
- Residential Mortgage Loan and Dwelling (SAFE Act and TILA Definitions)
- RESPA Statement of Policy 1996-4, Statement of Enforcement Standards: Title Insurance Practices in Florida
- Retaliation
- Reverse Mortgage Loans (HECM and Home Keeper)
- Rural Area Definition and Special Provisions for Small Creditors (Regulation Z)
- Seasoned Qualified Mortgage (Seasoned QM)
- Second Home Definition
- Simultaneous Second-Lien Loans and Deferred Second Mortgages
- Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP)
- Small Creditor Definition and Rural/Underserved Area Provisions (Regulation Z)
- State Property Laws, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), and Texas Home Equity Loans
- Successor in Interest
- Three Business Day Rule (Revised Estimates)
- Timeshare Plans
- Tolerances (Loan Costs)
- Transitional MLO Licensing
- USDA 502 Loan Program
- VA Limited Denial of Participation (LDP)
- VA Loan Entitlement, Certificate of Eligibility (COE), and Loan Guaranty Certificate (LGC)
- VA Prior Approval Loans
- VA-Approved Credit Underwriter and Underwriting Standards
- Waived Risk-Based Credit Fees
- Wholesale Lending
Statutes & Regulations (76)
The specific federal statutes and CFR sections behind mortgage compliance.
- 12 CFR Part 34, Subpart B (Adjustable-Rate Mortgages)
- 12 U.S.C. § 371 (National Bank Mortgage Authority)
- 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and § 1014 - False Statements
- 24 CFR 203.49 (Eligibility of FHA Adjustable Rate Mortgages)
- 38 C.F.R. § 36.4306 (VA Cash-Out Refinancing)
- 38 CFR Part 44 (Sanctions Against Program Participants)
- Arizona Department of Financial Institutions (DIFI)
- Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI)
- Auction.com
- Bank Holding Company Act of 1956
- Beyond ACE (bACE) API
- Borrower (Consumer)
- Census Bureau
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
- Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W)
- Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act)
- Creditor (Lender)
- Department of Labor
- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Desktop Originator (DO)
- Desktop Underwriter (DU)
- Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
- Fannie Mae
- Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)
- Federal Banking Agencies
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
- Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks)
- Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
- Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA)
- Freddie Mac
- GBQ Partners
- GI Bill
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and Regulation P
- Home Equity Loan Consumer Protection Act of 1988
- Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Regulation C
- Home Possible Mortgage
- Housing Finance Agency (HFA)
- Hubzu (an Altisource Company)
- HUD-1 Settlement Statement, Special Information Booklet, Closing Disclosure, and Form HUD-11702
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- Joint Enforcement Task Force on Workplace Fraud (Maryland Department of Labor)
- Lender Appraisal Processing Program (LAPP) - VA
- Loan Originator
- Making Home Affordable Program
- Mortgage Broker
- Mortgage Loan Originators (MLOs)
- National Association of Mortgage Underwriters (NAMU)
- National Banks
- Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System Registry (NMLS)
- Nisos
- Other Loan Participants and Key Third Parties in the Mortgage Ecosystem
- Promissory Note and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS)
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing and Companies
- Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)
- Regulation E
- Regulation G (SEC and CFPB)
- Regulation H (Federal Reserve - 12 CFR Part 208 & CFPB - 12 CFR Part 1008)
- Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026)
- Rural Development (USDA)
- Rural Housing Service (RHS)
- Secretary of State
- Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
- Supplemental Consumer Information Form (Form 1103)
- The Appraisal Foundation
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Regulation Z
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- VA Automatic Lenders (Supervised and Nonsupervised)
- VA Funding Fee and Payment System (FFPS)
- VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) and Veterans Information Portal (VIP)
- VA-Approved Appraiser
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