Cost & compare
Published government and NMLS processing costs for consumer lender, finance lender, and related company licenses.
This page compares costs and providers. It does not list who needs which license, and it does not publish processing timelines.
| Published fee | Amount | When it applies | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| NMLS company initial set-up / application processing | $120.00 per agency / per license | Each new or transitioned company license filed through NMLS (Form MU1). | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (CSBS / SRR) |
| NMLS company annual processing | $120.00 per agency / per license | Each annual renewal request filed through NMLS. | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (CSBS / SRR) |
| NMLS branch initial set-up / application processing | $25.00 per agency / per license | Each new or transitioned branch license filed through NMLS (Form MU3). | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (CSBS / SRR) |
| NMLS branch annual processing | $25.00 per agency / per license | Each annual branch renewal request filed through NMLS. | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (CSBS / SRR) |
| NMLS individual initial set-up / application processing | $35.00 per agency / per license | Each new or transitioned individual license filed through NMLS (Form MU4). | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (CSBS / SRR) |
| NMLS individual annual processing | $35.00 per agency / per license | Each annual individual renewal request filed through NMLS. | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (CSBS / SRR) |
| NMLS criminal background check | $36.25 per request | Livescan or print-card capture. Charged once per filing regardless of how many licenses are in that filing. Print cards add a $10 card packet fee. | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (CSBS / SRR) |
| NMLS credit report | $15.00 per request | Charged when NMLS does not already have a credit report less than 30 days old. Single charge per filing. | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (CSBS / SRR) |
| NMLS credit-card service fee | 2.5% of the card charge per card transaction | Visa or Mastercard payments through NMLS. ACH has no added service fee. | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (CSBS / SRR) |
State-specific application fees are on each state page when a statute or regulator schedule publishes them. Otherwise open the official NMLS fee chart.
Each page names the official agencies and only the fees we sourced.
Cost stack: published state application or investigation fees, NMLS processing, and unpublished service quotes.
| Published fact | DIY | LegalZoom | Harbor Compliance | Cornerstone Licensing Quote CTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public price list for these licenses | No service fee. You pay government and NMLS fees directly. | Publishes formation and some general-business prices. No public price list for ARM, lending, money-transmitter, or mortgage company licenses. | No public per-state price list for these four financial-license families. | No public price list. Quote only. |
| Published scope | You file with the state agency or NMLS yourself. | Public site focuses on entity formation, trademarks, and general legal documents. | Public site markets multi-state licensing and registered-agent services. | Public site lists multi-state licensing, surety bonds, insurance, registered agent, and Atlas tracking for financial-services firms. |
| Published track record we will repeat | Not a vendor. | Public company. See investor materials for corporate history. | Not restated here. Use the provider’s own published figures. | 28 years, 525,000+ filings, 99.995% on-time filing rate — published on cornerstonelicensing.com. |
| No vendor site | No vendor site | No vendor site | cornerstonelicensing.com → |
Service-dollar ranges are omitted on purpose. If a firm does not publish a price, LicenseStore will not invent one. See sources.