How many hours of CE do I need each year for each state I'm licensed in?

Every licensed mortgage loan originator (MLO) must complete at least 8 hours of NMLS-approved continuing education (CE) each year to renew their license. Those 8 hours are broken into specific categories by the SAFE Act (the federal law that governs MLO licensing), and covered in the 7 Hours CORE Continuing Education course. The remaining hour(s) are covered in electives.

The requirement is per license, per year. Even if you’re licensed in multiple states, you only need to complete the 8-hour federal CE once each year (though some states will add extras — more on that below).

Take a look at the chart below to see your state's specific requirements, click on each state for more information.

State
CE Deadline
State-Specific Elective Hours
General Elective Hours
Total Hours
AL
Alabama
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
AK
Alaska
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
AZ
Arizona
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
AR
Arkansas
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
CO
Colorado
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
CT
Connecticut
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
DE
Delaware
December 1, 2025
0
1
8
FL
Florida
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
GA
Georgia
October 31, 2025
1
0
8
HI
Hawaii
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
ID
Idaho
December 1, 2025
1
0
8
IL
Illinois
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
IA
Iowa
December 1, 2025
0
1
8
KS
Kansas
December 1, 2025
0
1
8
KY
Kentucky
November 30, 2025
1
0
8
LA
Louisiana
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
ME
Maine
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
MD
Maryland
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
MA
Massachusetts
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
MI
Michigan
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
MN
Minnesota
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
MS
Mississippi
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
MO
Missouri
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
MT
Montana
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
NE
Nebraska
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
NV
Nevada
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
NV-QI
Nevada - QI ONLY
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
NH
New Hampshire
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
NJ
New Jersey
December 31, 2025
2
3
12
NM
New Mexico
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
NY
New York
December 31, 2025
3
1
11
NC
North Carolina
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
ND
North Dakota
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
OH
Ohio
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
OK
Oklahoma
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
OR
Oregon
December 31, 2025
2
1
10
PA
Pennsylvania
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
PR
Puerto Rico
December 1, 2025
0
1
8
RI
Rhode Island
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
SD
South Dakota
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
TN
Tennessee
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
VT
Vermont
December 1, 2025
0
1
8
VA
Virginia
December 31, 2025
1
0
8
WA
Washington
December 15, 2025
1
1
9
DC
Washington, D.C.
November 1, 2025
0
1
8
WV
West Virginia
November 1, 2025
2
0
9
WI
Wisconsin
December 31, 2025
0
1
8
WY
Wyoming
December 31, 2025
0
1
8

What if I'm licensed in multiple states?

The good news is, you only need to complete your 7 hour CORE Federal requirement once, no matter how many states you're licensed in. The trickier part is figuring out how many elective credits you need to fulfill the requirements of all the states you hold a license in, so we break it down below. You can refer to the chart above to see each state's requirements.

Do all of your states require 1 hour of a general elective?

Then you only need to take the 7 hours + 1 hour general elective, for a total of 8 hours.

Example: Alaska & Colorado both require 1 hour of a general elective. You would only need to complete 8 hours (7 hours CORE + 1 hour GE) to satisfy both of these states' requirements.

Does one or more of your states require a state-specific elective?

You need to take the 7 hours CORE, plus the state-specific elective for every state you hold a license in. This could total up to 9+ hours depending on how many states you are licensed in with state-specific elective requirements.

Example: Connecticut & Florida both require 1 hour of their state-specific elective. You would need to complete 9 hours (7 hours CORE + 1 hour CT + 1 hour FL) to satisfy both of these states' requirements.

Do you have a mix of general elective and state-specific elective requirements?

In most cases, a state-specific elective hour counts toward your general elective requirement, meaning if you hold a license in a state requiring 1 hour of a general elective, and another in a state requiring 1 hour of their state-specific elective, you would only need to complete the 7 hours + 1 hour state-specific elective, for a total of 8 hours. In this case, your state-specific elective counts toward your general elective hours.

Example: Alaska requires 1 hour of a general elective & Connecticut requires 1 hour of their state-specific elective. You would only to complete 8 hours (7 hours CORE + 1 hour CT) to satisfy both of these states' requirements.

It's important to note that this does not apply to states requiring both a general elective and a state-specific elective, like Washington or New York. Some states, like New Jersey, New York, and Washington require multiple state-specific hours or require both a state-specific and general elective.

Still not sure how many hours you need?

The good thing is, we make it easy to find all of your requirements. Use our state-selection tool to show all the CE courses you need — a good rule of thumb is you should never have more than 1 of each course in your cart!

We know how holding multiple licenses can make it confusing. You can always reach out to us if you need help determining which courses you need to fulfill all your requirements to keep that license happy.

Does my state have a state-specific elective?

Many states require you to take a specific elective. If you are licensed in multiple states, you may be required to take multiple state-specific electives for each state you are licensed in. However, your state-specific elective may satisfy your general elective hour in a state that doesn't have a state-specific elective (more on that above).

Some states, like New Jersey, New York, and Washington require multiple state-specific hours or require both a state-specific and general elective.

You can refer to the chart above to see what electives each state requires.

Does my state require a general elective?

Some states don't require a state-specific elective requirement. If you are only licensed in a state with no state-specific electives, you can take a general elective to complete your CE hours. If you are licensed in multiple states, your state-specific elective for one state may satisfy your general elective hour in another (more on that above).

The following states do not have a state-specific elective:

When is the deadline for my CE?

The national CE completion deadline is December 31, but most states enforce the SMART deadline (December 15) to ensure reporting in time for renewal. MaxClass has a deadline of December 29 to ensure on-time reporting.

Some states have an earlier deadline, those states are listed below:

Delaware
December 1, 2025
Georgia
October 31, 2025
Idaho
December 1, 2025
Iowa
December 1, 2025
Kansas
December 1, 2025
Puerto Rico
December 1, 2025
Vermont
December 1, 2025
Washington
December 15, 2025
Washington, D.C.
November 1, 2025
West Virginia
November 1, 2025
FAQ

State-By-State CE Requirements

Keep that license happy. Here’s your guide to keeping your mortgage license active —  how many hours you need, what’s included, and which states tack on state-specific requirements.

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