Individual Mortgage Loan Originator Coverage (via company bond)

No. Individual mortgage loan originators (MLOs) in Illinois do not file their own surety bonds. Instead, MLOs must be covered by their sponsoring employer's company surety bond. The sponsoring entity (licensed mortgage broker, mortgage banker, or registered exempt company) files one company bond that covers all MLOs working for that company. The bond amount ranges from $25,000 to $150,000 based on the company's prior year Illinois residential mortgage loan volume.

The bond amount depends on the sponsoring company's prior calendar year Illinois residential mortgage loan volume: $25,000 for $0-$5 million in loans, $50,000 for $5-$20 million, $75,000 for $20-$50 million, $100,000 for $50-$100 million, and $150,000 for over $100 million in loan volume. The IDFPR may require bond increases based on annual loan volume reporting, and the bond amount is adjusted annually as needed.

The sponsoring employer (licensed mortgage broker, mortgage banker, or registered exempt company) is responsible for filing the company surety bond that covers all their employed mortgage loan originators. The bond is filed through NMLS using IDFPR forms and must be maintained for the duration of the company's license/registration. Individual MLOs cannot work independently in Illinois - they must be employed by a sponsoring entity that has filed the required company bond.