According to Duane Buziak, a two-minute NMLS lookup is the quickest way to confirm that the lender or loan officer you’re about to trust with your mortgage is licensed in your state. This guide walks you through an NMLS number lookup for lenders from start to finish: verifying a company, verifying an individual, reading what the record shows, and spotting red flags. You need the lender’s name, the loan officer’s name or NMLS number, and a web browser. At Mortgage Rate Hawk, the philosophy is “We Don’t Just Look. We Hunt.” and that starts with making sure everyone in the hunt is who they say they are.
Step 1: Gather the Names and Numbers You’ll Search With
Start with two names: the loan officer’s full legal name and the company’s name. You can find both on a Loan Estimate, in an email signature, or in a website footer. Lenders are required to show NMLS IDs in many consumer-facing materials, so if you can’t find one, ask for it. A legitimate professional will answer immediately.
There are two kinds of NMLS IDs, and they never overlap:
- Company ID: identifies the licensed business. For example, Coast2Coast Mortgage LLC is NMLS #376205.
- Individual ID: identifies the mortgage loan originator. For example, Duane Buziak is NMLS #1110647.
A person never shares an ID with their employer. If a loan officer hands you one number and says it covers both, that’s your first reason to pause.
Be careful about what you search. A marketing name or website brand, such as a rate-comparison site, is often not the licensed entity. Duane Buziak explains it this way: a broker arranges your loan through wholesale lenders and doesn’t fund it with its own money, while a direct lender funds loans itself. Either one must be licensed, but the license belongs to the legal company, not the brand. A brand site may operate under a licensed company’s NMLS number, so look for the legal name in the footer or disclosures and search that.
Finally, decide which state you’re buying or refinancing in. Licensing is state by state, and every later step depends on that answer. Write down the state, the company’s legal name, the company ID, the officer’s name, and the officer’s ID before moving on.
Step 2: Open NMLS Consumer Access, the Official Lookup
The official tool is NMLS Consumer Access, a free public search run by the State Regulatory Registry. Type nmlsconsumeraccess.org directly into your browser’s address bar. Don’t click a sponsored search result, an ad, or a link in a text message. Lead-generation sites sometimes imitate official lookups to capture your information.
The real one has a simple rule you can rely on: it’s free, and it never asks for your Social Security number, your credit, or your payment details. If a page claiming to be a license lookup asks for any of those, close it.
The registry exists because of the SAFE Act, the federal law that created a national licensing and registration framework for mortgage loan originators. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau encourages borrowers to research lenders and loan officers before choosing one, and checking licensing is a core part of that. As of 2026, the CFPB’s mortgage shopping guidance is the best place to read their current wording, and it pairs well with this lookup.
Once the site loads, take a quick tour of the search screen. You’ll typically see:
- A tab or option for searching an Individual
- A tab or option for searching a Company (sometimes labeled by entity type)
- Fields for name or NMLS ID, and a state filter
Menu labels and layout change from time to time, so if yours looks slightly different, look for the equivalent options. Keep this page open in one tab and your notes from Step 1 in another.
Step 3: Search the Company by NMLS Number or Name
Use the Company search and enter the NMLS ID whenever you have it. Names can be nearly identical across unrelated businesses, but an ID points to exactly one record. Use a name search only as a fallback, and when you do, compare the legal name against any “doing business as” names the record lists.
Here’s a walk-through using Duane Buziak’s company as a registry example. Enter 376205 in the company search. The result should show Coast2Coast Mortgage LLC. Then confirm the details against what the lender has told you:
- The legal name matches the name on your Loan Estimate or disclosures.
- The business address and website in the record match what the lender publishes.
- Any trade names listed are ones you recognize.
If the address or website doesn’t line up, ask why before going further. Mergers and relocations are common, but the lender should be able to explain them.
Next, open the list of states where the company holds licenses and confirm that your state appears. For this example, Duane Buziak is licensed in VA, FL, TN, GA, DC, NC, SC, and MD. A borrower buying in Georgia would see Georgia on that list, while a borrower buying in Texas would not, and that would matter.
The mistake to avoid here is assuming that a company licensed somewhere is licensed everywhere. A national-sounding website or a polished app says nothing about whether the company can legally originate a loan on a home in your state. The state list in the record is the only answer that counts.
Step 4: Look Up the Loan Officer Duane Buziak Style, by ID and Employer
A licensed company doesn’t automatically mean a licensed loan officer, so check the person too. Switch to the Individual tab and search by NMLS ID (for the example, 1110647) or by name. The ID is more reliable.
When the record opens, confirm three things:
- Employer: the company listed should match the one you verified in Step 3. A different or outdated employer means you should ask questions.
- License status in your state: it should show as active or approved for the state where your property is.
- Current employment: look for a current sponsorship, not just a past one.
You may notice that some records look different from others. That’s normal. Loan officers who work for banks and other federally regulated depository institutions are federally registered, while mortgage loan originators at non-depository companies, like independent brokers, are state licensed. Both are legitimate paths under the SAFE Act framework, but the records can show different fields. Don’t panic if a bank employee shows registration instead of a state license; do panic if a non-bank officer shows neither.
If you hit trouble, try these fixes:
- A name returns many results: filter by state or switch to the NMLS ID.
- No result at all: check the spelling, try a legal name instead of a nickname, then ask the officer directly for their ID in writing.
An officer who can’t or won’t provide an ID in writing has told you what you need to know.
Step 5: Read the Record: Licenses, Status, and Regulatory Actions
A record is only useful if you can read it. Status terms vary, and the exact labels should be checked on the live site, but they generally work like this:
- Approved or Active: the license is in good standing and the person or company can originate in that state.
- Inactive: the license exists but isn’t currently usable, often because the officer isn’t sponsored by a company right now. Don’t proceed with loan origination until it’s active.
- Expired: the license wasn’t renewed. Not valid for new loans.
- Terminated: the license or sponsorship ended. Ask why.
Next, find the section covering regulatory actions or disclosures. An action on a record isn’t automatically disqualifying. Some are old, minor, or resolved. But it deserves a direct question, and the answer should be straightforward. Also scan the employment and sponsorship history for rapid job-hopping or unexplained gaps.
Here’s an illustration, not a real company or person. Suppose you look up “Sample Home Funding” and its loan officer, “Alex Sample.”
- Clean profile: company license approved in your state, officer active and sponsored by that company, five years of steady employment history, no regulatory actions listed.
- Concerning profile: officer license inactive in your state, four employers in two years, a recent regulatory action with no explanation, and a company address that doesn’t match its website.
One caveat from Duane Buziak: a registry record is verification, not endorsement. A clean record tells you someone is licensed. It doesn’t tell you they’ll be responsive, transparent, or competitive on price. That part you still have to test, which is where comparison comes in.
Step 6: Use the Lookup to Compare Lenders Side by Side
Once you can verify one lender, verify every lender you’re considering before you compare rates. Rate hunting works best when every quote comes from a confirmed, licensed source. Watch. Compare. Save.
Build a simple table like the one below. The IDs and states for each company must be confirmed on NMLS Consumer Access before you rely on them, since listings change, so treat “Verify live” as an instruction rather than a blank.
| Company | NMLS ID | States licensed | Broker or direct lender | Same-day callback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coast2Coast Mortgage LLC (Duane Buziak, NMLS #1110647) | 376205 | VA, FL, TN, GA, DC, NC, SC, MD | Broker | Yes |
| Rocket | Verify live | Verify live | Direct lender | Ask the lender |
| Veterans United | Verify live | Verify live | Direct lender | Ask the lender |
| Movement | Verify live | Verify live | Direct lender | Ask the lender |
| Lower | Verify live | Verify live | Direct lender | Ask the lender |
Why does broker versus direct lender matter? A direct lender can offer only its own pricing. A licensed broker like Duane Buziak can shop multiple wholesale sources, including direct access to PowerTPO, which is Lower LLC’s own wholesale subsidiary. That means the same underwriters without a retail markup. To be fair to Lower, its digital app and pricing transparency are real strengths, and no one should claim a guaranteed rate advantage either way. Your actual quotes decide that.
Then bring in the Loan Estimate. Each estimate prints the lender’s NMLS ID, and you should match every one to the registry before comparing the rate, fees, and APR. The CFPB’s Loan Estimate explainer shows where to find each section.
You can start without a hard credit pull, too. Duane Buziak offers a free no-touch credit check, so the comparison doesn’t cost you any score.
Step 7: Verify Before You Share Documents, and Know What to Do If Something Doesn’t Match
The order matters: verify first, then send your Social Security number, pay stubs, and bank statements through a secure portal. Email attachments and text messages aren’t secure channels for that information.
Treat any of these as red flags:
- No NMLS ID provided, or an ID that doesn’t match the name
- A license that isn’t active in your state
- Pressure to act fast or “lock in” before you can check anything
- Requests for upfront fees beyond normal appraisal and credit report costs
If something doesn’t match, stop and ask. If the answer isn’t satisfactory, report it to your state financial regulator and file a complaint with the CFPB through its portal at consumerfinance.gov/complaint (confirm the current URL when you file).
Here’s an illustration of what’s at stake. Suppose you’re buying a $400,000 home in Georgia with 20% down. That’s an $80,000 down payment and a $320,000 loan. At a purely hypothetical 6.5% rate on a 30-year fixed, principal and interest would run about $2,023 a month. Actual rates vary and change daily, so this is only for illustration as of October 2026.
Now suppose you wire part of that $80,000, plus earnest money, to someone who turns out to be unlicensed. One skipped two-minute lookup could cost you more than most people save in years. The HUD and CFPB closing cost guidance describes which fees are normal at closing, which helps you spot a charge that isn’t. Verifying first protects the full amount, and costs nothing.
Your Quick Check Is Done: Now Put It to Work with Duane Buziak
You now have a repeatable five-point check: company ID, individual ID, state license, status, and regulatory actions. Run it on every lender before you share a document, and you’ll hunt rates from a position of confidence.
Ready to see the numbers? Call Duane Buziak at Mortgage Rate Hawk by Duane Buziak at 804-212-8663 for a same-day callback and a transparent comparison. Your dream home is waiting, so don’t let the mortgage process hold you back. Get your free rate comparison and personalized loan match today, with same-day expert guidance to help you find the right path forward, whether you’re a first-time buyer or ready to refinance.
