How to Check if a Lender Is Licensed (in 5 Minutes)
Updated November 2026 ยท National Loans USA is not a lender. How we make money.
Is the lender on your screen actually allowed to lend to you? You can check if a lender is licensed in about five minutes. Search the company on NMLS Consumer Access, confirm it with your state’s financial regulator, and look up its complaint history in the CFPB’s database. If it says it’s a bank, the FDIC has a lookup tool too.
Most people skip this. The rule they go by is simple: a professional website means a real, licensed lender. We wanted to see how well that rule holds up, so we looked at what federal and state regulators have actually found when they checked.
Why does a lender’s license matter?
A license is what lets your state’s regulator step in when something goes wrong with a loan. The FTC says lenders must register in the states where they do business. A professional website is no proof of that. In 2017 the CFPB sued four online installment lenders that offered loans of $300 to $1,200 at annual interest rates of 440% to 950%. The CFPB alleged those loans were void, in whole or in part, in at least 17 states because they broke state rate cap or licensing laws. A lawsuit is an allegation, not a finding. Still, that’s 17 states where, by the regulator’s account, the paperwork didn’t hold up. Our view: license status is the first filter, not the last. A licensed lender can still be expensive. An unlicensed one is a risk before you even read the rate.
What tools can you use to check a lender’s license?
Four free tools run by regulators cover most lenders, and each one checks something different. The takeaway from lining them up: no single tool tells you everything, so run at least two.
| Tool | What it tells you | What it can miss |
|---|---|---|
| NMLS Consumer Access | Whether a state-licensed company or person is authorized to do business in your state | Some state-chartered banks and credit unions, and license types a state handles elsewhere |
| Your state financial regulator | The official license record, plus orders or disciplinary actions | Lenders licensed only in other states |
| FDIC BankFind | Whether a bank is FDIC-insured, its official name and its real websites | Non-bank lenders |
| CFPB Consumer Complaint Database | Complaints filed about the company and how it responded | It isn’t a statistical sample, so it can’t rank lenders |
A Better Business Bureau profile can add reviews and complaint history. It’s a private organization, not a regulator, so use it as a second opinion.
How do you check a lender on NMLS Consumer Access?
Search the lender’s name at nmlsconsumeraccess.org and look for your state on its license list. The CFPB describes NMLS Consumer Access as a free service where you can see whether a financial services company or professional is authorized to do business in your state. It isn’t only for mortgages. Maryland’s regulator, for example, lists 15 license types you can search there, including consumer lenders, installment loan lenders, mortgage lenders, collection agencies and debt settlement providers. One caveat from the same page: NMLS may not show which banks and credit unions Maryland itself charters, so Maryland points people to a separate directory for those. Your state may have a similar split.
Here is the five-minute version:
- Find the lender’s legal name. Check the website footer, the terms page or the loan offer for a company name and a license number or NMLS ID. If you can’t find one, ask the lender for it.
- Search NMLS Consumer Access by name or ID. Open the company record and check the license list for your state and its status.
- Go to your state regulator’s site. Use its license search or call. The CFPB says you can usually check there for disciplinary actions against a lender or loan officer.
- If the company calls itself a bank, search it in the FDIC’s BankFind tool by bank name or website.
- Search the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database, then search the name with words like “complaint” and “scam.”
What if the lender says it’s a bank?
Look it up in the FDIC’s BankFind tool before you send money or personal details. The FDIC’s guide to BankFind says you can search by bank name or by website, and see whether a site or trade name is tied to an FDIC-insured bank. The FDIC says this should help people avoid fake bank sites that try to collect personal information or steal money. If a site doesn’t show up, it may be a legitimate non-bank, or it may not be legitimate at all. Then check the state license route above. You can also browse our directory of US banks, but note that listings in our directory can be paid placements, so verify any lender there the same way.
What if the lender says it’s owned by a tribe?
Ask your state regulator before you sign, because the lender’s view of the law and your state’s view may not match. Some online lenders say they’re subsidiaries of a federally recognized Native American tribe. Your state may not treat that as a license. In a June 30, 2026 alert, Washington’s Department of Financial Institutions named online lenders claiming to be subsidiaries of one tribe and said they were not licensed by the department. The same alert said that even when a loan is made over the internet, a license is generally still required. Let your state regulator answer the license question, not the lender. If you want your state’s rate limits and complaint process behind you, a lender that says it sits outside them is a weaker deal from the start.
⚑ Red flag: A real lender can tell you where it’s licensed. Walk away if you see these.
- No license number or NMLS ID anywhere, and the lender won’t give you one.
- The company name on the loan papers doesn’t match the website or the license record.
- The lender says your state’s laws don’t apply because it’s online, offshore or tribally owned, and it can’t point to a license in your state.
- It wants a fee before the loan arrives, the mark of an advance-fee loan scam.
How should you read CFPB complaints about a lender?
Read them for patterns, not totals. The CFPB Consumer Complaint Database generally updates daily. A complaint is published only after the company responds or 15 days pass, whichever comes first. The CFPB is direct about the limits: the database is not a statistical sample, so it doesn’t represent every customer’s experience. It also tells you to weigh complaint counts against a company’s size and market share. To use illustrative numbers, a large lender with 300 complaints may be cleaner than a small one with 30. What we’d look for instead is the same problem showing up again and again, such as surprise fees or money taken from a bank account without permission, and whether the company’s responses fix anything.
Does this apply to lenders you find through a loan request form?
Yes. Check every lender that contacts you, however you found it. If you use our loan request form, your request goes to lenders and partners in a third-party network, and some may contact you. We’re not a lender. Lenders set rates, may check your credit, and submitting doesn’t guarantee an offer. Before you accept, run the five-minute check on the company named in the offer. Then compare the APR and total cost using our personal loans guide.
Back to the website rule: it fails. A good website tells you nothing about a license. If the lender is licensed in your state, move on to comparing price. If it isn’t, and it isn’t a bank you can find in BankFind, stop there.
Frequently asked questions
Is NMLS Consumer Access free?
Yes. The CFPB describes it as a free service where you can see whether a financial services company or professional is authorized to do business in your state. You search by company or person name.
Do online lenders need a state license?
In many states, yes, and being online does not change that. Washington’s Department of Financial Institutions, for example, says a license is generally still required even when the loan is made over the internet. Rules vary by state and loan type, so confirm with your state’s financial regulator.
What if I can’t find a lender on NMLS Consumer Access?
Check your state regulator’s own license search next, because not every license type or chartered bank shows up clearly on NMLS. If the company says it is a bank, look it up in the FDIC’s BankFind tool. If you still can’t find it, don’t sign or pay anything until your state regulator confirms it can lend to you.
Does a complaint in the CFPB database mean a lender is bad?
Not on its own. The CFPB says its complaint database is not a statistical sample and isn’t representative of all consumers’ experiences, and it suggests weighing complaint counts against a company’s size. Read how the company responded and look for the same problem repeated.
