Last updated: October 4, 2026|General Ohio mortgage broker bond information — confirm current requirements with the licensing authority.

Ohio DFI · ORC 1322.32

Ohio Mortgage Broker Bond

$50,000 to $150,000, recalculated from your own volume every renewal.

Every RMLA registrant -- mortgage broker, lender, or servicer -- doing business under Ohio's Residential Mortgage Lending Act files a corporate surety bond in favor of the Superintendent of the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions. The penal sum is 0.5% of the aggregate loan amount you originated nationwide in the immediately preceding calendar year, floored at $50,000 and capped at $150,000, per Ohio Rev. Code Section 1322.32 and Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14. Because that number is reassessed every year at renewal -- not set once at licensing -- a strong production year quietly raises what DFI expects next.

$50K-$150K

Bond range, by nationwide volume

Annual

Reassessed at every Dec. 31 renewal

Quick answer

Ohio recalculates your bond from your own volume at every renewal, so a strong production year can raise what DFI expects next. You pay a premium that is a small percentage of the bond amount, not the full amount; the surety sets the final price.

Who requires it: The Ohio Division of Financial Institutions (DFI) Superintendent, under ORC 1322.32 and Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14.
Amount: 0.5% of the aggregate loan amount you originated nationwide in the prior calendar year, floored at $50,000 and capped at $150,000.
Timing: Same-day submission; most quotes within one business day.

Get an Ohio mortgage broker bond quote

Official Ohio Requirements

"The surety bond required by division (A)(1) of section 1322.32 of the Revised Code shall be in the penal sum of one-half per cent of the aggregate loan amount of all residential mortgage loans originated within and outside this state in the immediately preceding calendar year, but not exceeding one hundred fifty thousand dollars."

Ohio Administrative Code, via the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions • Ohio Rev. Code Section 1322.32; Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(D)

The Half-Percent Formula: How Ohio DFI Prices Your Bond

Ohio RMLA Bond Calculation

Worked Example

Given$22,000,000 originated nationwide last year

0.5% × $22,000,000 = $110,000

Bond Amount$110,000 bond required

Given$22,000,000 originated nationwide last year

0.5% × $22,000,000 = $110,000

Bond Amount$110,000 bond required

Ohio Rev. Code Section 1322.32; Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(D). Volume includes loans originated within AND outside Ohio in the immediately preceding calendar year -- not Ohio-only production. The $50K floor shown here is for a single-office registrant; ORC 1322.32(A)(1) adds $10,000 to the floor for each additional office.

Due every December 31

The Renewal Trap: Why Your Bond Can Jump After a Strong Year

ORC 1322.10 makes annual renewal -- due December 31, with a $700 nonrefundable fee per office location -- conditional on staying compliant with the bonding requirement in ORC 1322.32. That bond requirement is not a static number picked at your first license; it is recalculated every year from the immediately preceding calendar year's loan volume. Nothing about your license changes when your volume grows -- but the dollar figure DFI expects on file absolutely does.

Run the math on a registrant that grows from $9 million to $22 million in nationwide originations between year one and year two: their bond moves from the $50,000 floor to $110,000 -- a $60,000 increase they have to secure before their renewal is accepted, discovered only when the annual paperwork comes due. Registrants who track their own trailing 12-month volume against the $10M / $20M / $30M breakpoints ahead of their renewal date avoid a scramble; registrants who wait for DFI to flag the shortfall risk Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(A)(4)'s requirement to cease originating loans until the bond is restored.

This is the opposite problem from a state like Illinois, where the bond itself runs on a perpetual term and only the penal sum is amended via rider -- Ohio's bond and its recalculation are both tied to the same annual renewal cycle, so a volume jump and a compliance deadline can land on the same day.

What Your Prior-Year Volume Actually Costs You

Ohio does not publish official discrete tiers -- the bond is a continuous 0.5% calculation. These are the formula's results at round volume figures, so you can find your own number at a glance.

Ohio RMLA Bond by Nationwide Loan Volume

0.5% of prior-year volume, floored at $50,000 and capped at $150,000

Prior-Year Volume (Nationwide)	Formula	Bond Required
New registrant / no prior-year volume	0.5% floor applies	$50,000
Up to $10,000,000 (nationwide)	0.5% × volume, floor applies	$50,000
~$15,000,000 (nationwide)	0.5% × $15,000,000	$75,000
~$20,000,000 (nationwide)	0.5% × $20,000,000	$100,000
~$25,000,000 (nationwide)	0.5% × $25,000,000	$125,000
$30,000,000+ (nationwide)	0.5% × volume, cap applies	$150,000

Illustrative bond amounts calculated from the statutory 0.5% formula in ORC 1322.32 / OAC 1301:8-7-14(D) for a single-office registrant -- not an officially published tier schedule. If you run more than one Ohio office, ORC 1322.32(A)(1) adds $10,000 to the $50,000 floor for each additional location, so your actual floor may sit above the number shown here even before the 0.5% calculation is applied.

Source: Ohio Rev. Code Section 1322.32; Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(D).

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Registrant Bond vs. the Flat $150,000 Servicer Floor

ORC 1322.32 treats mortgage servicers differently from brokers and lenders -- and the difference is not a discount.

Brokers & Lenders

$50,000 - $150,000

Formula-driven: 0.5% of prior-year nationwide origination volume, floored at $50,000 for a single office and capped at $150,000. A small operation and a large one file genuinely different bond amounts.

Servicers (Exclusively)

$150,000 flat

No volume calculation at all -- registrants engaged exclusively in mortgage servicing owe the $150,000 minimum regardless of the size of the servicing book, per ORC 1322.32.

Multi-office broker or lender? ORC 1322.32(A)(1) adds $10,000 to the $50,000 floor for each office beyond your first -- one bond document still covers every location under OAC 1301:8-7-14(A)(3), but the required floor is higher than a single-office filing.

Why Ohio Counts Loans You Made Outside Ohio

Most states that scale a mortgage bond to volume look only at production inside their own borders. Ohio doesn't. Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(D) is explicit that the formula runs against "the aggregate loan amount of all residential mortgage loans originated within and outside this state" -- your entire nationwide book, not just your Ohio-licensed activity.

That matters most for multi-state lenders with a light Ohio footprint. A national lender doing $40 million a year across a dozen states, but only $2 million of it in Ohio, still owes the $150,000 cap in Ohio -- because DFI is pricing the whole operation, not the Ohio slice. Compare that to Illinois, which ties its own five-tier RMLA bond strictly to Illinois-only loan volume under Ill. Admin. Code tit. 38 Section 1050.490: an identical national lender with the same light Illinois footprint would land near the bottom of Illinois' tier scale instead of its cap.

Practical takeaway: when you're budgeting bond cost for a multi-state RMLA expansion, don't assume Ohio prices like your other states. Pull your full nationwide trailing-12-month volume before you estimate the Ohio number.

Some Loan Processors Need Their Own Bond -- Separate From the Company's

The company-level RMLA bond covers the licensed activity of the registrant and the mortgage loan originators employed by or associated with it. But Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(B) and (C) carve out a narrower category: a licensee who performs clerical or support duties as a loan processor or underwriter, as defined under the federal SAFE Act at 12 U.S.C. Section 5102(5), must maintain their own individual corporate surety bond -- issued in their own name, listing their home address as it appears on their NMLS account.

If your Ohio operation relies on independent-contractor loan processors or underwriters rather than in-house staff whose activity is folded into the company's bond, confirm which category they fall into before you assume the company filing has them covered.

Registering With Ohio DFI Through NMLS

The eight conditions ORC 1322.10 requires the Superintendent to find satisfied

File Your NMLS Application and Pay the Fee

Submit through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System with the application fee and any required NMLS processing fee.

Clear Your Secretary of State Filings

Confirm all Ohio Secretary of State registrations and approvals needed to operate are current before DFI reviews the file.

File the ORC 1322.32 Surety Bond

Purchase and file your corporate surety bond -- $50,000 floor for new registrants, or a higher amount if you're converting an existing multi-state operation with a full prior-year volume history.

Pass the Section 1322.27 Examination

Your operations manager or Qualified Individual must complete the examination required for RMLA registrants.

Disclose a Clean Regulatory and Criminal Record

Neither the applicant nor disclosed control persons can have had a registration revoked or hold a disqualifying conviction -- DFI also screens for material misstatements in the application itself.

Demonstrate Financial Responsibility and Fitness

DFI weighs financial responsibility, experience, and general fitness -- by statute, a credit score or a bankruptcy alone cannot be the sole basis for denial.

Renewing instead of applying fresh? Renewal is due December 31 each year, requires a $700 nonrefundable fee per location, and rechecks the same bonding requirement against your latest volume -- see the renewal trap section above.

New to bonding in general? Our step-by-step surety bond guide covers the mechanics before you file.

How Ohio's Formula Compares to Other NMLS States

Five different states, five different ways of setting the same kind of bond

State	Bond Range	What Sets the Amount	Statute
Ohio	$50,000 - $150,000	Nationwide prior-year loan volume, 0.5%	ORC 1322.32; OAC 1301:8-7-14
Illinois	$25,000 - $150,000	Illinois-only prior-year loan volume, 5 tiers	Ill. Admin. Code tit. 38 § 1050.490
Georgia	$150,000 / $250,000	Flat rate by license type, not volume	O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1003.2
New York	$10,000 - $100,000	Number of loan applications, not dollars	3 NYCRR 410.14
Texas	$25,000 - $50,000	Servicers only -- originators use a Recovery Fund instead	Finance Code Ch. 158

Bond amounts and mechanics verified against each state's own statute or administrative code. Rates current as of the last-updated date above.

Source: State mortgage regulator statutes and administrative codes, cross-referenced with our own state-specific bond pages.

What an Ohio Bond Actually Costs Per Year

Annual premium on a $50,000 Ohio RMLA bond (floor amount)

Based on a $50,000 bond amount

Credit ScoreEst. Annual Cost

750+ FICO (preferred)Rate: 0.5%
$250
700 - 749Rate: 1.0%
$500
650 - 699 (standard)Rate: 1.5%
$750
620 - 649Rate: 3.0%
$1,500
580 - 619Rate: 5.0%
$2,500
Under 580 (subprime)Rate: 10.0%
$5,000

Premium bands are illustrative, based on typical surety rate filings for financial-institution license bonds across BuySuretyBonds.com's carrier network. A $150,000 bond at the same rate bands runs $750-$15,000/yr. Your actual premium depends on the underwriting carrier's filed rate and your financial statements.

NMLS-Formatted Bond

Filed in the exact form Ohio DFI requires for NMLS upload -- broker, lender, and servicer registrants.

Full Formula Range Underwritten

From a first-time $50,000 floor filing to a $150,000 cap or flat servicer minimum, our carriers write the whole Ohio scale.

Renewal Rider Support

When your annual volume pushes you into a higher penal sum, we amend your bond ahead of your Dec. 31 renewal deadline.

Ohio RMLA Bond Questions From Brokers, Lenders & Servicers

Why does Ohio count loans I originated outside Ohio toward my bond amount?

Because the statute is written that way on purpose. Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(D) sets the penal sum at "one-half per cent of the aggregate loan amount of all residential mortgage loans originated within and outside this state in the immediately preceding calendar year" -- not Ohio production alone. That is a real structural difference from a state like Illinois, which bases its own tiered bond strictly on Illinois-only loan volume under Ill. Admin. Code tit. 38 Section 1050.490. If you are a multi-state lender headquartered elsewhere with only a small Ohio book, your Ohio bond can still land near the $150,000 cap because DFI is pricing your entire national operation, not just your Ohio footprint.

My bond was $50,000 last year -- why is DFI asking for more at renewal?

Because the penal sum is not fixed once and forgotten -- it is reassessed against your own numbers every year. ORC 1322.10 conditions annual renewal (due December 31, with a $700 nonrefundable fee per location) on continued compliance with the bonding requirements of ORC 1322.32, and that bond amount is driven by "the aggregate loan amount of residential mortgage loans originated in the immediately preceding calendar year." A registrant that closed $9 million in year one (bond: $50,000 floor) and grew to $22 million in year two owes a $110,000 bond at renewal -- more than double -- even though nothing about their license changed. This is the single most common surprise we see from growing Ohio registrants: the bond amount is a trailing indicator of last year's success, not this year's starting number.

Do I need a bigger bond if I open a second or third Ohio office?

Yes -- your bond floor goes up, though not the way most guides describe it. You only ever file ONE bond document: Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(A)(3) requires "one surety bond in the appropriate aggregate amount... to cover a registrant, qualified exempt entity, or loan processing or underwriting company regardless of the number of registered or exempted office locations." But the dollar floor inside that one bond scales with your office count. ORC 1322.32(A)(1) sets the minimum for lenders and brokers "not less than fifty thousand dollars and an additional penal sum of ten thousand dollars for each location, in excess of one, at which the registrant conducts business." A three-office registrant's floor is $70,000 ($50,000 + $10,000 x 2 additional offices) before the 0.5%-of-volume calculation is even applied -- not the base $50,000. Your surety files an endorsement rider under OAC 1301:8-7-14(A)(3) to raise or lower that penal sum whenever you open or close a location.

Do individual loan officers need their own bond, or does the company bond cover them?

For most loan originators, the company-level RMLA bond covers their licensed activity -- you don't file a separate bond per MLO. But Ohio has a narrower carve-out most guides miss: under Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(B) and (C), a licensee who performs clerical or support duties as a loan processor or underwriter -- as defined under the federal SAFE Act at 12 U.S.C. Section 5102(5) -- must maintain their own individual corporate surety bond, issued in their own name and stating their home address as it appears in NMLS. If your operation uses independent contract processors or underwriters rather than in-house staff covered by the company bond, check whether they fall into this individual-bond category before you assume the company filing has them covered.

Is the $150,000 mortgage servicer bond really flat, even for a small servicing shop?

Yes. ORC 1322.32 sets a hard floor for registrants that engage exclusively in mortgage servicing: a minimum $150,000 bond, with no volume-based reduction for a small book. That is the same number as the maximum cap for brokers and lenders under the 0.5% formula -- so a tiny Ohio-only servicer and a $30-million-a-year broker file for the identical bond amount. If your company both originates and services loans, the servicing activity does not automatically push you to $150,000 -- talk to your surety about which registrant category actually applies to your license.

What happens if my Ohio bond amount falls below what DFI now requires?

You have to stop originating immediately. Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14(A)(4) is explicit: "whenever the penal sum of the surety bond is reduced below the required amount, the registrant... shall immediately cease originating residential mortgage loans until the bond has been restored to the full required value." You get 30 days from the date the penal sum first dropped to fix it before DFI can pursue a fine, suspension, refusal to renew, or revocation. Because the required amount moves with your own prior-year volume, the practical fix is proactive: tell your surety about a strong production year before your renewal date, not after DFI flags the shortfall.

Ohio DFI Contacts & Legal Citations

Division of Financial Institutions

Agency: Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Financial Institutions

Phone: (614) 728-8400

Address: 77 South High Street, 21st Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

Website: com.ohio.gov/fiin

Legal Authority

Licensing Act: Ohio Residential Mortgage Lending Act, ORC Chapter 1322

Bond Statute: ORC Section 1322.32

Bond Formula Rule: Ohio Admin. Code 1301:8-7-14

Registration Conditions: ORC Section 1322.10

View ORC 1322.32

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Know Your Volume -- Lock In Your Ohio DFI Bond

From a first-time $50,000 floor filing to a $150,000 cap or flat servicer minimum, we place the full Ohio RMLA scale.

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Other bonds in Ohio

All Ohio surety bond requirements

Ohio Mortgage Broker Bond

Official Ohio Requirements

The Half-Percent Formula: How Ohio DFI Prices Your Bond

Ohio RMLA Bond Calculation

The Renewal Trap: Why Your Bond Can Jump After a Strong Year

What Your Prior-Year Volume Actually Costs You

Ohio RMLA Bond by Nationwide Loan Volume

Registrant Bond vs. the Flat $150,000 Servicer Floor

Brokers & Lenders

Servicers (Exclusively)

Why Ohio Counts Loans You Made Outside Ohio

Some Loan Processors Need Their Own Bond -- Separate From the Company's

Registering With Ohio DFI Through NMLS

File Your NMLS Application and Pay the Fee

Clear Your Secretary of State Filings

File the ORC 1322.32 Surety Bond

Pass the Section 1322.27 Examination

Disclose a Clean Regulatory and Criminal Record

Demonstrate Financial Responsibility and Fitness

How Ohio's Formula Compares to Other NMLS States

What an Ohio Bond Actually Costs Per Year

Annual premium on a $50,000 Ohio RMLA bond (floor amount)

NMLS-Formatted Bond

Full Formula Range Underwritten

Renewal Rider Support

Ohio RMLA Bond Questions From Brokers, Lenders & Servicers

Ohio DFI Contacts & Legal Citations

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Estimate Your Ohio Mortgage Broker Bond Premium

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Know Your Volume -- Lock In Your Ohio DFI Bond

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