Since July 1, 2023, Florida law has let mortgage loan originators work from a remote location, such as their home, without licensing it as a branch. The permission comes with conditions, written into the definition of “remote location” in section 494.001(35) of the Florida Statutes. A company that lets its loan officers work from home has to meet all nine:
- The company has written policies for supervising loan originators who work remotely.
- Access to company systems and customer information follows the company’s comprehensive written information security plan.
- The loan officer doesn’t meet customers in person at home, unless the home is a licensed location.
- No physical records are kept at the remote location.
- Conversations with customers follow the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the FTC Safeguards Rule.
- The connection to company systems is secure and authenticated, such as a VPN.
- Security updates and patches stay current on every device used for the work.
- The company can lock or erase company data on those devices remotely.
- The loan officer’s NMLS record lists the company’s main office or a licensed branch, not the home.
The first two are documents. Your supervision policies and your written information security plan have to exist before anyone logs in from home, and they’re what you’d hand over when the Office of Financial Regulation asks how your remote setup meets the law.
Items 6 through 8 usually fall to whoever runs your IT. Your security plan should still say how each one is handled.
The written information security plan in item 2 is the same one the FTC Safeguards Rule already requires of every mortgage broker. For remote work, it needs sections on remote access, keeping devices patched and handling a lost or stolen laptop or phone.
Our Florida remote work checklist turns these conditions into a list you can go through with your IT provider.
This post is general information, not legal advice.