US borrowing · Practical next steps
Find official loan licensing guidance, regulator contacts and consumer-help routes for all 50 US states, with scope notes and a downloadable directory.
Search your state or agency, then choose a resource purpose. Coverage includes 50 US states; DC and territories are not included. Read each card’s scope before following its official link.
Download the checked state directory (CSV). The file includes source purpose, notes and review dates; it contains no borrower information.
Alabama State Banking Department
The department separates Bureau of Loans licensees from companies licensed through NMLS. Its Bureau of Loans search was marked temporarily unavailable when reviewed; use the department’s guidance to identify the appropriate verification route.
Division of Banking and Securities
The division’s loan-entity page covers small loan companies and premium finance companies, with separate dated licensee lists and a licensing inquiry contact. Check the list’s own date and ask the division about the legal lender and product.
Arizona Attorney General’s Office
The Attorney General explains consumer-fraud complaints, jurisdiction review and informal dispute resolution. This is a consumer-help resource, not a lender-license lookup, and it does not promise a resolution.
Office of the Attorney General
The Attorney General provides a consumer complaint process for marketplace disputes, including an online form and printable form route. This is a consumer-help resource, not a lender license search.
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
California’s official agency directory identifies DFPI and provides its department website and contact route. Ask DFPI which lender-verification category fits the product; this directory entry is not a license search.
Attorney General, Consumer Credit Unit
The Consumer Credit Unit’s consumer page links to its License Holders Report for supervised lenders and notification filers. Check the record type and status, and use the separate credit-and-debt complaint route for help.
Department of Banking
The department directs consumers to NMLS Consumer Access for small loan companies and also provides a downloadable licensee list. Match the legal entity and license category; the list has its own publication date.
Office of the State Bank Commissioner
The commissioner publishes non-depository institution listings, including a Licensed Lender category. Open the relevant list and match the lender’s legal name and applicable category.
Office of Financial Regulation
OFR directs consumer-finance-company verification to its REAL system. Its mortgage search is a separate category.
Department of Banking and Finance
Georgia’s installment-lender guidance explains how to inspect the company’s Georgia authorization and regulatory actions in NMLS.
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Division of Financial Institutions
DFI’s company-list index includes a small dollar installment lender list with its own date. Its NMLS instruction on this page names mortgage originator companies, mortgage servicers and money transmitters; do not treat that instruction as covering every personal-loan product.
Department of Finance, Consumer Finance Bureau
The department explains regulated-lender and payday-lender categories separately and provides a consumer-credit licensing inquiry contact. Ask which category fits the product and legal lender; this overview is not a completed license search.
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
The Consumer Credit section links to its license search and includes consumer installment lenders among the entities it oversees.
Department of Financial Institutions
DFI’s consumer-credit page distinguishes consumer-loan applications through NMLS from separately submitted small-loan applications and links to Find a License. Confirm the correct product category with DFI; the linked lookup could not be retrieved during this review.
Division of Banking
The division directs consumers to NMLS Consumer Access and lists regulated-loan and industrial-loan licenses among the categories it regulates. Search the legal lender and relevant license type.
Office of the State Bank Commissioner
OSBC’s help guide distinguishes its own company lookup from NMLS searches for licensed consumer-credit and other nonbank financial companies. Check the business category and status in the appropriate system.
Department of Financial Institutions
DFI’s search guidance includes consumer loan companies in its depository and non-depository database. It also links separate enforcement pages and warns that some enforcement information may not appear in the search.
Office of Financial Institutions
OFI explains its licensed-lender category and provides licensee, complaint and contact links. Match the legal lender and loan type; the overview alone does not verify a particular company.
Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection
The Bureau directs supervised lenders and loan brokers to NMLS Consumer Access, with a separate search for other categories. Select the correct industry and confirm current status; contact the Bureau if a result is unclear.
Department of Labor, Office of Financial Regulation
The Office’s search guide lists consumer lenders and installment-loan lenders among NMLS-searchable categories. It explains that Maryland-chartered bank and credit-union identification uses a separate directory.
Division of Banks
The Division of Banks directs consumers to NMLS Consumer Access for listed categories including small-loan companies, and provides a Consumer Assistance Unit route for questions.
Department of Insurance and Financial Services
DIFS lists separate consumer-finance locators, including regulatory loan and consumer financial service licensees. Select the category that matches the product and legal entity.
Department of Commerce
Commerce's directory sends regulated lenders, industrial loan and thrift companies, and consumer small-loan lenders to NMLS. Choose the correct category rather than treating a similarly named company as a match.
Department of Banking and Consumer Finance
The Department's consumer-finance page explains the Nonbank Division's categories, including small loans and consumer loan brokers, and links to its license search. A broker and the actual lender may require separate checks.
Division of Finance
The Division offers a bank and licensee search with entity-name and type filters. Match the legal name, location and license category; a result for one category does not settle another product's status.
Division of Banking and Financial Institutions
The Division directs consumer lenders and other non-depository categories to NMLS Consumer Access, while state-chartered and federally regulated institutions have separate routes. Start with the right institution type.
Department of Banking and Finance
Use the Department's financial-industry search by company name and institution type. The page says data is updated weekly and a missing result does not necessarily mean a company cannot operate; ask the Department when uncertain. Mortgage lenders use a separate NMLS route.
Financial Institutions Division
The Division's licensing directory directs installment-loan and several other non-depository license searches to NMLS Consumer Access. Use the relevant category; other license types have separate lists or an inquiry contact.
Banking Department
The CFPB’s official directory identifies the New Hampshire Banking Department and links its website and complaint route. The directory’s own review date is December 18, 2024; confirm current details with the agency. This is a contact starting point, not a license search.
Department of Banking and Insurance
The department’s contact page identifies its banking licensing services, including consumer lenders, and its consumer inquiry and response route. Ask which license category and search fits the legal lender; this page is a regulator contact directory.
Regulation and Licensing Department, Financial Institutions Division
The Financial Institutions section separates small-loan-company verification from NMLS searches for other financial categories. Follow the small-loan-company route when that is the relevant license; do not assume the general professional-license search covers lenders.
Department of Financial Services
DFS publishes licensed-lender information and explains its use of NMLS. Confirm the legal lender name and product category.
Office of the Commissioner of Banks
The consumer-finance page links to licensees and enforcement actions. Check the appropriate consumer-loan category.
Department of Financial Institutions
The department’s money-broker FAQ directs consumers to NMLS Consumer Access to check that license category. Match the legal company name and state record; ask the department about the category or an exemption.
Ohio Attorney General, Consumer Protection Section
The Attorney General explains its informal, voluntary consumer-transaction complaint process and general inquiry route. This is a consumer-help resource, not a lender-license lookup; ask which agency has jurisdiction over the product.
Department of Consumer Credit
The department publishes separate rosters for supervised lenders and Oklahoma small lenders, alongside other regulated categories. Select the category that matches the product and legal lender.
Department of Consumer and Business Services, Division of Financial Regulation
The division’s license guide separates consumer-finance companies from payday/title lenders and other financial categories. Use the correct link, or contact the division’s financial-services help team.
Department of Banking and Securities
The Consumer Help Center links to PA Financial Institutions Search for licensed consumer lenders and explains separate non-depository categories.
Department of Business Regulation
The department’s lookup page sends banking license and registration checks to NMLS Consumer Access. Use the banking section and confirm the relevant Rhode Island record.
Office of the Commissioner of Consumer Finance
The consumer-finance regulator directs license-status checks to NMLS Consumer Access. Confirm the company’s legal name, state and license category rather than relying on a brand name alone.
Division of Banking
The division’s consumer page separates the institutions it regulates and links money-lender verification to NMLS Consumer Access. Its jurisdiction does not include every bank or credit union.
Department of Financial Institutions
The department’s consumer-lending supervision page links to Search Regulated Entities and identifies separate product categories. Confirm the applicable category with the department before interpreting a search result.
Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner
The OCCC directs regulated-lender and credit-access-business searches to NMLS; other categories use ALECS. Choose the correct category.
Department of Financial Institutions
The department directs checks of Consumer Credit Notification filings to NMLS Consumer Access. A notification filing should not be described as a universal lending license; ask the department which requirement fits the product.
Department of Financial Regulation
Vermont’s official directory lists the Department of Financial Regulation and its Banking Division. Search the directory for Financial Regulation and contact the division to identify the correct lender-verification route; this is a contact resource.
State Corporation Commission, Bureau of Financial Institutions
The Bureau’s verification guide separates its Company Search, which includes consumer-finance licensees, from NMLS categories. Follow the product-specific route rather than assuming every company type uses the same search.
Department of Financial Institutions
The CFPB’s official state-regulator directory identifies Washington’s Department of Financial Institutions and links its website and complaint route. Use this as a starting contact resource and confirm current details with the agency; it is not a license search. The source’s own review date is December 18, 2024.
Division of Financial Institutions
The division’s official contact page provides a consumer email and complaint link. Ask the division which regulator and verification process apply to the lender and product; this page does not show license status.
Department of Financial Institutions
The DFI Loan Company page links to its Licensee Search and licensing contacts. Confirm that the loan-company category matches the business; this resource does not establish the status of any particular lender.
Division of Banking
The division explains consumer-lender and other credit categories and its use of NMLS for licensing. Use its Wyoming-specific licensing contact when the lender’s category or status is unclear.
Write down the legal lender name, product type and state where you live. A brand, app or loan marketplace may use a different lending entity. Start with licensing guidance where available; otherwise ask the regulator which office handles that entity and product.
Keep the source URL, date, license category and any reference number you find. Treat a missing result as a question for the agency, rather than proof of illegality. A matching company name alone does not establish that the person contacting you represents it.
Gather the agreement, payment record, relevant dates and messages. Describe the specific problem and the outcome you want. Use a verified company contact first where appropriate, and keep its response or reference number.
The CFPB complaint page lists personal loans among its supported products and explains the information and supporting documents to provide. Check the current form's instructions before submitting. Source checked November 9, 2026.
Pause if someone promises approval in exchange for an advance payment. The FTC explains advance-fee loan scams and recommends checking with a state attorney general or financial regulator. Some legitimate application or appraisal fees exist; a fee does not make guaranteed approval credible. Source checked November 9, 2026.
Use the official agency route in the directory and verify the contact independently of the message or advertisement. Work through the suspicious-request checklist.
These are preparation prompts, not an agency's determination. A bank, credit union, nonbank lender and loan marketplace can require different research routes. This directory does not determine applicable interest limits, eligibility, authorization or the outcome of a complaint.
Research selected personal-loan providers · Explore repayment and account-help paths.
| Resource type | Useful next action | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing guidance | Identify the correct product category, legal entity and search instructions. | A link is not confirmation that a particular lender has current authorization. |
| Regulator contact | Ask which office or lookup handles the actual product and issue. | A department directory does not itself provide a license result. |
| Consumer help | Read the complaint or inquiry process and its jurisdiction. | It does not promise eligibility, legal representation or a particular outcome. |
Educational planning only. Confirm actual costs, dates and terms before making commitments. Financial disclaimer · Editorial standards.
