Utah Amends Residential Mortgage Practices and Licensing Rules

The Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Real Estate recently amended its Residential Mortgage Practices and Licensing Rules in order to correct and clarify references in the rule, and to coordinate certain state requirements with national requirements in order to mitigate the expense to licensees for criminal background checks and credit reports.

More specifically, the amendment eliminates licensee application qualifications relating to “good moral character” and replaces that reference with qualifications based on honesty, integrity and truthfulness, as well as eliminating misdemeanor convictions involving moral turpitude as a basis for disqualification.  In addition, the changes coordinate the timing for state-required fingerprinting for criminal background checks and submission of a credit report with national requirements. Furthermore, the amendment eliminates certain redundant subsection headings and references and clarifies Utah-specific educational requirements.  These amendments became effective October 26, 2021.