Does a business loan broker need a licence in my state?

Most states have no licence or registration requirement for a business loan broker. Six states have one, or soon will: Virginia, Utah, Connecticut and Missouri today, Texas by December 31, 2026, and California from 2028. Each covers a specific kind of financing, so a broker can be fully compliant in one state and simply have nothing to register in the next.

There is no federal licence for business loan brokers. Mortgage brokers are licensed in every state through the national mortgage system, but that licence has nothing to do with working capital, merchant cash advances, equipment finance or factoring.

The states with a broker registration or licence

This table lists every state with a registration or licence requirement that reaches commercial financing brokers or providers, as of October 29, 2026.

Every other state has no registration or licence for a business loan broker. New York, Florida, Georgia, Kansas and Louisiana have commercial financing disclosure laws, and Florida, Georgia and Louisiana add conduct rules for brokers, but none of them registers brokers.

What each registration covers

The details matter, because each law reaches a different slice of the market.

Virginia. Virginia's law covers sales-based financing, which is the legal name for merchant cash advances and similar products repaid from your revenue. Under section 6.2-2230 of the Code of Virginia, both providers and brokers register with the State Corporation Commission and renew every year. Mayer Brown's summary notes the law exempts deals over $500,000 and anyone doing five or fewer deals in 12 months. A broker who only arranges SBA or equipment loans has nothing to register in Virginia.

Utah. Utah's Commercial Financing Registration and Disclosure Act took effect January 1, 2023. The Utah Department of Financial Institutions says a provider must register before entering a commercial financing transaction in Utah or with a Utah resident, and its FAQ says registration is filed through NMLS and can be checked on NMLS Consumer Access. The FAQ also states the act does not apply to transactions over $1,000,000. Utah's law is written around providers, the companies that make the offer, so look up both the funder and the broker.

Connecticut. Connecticut covers sales-based financing of $250,000 or less. Greenberg Traurig reports that providers and brokers register through NMLS under separate provider and broker registrations, with a deadline of October 1, 2024. The Department of Banking publishes a downloadable list of registered providers and brokers, last dated October 6, 2026.

Missouri. Missouri registers brokers rather than providers. Mayer Brown reports that brokers file with the Division of Finance, post a $10,000 surety bond and renew by January 31 each year, and that the law covers business purpose financing of $500,000 or less. Missouri does not publish a searchable list, so ask the broker for its registration confirmation.

Texas. Texas HB 700 created a registration for commercial sales-based financing providers and brokers. The enrolled bill requires businesses already operating to register with the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner by December 31, 2026, and the OCCC says applications go through NMLS from September 1, 2026. Texas has no small volume exemption for brokers. Our Texas registration guide covers it in full.

California. California already licenses brokers who arrange loans made by finance lenders under the California Financing Law. AB 2116, signed September 30, 2026, goes much further. Morrison Foerster reports that from July 1, 2028 a person may not act as a commercial financing broker for financing of $500,000 or less to a small business without a licence, with most of the law operative January 1, 2028. Our California guide walks through it.

For brokers, one sentence on cost: fees run from Missouri's $100 initial filing, per Mayer Brown, to $1,000 initial in Virginia under section 6.2-2230 and in Texas under the OCCC rules, plus a $25,000 bond and $25,000 net worth in California per Morrison Foerster.

What this means for you as a business owner

Registration is a useful signal in the states that have it. It tells you the broker has filed its legal name, address and agent with the state, disclosed any past enforcement and is reachable if something goes wrong. Texas and Virginia both require disclosure of judgments, orders and convictions in the application.

Registration is not a quality rating. It does not check a broker's fees, lender relationships or results. And in most states it does not exist at all, so a broker in Ohio or Georgia with no state registration is entirely normal.

Here is how to use the rules well:

1. Know which law your deal falls under. The registration states mostly cover revenue-based products like merchant cash advances. If your broker is arranging an SBA loan, equipment lease or real estate loan, the registration may not apply even in those states.
2. Check the state where your business is located. These laws protect the business receiving the financing, so a broker in Florida arranging a merchant cash advance for a company in Texas needs the Texas registration.
3. Look it up yourself. Use the regulator links in the table above or NMLS Consumer Access. A registered broker will give you its NMLS number or state registration number without hesitation.
4. Ask for fees in writing either way. Disclosure laws in states like New York and California put pricing on paper, but a good broker shows you the lender's offer and its own compensation in every state.

How the register handles state rules

Every entry on the register carries a register number, a status and a last checked date. Where a state publishes a registration, we link the entry to that public record, so you can see the source yourself. You can check a broker's standing by name, or browse the register by state, starting with Texas, California, Virginia, Connecticut, Utah and Missouri.

Brokers who want their registration shown on their entry can claim it for free. Claiming opens a Levr account, and verified entries show fees in writing.

What to expect next

The trend runs one way. Venable's March 2026 survey counted ten states with commercial financing disclosure rules, and two of the newest steps, Texas in 2026 and California in 2028, turn disclosure states into registration or licensing states. Expect more states to follow the same path, starting with disclosure and adding registration later. We update this table as each law takes effect.