OAR 441-860-0045: State Criminal Records Check

(1) In addition to the criminal records check required for submission to the National Mortgage Licensing System and Registry under ORS 86A.212 and 86A.230, a mortgage banker or mortgage broker must conduct a state criminal records check of each individual employed by the mortgage banker or mortgage broker as a mortgage loan originator prior to hire or, for an existing employee not previously engaging in Oregon residential mortgage transactions, prior to sponsoring the loan originator’s Oregon mortgage loan originator license. (a) The mortgage banker or mortgage broker shall search the state records of all states where the individual has resided in the past seven years using the person's full legal name, date of birth, place of birth and Social Security number. (b) A mortgage banker or mortgage broker conducting a search under subsection (a) of this section shall search all state records going back at least seven years from the date of application or extension of sponsorship. (c) The mortgage banker or mortgage broker must use the services of law enforcement agencies or an independent private company that complies with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. and Regulation V, 12 C.F.R. Part 1022, to conduct the state criminal records check. (2) An applicant for a mortgage loan originator license may not be employed and a currently employed mortgage loan originator must be terminated immediately if the state criminal records check discloses a conviction for a felony or a misdemeanor if an essential element of the misdemeanor involved false statements or dishonesty: (a) During a period of seven years before the date the applicant submits an application for a license as a mortgage loan originator; or (b) At any time before the date the applicant submits an application a license as a mortgage loan originator if the conviction or plea involved a felony and an element of the felony was an act of fraud, dishonesty, a breach of trust or laundering a monetary instrument. (3) State criminal records check documents received by the mortgage banker or mortgage broker shall be maintained in a secure location separate from personnel records, and shall be made available to the director for examination at any reasonable time and may require, without subpoena, the production of such records at the office of the director as often as is reasonably necessary. These records shall be preserved for three years after the mortgage banker or mortgage broker terminates the mortgage loan originator’s employment. After the retention period, the records shall be destroyed in a secure manner.