SAFE MLO Test Outline 2027: What We Know So Far

Short answer, as at November 11, 2026: NMLS has not published a new Content Outline for the SAFE MLO Test, and no effective date for one has been announced. Every test you book today is built on the current outline below.

What has been announced

On October 12, 2026, CSBS (the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, which runs NMLS for state regulators) announced a job-analysis survey of state-licensed mortgage loan originators. It ran until November 6, 2026, and MLOs were invited by email. CSBS says the survey is to keep the National Test current and reflecting the work MLOs do (CSBS newsroom, csbs.org, October 12, 2026).

A job analysis is the step a licensing-test sponsor takes to check that its outline still matches the job. The last one for this test ran from August to September 2020 (MBA NewsLink, August 27, 2020). A job analysis can lead to a revised outline, which is why a change in 2027 is likely. Neither NMLS nor CSBS has said what will change, or when.

The outline in force today

The test format is unchanged too: 120 questions (115 scored), 190 minutes and a 75% pass mark. See the SAFE MLO Test guide.

What nobody knows yet

• Whether the five section weights will move, or topics will be added or dropped.
• When a new outline would take effect, and how much notice NMLS will give.
• Whether the question count, time or pass mark will change. The 75% pass mark is set in the SAFE Act (12 U.S.C. 5104(d)(3)), so that one would need Congress.

If you are testing in the next few months

• Study the current outline. The rules it tests (RESPA, TILA and TRID, ECOA, the SAFE Act, ethics) are federal law, so they are very likely to stay on any new outline.
• Finish your 20 hours of NMLS-approved pre-licensing education first; see the PE guide.
• Check the outline in the NMLS Testing Handbook again in the week before your test.
• Gauge where you stand with the free 20-question practice test, then work through the content outline by topic.

What we will do

We watch the NMLS Testing Handbook for outline changes. When NMLS publishes a new outline, we will update this page with its effective date and re-map our topics, study notes and practice exams to it, before that date wherever NMLS gives enough notice.