Frequently Asked Questions
Compliance can feel complicated, but finding the right support shouldn’t be. Here, you’ll find clear answers to common questions about mortgage compliance, training requirements, regulatory exams, the Compliance Toolkit, the Employee Portal and how Simply Compliant helps make it all easier to manage.
Do I Need This?
No. NMLS Continuing Education is an individual licensing requirement that helps mortgage loan originators maintain their licenses. It does not satisfy your company’s own obligation to train its employees on compliance.
Mortgage companies are expected to provide appropriate employee compliance training and keep documentation showing that the training took place.
NMLS CE maintains an individual’s license. Company compliance training addresses your obligations as the employer.
Simply Compliant trains your team on topics like anti-money laundering, fraud prevention, fair lending, cybersecurity, information security and your own company policies. The two work together, and neither replaces the other.
No single law requires every mortgage company to hold annual compliance training. However, several federal laws, regulations and guidance documents require or strongly expect ongoing employee training as part of a compliance program, including:
- GLBA Safeguards Rule: requires a written information security program that includes security awareness training appropriate to each employee’s role.
- FinCEN AML Program Rule: requires an anti-money laundering program that includes ongoing employee training.
- CFPB Compliance Management System (CMS) guidance: treats employee training as a core part of a CMS.
- Fair Lending Examination Procedures: expect fair lending training appropriate to employee responsibilities.
- State requirements: many states have their own expectations for cybersecurity, consumer protection, privacy and fraud prevention training.
Many of these rules also expect written policies and programs, not just training. That’s why every Simply Compliant plan includes the Compliance Toolkit, which helps you build documents like your CMS and QC Plan that line up with the training your team receives.
Annual training is the industry standard because regulators and examiners expect ongoing education and documented proof that it happened.
Regular training helps your company keep up with regulatory changes, reduce risk, reinforce each employee’s responsibilities, maintain audit-ready records and show effective oversight during an examination.
Regulators often request training documentation when they evaluate a company’s Compliance Management System. Without it, they may find weaknesses in your compliance program and require corrective action.
Accurate training records are just as important as the training itself.
Yes. When violations are found, regulators often look at whether the company had appropriate policies, procedures, supervision and training in place.
Documented training, backed by written policies that match it, can help show that an error was an isolated human mistake rather than a weakness in your overall compliance program. Simply Compliant gives you both: training records for every employee and Compliance Toolkit documents that reference the training your team completes.
Yes. Compliance expectations apply regardless of company size. In fact, smaller brokerages usually have fewer internal compliance resources, which makes documented training even more valuable.
Simply Compliant was designed specifically for independent brokerages that don’t have a dedicated compliance department.
The best time to prepare is before an examination notice arrives. Training can’t be recreated after the fact, and regulators expect compliance programs to be ongoing, not built once an audit begins.
Simply Compliant helps your company stay prepared all year.
No. Simply Compliant itself is not required by law. However, laws, regulations and guidance do require or strongly expect mortgage companies to maintain effective compliance programs that include employee training and documentation.
Simply Compliant helps your company meet those expectations efficiently.
Why Simply Compliant?
NMLS CE providers focus on the licensing needs of individual loan officers. Simply Compliant focuses on your company’s compliance obligations through employee training, compliance documents, completion tracking and audit-ready reporting.
The two complement each other. One does not replace the other.
Mortgage companies are expected to provide appropriate employee compliance training and keep documentation showing that the training took place.
Yes. Simply Compliant keeps your training records, completion reports and compliance documents organized in one place, so you can show an examiner that your company has an active, documented compliance program.
Your Compliance Toolkit documents, such as your Compliance Management System and QC Plan, reference the training your team completes, so your written policies and your training records tell the same story.
Simply Compliant does not guarantee examination results and does not provide legal advice.
Simply Compliant gives you two kinds of documentation:
- Training records: audit-ready training logs, company-wide reporting and historical training records for every employee.
- Compliance documents: the Compliance Toolkit’s document builders help you create key documents for your company, such as a QC Plan, a Compliance Management System and an employee handbook. Each one references the Simply Compliant training your team receives.
The Toolkit also reminds you each year to review your documents or generate new versions, so they keep reflecting the business you actually run.
Compliance Toolkit documents are not legal advice and are not a substitute for an attorney.
Yes. The platform automatically tracks course completion and keeps detailed training records for every employee.
Everyone involved in your mortgage operations, not just licensed staff. That includes loan originators, branch managers, processors, underwriters, closers, operations and administrative staff, and executives.
Most mortgage companies train their employees every year, with additional training when regulations change or new employees join.
Simply Compliant makes that easy. In your first year, all 12 courses are assigned at once to set a baseline for your whole team. Starting the following January, employees receive one course per month, so training stays current without overwhelming anyone.
Simply Compliant was founded by Katie Foster, a mortgage executive with more than 30 years of experience. She spent 13 years at United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer, overseeing Legal, Compliance, Fraud, Repurchase Risk, Client Approval and Enterprise Risk.
She created Simply Compliant to give independent brokerages the same kind of training and documentation that large lenders rely on.
Compliance Toolkit & Employee Portal
The Compliance Toolkit is a set of document builders that help you create the core compliance documents your mortgage company needs, such as a QC Plan, a Compliance Management System and an employee handbook.
Each document references the Simply Compliant training your team receives, so your policies and your training go hand in hand.
No. The Compliance Toolkit is included with every Simply Compliant plan at no additional cost. It is not sold separately.
No. Toolkit documents are not legal advice and are not a substitute for an attorney. They give you a strong, well-organized starting point that reflects how your company operates.
Having an attorney draft these documents from scratch can cost thousands of dollars, and updating them each year costs more. The Toolkit is included in your plan, and you can always have your attorney review the documents you create.
At least once a year, and any time your business changes. A common problem we see: owners paid a firm for documents when they opened their shop and haven’t looked at them since. Your company has changed, and your documents should too.
The Compliance Toolkit sends you an annual reminder to review each document or generate a new version, so your policies reflect the business you actually run.
Every plan includes a white-labeled training portal that you can use as your own employee portal. Your employees log in to one place to complete their compliance training, review your company documents and go through onboarding.
You can add your own content, including custom documents and a welcome video from your CEO, so new hires get a consistent, professional start.
Yes. You can upload a CEO welcome video, your employee handbook, HR policies, procedures and other onboarding documents to your Employee Portal.
Uploaded documents appear in each employee’s assignments and move to their completed documents once they’ve been reviewed.
Using the Platform
Simply Compliant is not priced per employee. Each plan covers your whole company based on your total number of employees, and you can pay monthly or save by paying annually.
Every plan includes your team’s annual compliance training, the Compliance Toolkit and your white-labeled Employee Portal at no extra cost.
See Pricing for full details.
Fast. After you choose a plan and register, upload your company logo and send us your employee roster. We set up your branded portal and enroll your employees, and your team can start their first course within 24 hours.
As the account owner, you can start building your Compliance Toolkit documents right away.
No. The platform automates most of the administrative work. From your Client Dashboard, you can add employees, track progress, monitor completions and download reports.
Your own training lives in the Training Portal, which you can open from the button at the top of your Client Dashboard.
Yes. New employees can be added and assigned compliance training as part of onboarding. Your Employee Portal also gives new hires one place to watch your welcome video and review your handbook and company policies as part of onboarding.
Yes. If an assigned course hasn’t been completed after 7 days, the platform automatically sends the employee a reminder. Reminders go to the employee only, so your admins’ inboxes stay clear. Admins can see who is behind at any time on the Client Dashboard.
The Compliance Toolkit also sends owners an annual reminder to review and update their compliance documents.
Yes. Your Client Dashboard shows real-time progress, completions, overdue assignments and company-wide training status. You can filter by name, branch or course.
You can organize your team into branches. A branch can be a physical location or simply an oversight group, such as Sales and Processing, or a team that reports to one manager. Access depends on each person’s role:
- Account Owner: sees everyone, manages employees, branches and roles, adds the company logo, uses the Compliance Toolkit and manages billing.
- Company Admin: the same access as the Account Owner, without billing.
- Branch Admin: sees and manages only their own branch and can add a branch logo.
Yes. You can generate training reports on demand for internal reviews or regulatory examinations.
Your annual training program includes 12 courses covering the core compliance topics for mortgage companies:
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)
- Mortgage Fraud Prevention
- Fair Lending
- RESPA
- TRID
- ECOA
- HMDA
- Appraiser Independence Requirements (AIR)
- FCRA
- Information Security
- Cybersecurity
- UDAAP
In your first year, all 12 courses are assigned at once to set a baseline. Starting the following January, employees take one course per month. Our course library continues to grow as regulations change.
Yes. Your Employee Portal is the place for your employee handbook, HR policies, procedures and other internal documents, so employees can find everything in one place.
Uploaded documents show up in each employee’s assignments and move to their completed documents once they’ve been reviewed. Your training matrix tracks your compliance courses, so it stays focused on the training examiners ask about.
Yes. We can build custom courses for your Employee Portal based on your policies, procedures, workflows or specific compliance needs.
Custom courses are available for a small fee, quoted individually based on what you need. Contact us to talk through your idea.
White-labeling means the portal carries your brand instead of ours. Your company logo replaces the Simply Compliant logo at the top of the portal screens, so employees see it as your company’s portal. Branch Admins can also add a branch logo.
Combined with your own documents and welcome video, this lets you use the portal as your company’s Employee Portal.
Just register using your referral partner’s link, and they’ll automatically receive credit. Our referral partners include wholesale account executives, compliance firms and QC auditors.
Interested in referring others? Learn about our Referral Partner Program.
Still have questions?
See what’s included in every plan, or contact us to set up a demo.