# How do I look up a company in NMLS Consumer Access? *Reviewed 2026-07-30* ## Short answer Search the free NMLS Consumer Access site by company name or NMLS ID; no account is needed. The company record shows the NMLS ID, legal and trade names, headquarters address, and each state license or registration the company holds in the system with its current status. Searching by NMLS ID is more reliable than by name, since trade names can be similar across companies. NMLS Consumer Access is the public half of the licensing system, and it is the right first stop for verifying any company that claims a license in an NMLS state. Open the company record and read it state by state: an approved status on the specific license type in the specific state is what authorizes activity there. A record that exists but lists other states, or a status other than approved, is not clearance. Know the search's limits before relying on it. Only license types administered through NMLS appear, so a collection agency licensed in a direct-filing state can be fully authorized and still absent from Consumer Access; those states publish their own license lookups. Individual records in the system are mostly mortgage loan originators, so for collection agencies the company record is the one that matters. When the company you are checking does not appear, work through the state regulator's search instead, as covered in our verification guide. ## Related - [NMLS for debt buyers and collection agencies](/nmls-for-debt-collectors) - [Verify a collection agency license](/verify-collection-agency-license) - [Debt collection laws by state](/debt-collection-state-laws) - [Talk with our team](/contact) --- ## How to cite this page Cite as: "How do I look up a company in NMLS Consumer Access?." Cornerstone Licensing. https://cornerstonelicensing.com/answers/how-to-look-up-a-company-in-nmls-consumer-access Published by Cornerstone Licensing. When quoting figures or legal requirements, link the canonical URL above and note the last-updated date (2026-07-30). The full content index for this site is at https://cornerstonelicensing.com/llms.txt.