Iowa mortgage advertising rules

License and NMLS ID display

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

Regulation Iowa Admin. Code 187—18.18(1)(d):

"An advertisement shall clearly show the licensee's unique NMLS identification number."

Statute Iowa Code §535D.19 (Unique identifier shown):

"The unique identifier of any person originating a residential mortgage loan shall be clearly shown on all residential mortgage loan application forms, solicitations, or advertisements, including business cards or internet sites, and any other documents as established by rule, regulation, or order of the superintendent."

Conjunctive/disjunctive: Single content element in each. the NMLS identifier only (the *licensee's* under 18.18(1)(d); the *originating person's* under 535D.19). Read together these produce both a company-level and an individual-level obligation, which is effectively conjunctive when an ad names an MLO. No company name, license number, or Consumer Access link is required.

Prohibited claims

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

Regulation 187—18.18(1)(c):

"An advertisement shall not make any statement or fail to make any statement the result of which shall present a misleading or deceptive impression to consumers."

Note the omission clause. "or fail to make any statement." Iowa expressly makes *silence* actionable, which is unusual in this batch and directly reaches teaser-rate and "no cost" creative that omits material limitations.

Statute Iowa Code §535D.17(9): "Make, in any manner, any false or deceptive statement or representation." (Note: Iowa's version is broader than the model. it drops the "with regard to rates, points" qualifier and the bait-and-switch clause found in Hawaii/Idaho/Maine. It attaches to *all* statements.)

No express Iowa ban on "lowest," "best," "cheapest," "guaranteed," "pre-approved," "free," "no cost," or "government."

Rate advertising

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

Regulation 187—18.18(1)(b):

"An advertisement shall be made only for such products and terms as are actually available and, if their availability is subject to any material requirements or limitations, the advertisement shall specify those requirements or limitations."

This is an affirmative qualification duty, not just an availability rule: if a rate is conditioned (LTV, FICO, points, owner-occupancy, autopay), the ad itself must state the condition. This is more demanding than Reg Z's triggering-terms scheme and is the sharpest rate-advertising rule in this batch. Regulation 187—18.18(1)(a): "An advertisement shall be in compliance with Truth-in-Lending, Regulation Z, and any other applicable state and federal laws and regulations." Statute §535D.17(5): "Solicit, advertise, or enter into a contract for specific interest rates, points, or other financing terms unless the terms are actually available at the time of soliciting, advertising, or contracting."

Ad filing, prior approval, retention

Regulation. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

No filing or prior-approval requirement. But: Regulation 187—18.16(9) ("General business records"). "A licensee must keep the following general business records for at least 36 months," including subparagraph (g):

"Copies of all advertisements and solicitations concerning mortgage business directed at Iowa residents, including advertisements and solicitations on the Internet or by other electronic means, in the format (e.g., recorded sound, video, print) in which the advertisements and solicitations were published or distributed."

The format requirement is the operative burden: a radio spot must be archived as audio, a video ad as video, a web ad as the published web artifact. a text transcript or a copy deck does not satisfy the rule. Identical retention language appears for regulated loan (ch. 536), industrial loan (ch. 536A), delayed deposit, and debt management licensees in the same rulebook. Regulation 187—18.16(10) requires records to be disposed of "in a reasonable manner that safeguards any identification information."

Social media and character-limited media

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

187—18.16(9)(g) expressly reaches "advertisements and solicitations on the Internet or by other electronic means" and requires archival in native format. which in practice means capturing social posts and paid digital placements as published. §535D.19 expressly reaches "internet sites." No abbreviated-disclosure or character-limited accommodation exists. NOT VERIFIED — no Iowa Agency guidance document specific to social media or texting was located.

Penalties

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

Statute Iowa Code §535B.7(2)(d): the administrator may "Impose civil penalties in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars for each violation," alongside revocation, suspension, probation, citation and warning, and restitution. Statute Iowa Code §535B.13(3): against unlicensed persons, civil penalty "in an amount up to five thousand dollars for each violation," plus restitution and "the costs for the investigation and prosecution of the enforcement action including attorney fees." Statute §535B.13(7): "This chapter does not limit the power of the attorney general to determine that any other practice is unlawful under the Iowa consumer fraud Act contained in section 714.16". parallel AG exposure.