Minnesota mortgage advertising rules

License and NMLS ID display

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

[STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 58.141, subd. 3: "The unique identifier of any person originating a residential mortgage loan must be clearly displayed on all residential mortgage loan application forms, solicitations, or advertisements, including business cards or websites, and any other documents the commissioner establishes by rule or order." Single-element requirement on its face (the originating person's unique identifier). No separate Minnesota statutory requirement to display the entity's state license number in advertising was located. Searched all of ch. 58. NOT VERIFIED as to any company-license-number display mandate.

[STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 58.13, subd. 1(a)(10) is an adjacent trap: a licensee may not "conduct residential mortgage loan business under any name other than that under which the license or certificate of exemption was issued." DBAs and vanity brands must match the license.

Definition of "advertisement" is broad. [STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 58.02, subd. 3a: "'Advertisement' includes, but is not limited to, any illustration, circular, or statement that presents information to the public in either a paper, electronic, or other medium that is intended to attract clients, generate interest, or otherwise make known the existence of the licensee and which addresses services, fees, or products provided by or available through the licensee, including, but not limited to, interest rates, loan origination fees, types of available loans, discount points, closing costs, or sample mortgage terms."

Prohibited claims

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

[STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 58.13, subd. 1(a):

• (19) may not "make, publish, disseminate, circulate, place before the public, or cause to be made, directly or indirectly, any advertisement or marketing materials of any type, or any statement or representation relating to the business of residential mortgage loans that is false, deceptive, or misleading";
• (20) may not "advertise loan types or terms that are not available from or through the licensee or exempt person on the date advertised, or on the date specified in the advertisement. For purposes of this clause, advertisement includes, but is not limited to, a list of sample mortgage terms, including interest rates, discount points, and closing costs provided by licensees or exempt persons to a print or electronic medium that presents the information to the public";
• (21) the government-affiliation ban. may not "use or employ phrases, pictures, return addresses, geographic designations, or other means that create the impression, directly or indirectly, that a licensee or other person is a governmental agency, or is associated with, sponsored by, or in any manner connected to, related to, or endorsed by a governmental agency, if that is not the case";
• (12) may not "issue any document indicating conditional qualification or conditional approval for a residential mortgage loan, unless the document also clearly indicates that final qualification or approval is not guaranteed, and may be subject to additional review." This is the "pre-approved" rule. conditional-approval and pre-qualification documents must carry the caveat.

[STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 58.13, subd. 2 codifies the deception test: "A statement, representation, or advertisement is deceptive or misleading if it has the capacity or tendency to deceive or mislead a borrower or potential borrower. The commissioner shall consider the following factors...: the overall impression that the statement, representation, or advertisement reasonably creates; the particular type of audience to which it is directed; and whether it may be reasonably comprehended by the segment of the public to which it is directed."

No express Minnesota ban on the words "lowest," "best," "cheapest," or "free" in advertising was located. but see the mandatory disclosure at item 8 below, which requires the opposite statement in a different document.

Preemption caveat: Minn. Stat. § 58.13 carries a statutory NOTE: "Subdivision 1, clauses (9) and (19), were found preempted for national banks by the federal National Bank Act in *Bohnhoff v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.*, 853 F.Supp.2d 849 (D. Minn. 2012)." Clause (19) is the core advertising-deception clause.

Rate advertising

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

[STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 47.206, subd. 5 (Statement of current terms not an offer): "An oral or written statement of current loan terms and conditions, including interest rates and number of discount points, is not an offer or an inducement by a lender to enter into an agreement. A written statement of current loan terms and conditions must be accompanied by a disclaimer that the statement is not an offer to enter into an agreement and that an offer may only be made pursuant to subdivisions 3 and 4."

[STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 47.206, subd. 6 (Prohibited acts): "Neither a mortgage lender nor a mortgage broker shall advertise mortgage terms, including interest rate and discount points, which were not available from the lender or broker on the date or dates specified in the advertisement. For purposes of this section, 'advertisement' shall include a list or sampler of mortgage terms compiled from information provided by the lender or broker, with or without charge to the lender or broker, by a newspaper, and shall also include advertising on the Internet."

[STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 47.206, subd. 4 prohibits oral rate-lock agreements and oral acceptance except within a ten-day pre-closing window; subd. 3 requires a written, signed rate-lock agreement; subd. 2 sets required rate-lock disclosures (definite expiration date, circumstances permitting a lower rate, processing steps, enforceability, consideration).

Penalties

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

[STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 58.12 authorizes denial, suspension and revocation and permits the commissioner to "impose a civil penalty as provided for in section 45.027, subdivision 6." [STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 45.027, subd. 6: "The commissioner may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per violation upon a person who violates any law, rule, or order related to the duties and responsibilities entrusted to the commissioner unless a different penalty is specified." [STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 58.18, subd. 1. private right of action for a borrower injured by a violation of §§ 58.13, 58.136, 58.137, 58.16, 58.161 (58.13 includes the advertising clauses): the court "shall award" actual, incidental and consequential damages; statutory damages equal to all lender fees in the principal; punitive damages if appropriate; and court costs and reasonable attorney fees. Subd. 2 makes it a private-attorney-general action under § 8.31. Subd. 4 exempts loans originated by federal/state chartered banks, savings banks, and credit unions. [STATUTE] Minn. Stat. § 47.206, subd. 7(b). an additional $500 per violation payable to the borrower for each violation of § 47.206.