All states · Filled 2026-09-17
New Jersey mortgage advertising rules
Reference only
Adline flags phrases that match cited rules. It does not certify that New Jersey marketing is compliant. We flag and cite. We never certify. This is not legal advice. Whether a rule reaches you depends on your license type. Federal Reg Z and Reg N still apply.
Reference only. New Jersey rules are written down here. The engine does not scan for them yet. The engine cites Washington, Arizona, and Idaho only.
Regulating agency
New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance
New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI), Division of Banking; the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.
NMLS and license display: Single element.
Governing statute and administrative code
[STATUTE]New Jersey Residential Mortgage Lending Act (RMLA), N.J.S.A. 17:11C-51 et seq. (enacted by P.L. 2009, c. 53). Prohibited practices, including advertising: N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75. Binds residential mortgage lenders, correspondent mortgage lenders, residential mortgage brokers, qualified individual licensees, and mortgage loan originators.[STATUTE]New Jersey Consumer Finance Licensing Act, N.J.S.A. 17:11C-1 et seq. Consumer lender prohibited practices, including advertising: N.J.S.A. 17:11C-41. Binds consumer lenders and sales finance companies.[REGULATION]N.J.A.C. 3:15. Residential Mortgage Lenders; Correspondent Mortgage Lenders; Mortgage Brokers; Qualified Individual Licensees; Mortgage Loan Originators. Subchapter 8 is "Advertising" (N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.1, 8.2, 8.3). Chapter authority: N.J.S.A. 17:1-8, 17:1-8.1, 17:1-15.e, 17:11C-51 et seq., and 17:11C-89. Chapter 15 was most recently readopted effective 12/14/2021.
The two regimes differ in substance, not just in who they bind. Compare:
- RMLA (17:11C-75(g)): "No residential mortgage lender, residential mortgage broker, or mortgage loan originator shall make any statement or representation that the licensee will provide 'immediate approval' of any mortgage loan application or 'immediate closing' of a loan, or will afford unqualified access to credit."
- Consumer Finance (17:11C-41(h)): "No consumer lender shall make any statement or representation that the licensee will provide 'immediate closing' of a loan or will afford unqualified access to credit."
The consumer-lender version omits "immediate approval." That is a real drafting difference a compliance rule engine should encode, not smooth over.
License and NMLS ID display
Verified[REGULATION] N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.2(a): "All solicitations and advertisements by licensees, whether in print, broadcast or electronically transmitted, shall include, in a conspicuous manner, the unique identifier assigned to the licensee by the NMLSR. Business cards shall be considered advertisements."
Single-element requirement: the licensee's NMLSR unique identifier, conspicuously, in all solicitations and advertisements regardless of medium. No New Jersey requirement to display a state license number in advertising was located, and no separate requirement to display the company name alongside the identifier was located in Subchapter 8. Searched N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.1 through 8.3 and N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75. NOT VERIFIED as to any additional display element.
[STATUTE] N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75(a) is the adjacent name restriction: "No person shall use the word 'mortgage' or similar word in any advertising, sign, letterhead, business card, or like matter which tends to represent that the person solicits, makes, brokers, or negotiates mortgage loans unless licensed to act as a residential mortgage lender, residential mortgage broker, or mortgage loan originator under this act, or is exempt from licensure pursuant to section 5 of this act." [REGULATION] N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.3(b) preserves legacy titles: "Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of the term 'mortgage banker' or 'correspondent mortgage banker' by duly licensed mortgage lenders or correspondent mortgage lenders." [REGULATION] N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.3(c): "A person who is not licensed or exempt under the Act or this chapter shall not offer residential mortgage loans in this State through direct or indirect solicitation or advertisement in print, electronic or any other medium."
Prohibited claims
Verified[REGULATION] N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.3(a): "No advertisement shall contain false, misleading or deceptive claims or misrepresentations. In all advertisements which make express or implied claims that are likely to be misleading in the absence of certain qualifying information such qualifying information, shall be disclosed in the advertisement in a clear and conspicuous manner. The use of any of the following types of advertising shall be deemed to be misleading or deceptive: 1. A form which has the appearance of a check, money order, draft or other instrument that is normally used for the transfer of funds; 2. Reference to loans by terms such as savings, thrift, share passbook, account, deposit, certificate or any other word or phrase of similar meaning, used individually or collectively; or 3. The placing by a business licensee of a supply of blank notes, chattel mortgages, security agreements, applications or other similar forms in any place other than a licensed office."
Item 2 is a per se deception rule keyed to specific deposit-style vocabulary. unique in batch 3. It exists to stop a lender's product from being dressed up as a bank deposit product.
[REGULATION] N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.1. the "no other costs" rule: "If a mortgage lender requires a borrower to insure the collateral assigned as security for a loan, the licensee shall not advertise that there are 'no other costs,' or use words of similar meaning, unless the terms represented in the advertisement include the cost of the insurance or unless the advertisement states that an additional charge for insurance is required." This is the closest thing New Jersey has to a "free"/"no cost" restriction, and it attaches narrowly. to required collateral insurance, not to fees generally.
[STATUTE] N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75(d): "No residential mortgage lender, residential mortgage broker, or mortgage loan originator, whether a business or individual licensee, shall make, advertise, print, display, publish, distribute, electronically transmit, telecast or broadcast, or cause or permit to be made, advertised, printed, displayed, published, distributed, electronically transmitted, televised or broadcast, in any manner, any statement or representation which is false, misleading or deceptive." [STATUTE] N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75(e): no licensee shall "engage in any unfair or deceptive practice toward any person, or directly or indirectly employ any scheme, device, or artifice to defraud or mislead borrowers, lenders, or any other person..." [STATUTE] N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75(g). the "immediate approval"/"immediate closing"/"unqualified access to credit" ban quoted above. [STATUTE] N.J.S.A. 17:11C-41(g) (consumer lenders): "No consumer lender shall make, advertise, print, display, publish, distribute, electronically transmit, telecast or broadcast, in any manner, any statement or representation which is false, misleading or deceptive."
No express New Jersey ban on "lowest," "best," "cheapest," "guaranteed," or "government" was located. Searched N.J.A.C. 3:15 Subchapter 8, N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75, and N.J.S.A. 17:11C-41. NOT VERIFIED.
Rate advertising
Verified[STATUTE] N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75(f): "No residential mortgage lender, residential mortgage broker, or mortgage loan originator shall advertise, solicit, or make, broker, or negotiate a mortgage loan for a specific interest rate, points, or other financing terms unless those terms are actually available at the time of advertising, making, brokering, or negotiating the loan."
No New Jersey-specific APR, lock-term, or "rates subject to change" advertising mandate beyond this availability rule was located. NOT VERIFIED. Reg Z governs the disclosure mechanics.
Ad filing, prior approval, retention
None found- Prior approval / filing: none found. Official DOBI 2021 Chapter 15 readoption (PRN 2021-007), retrieved 2026-09-17 from https://nj.gov/dobi/proposed/re220118njac3_15.pdf describes Subchapter 6 as books, records, examinations and annual reports, and Subchapter 8 as advertising. Searched N.J.A.C. 3:15 Subchapters 6 and 8 and N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75. No prior-approval or advertisement-filing duty. DOBI Bulletin 03-18 (June 23, 2003) is advertising-content guidance citing N.J.A.C. 3:2-1.4, which remains live as a general financial-institution advertising rule. It is not a filing duty. N.J.A.C. 3:2-1.4 is not repealed.
- Advertising-specific retention: none located. The general rule is
[REGULATION]N.J.A.C. 3:15-6.3(f): "Business licensees shall preserve all books, records, accounts and documents related to the business for at least three years after making the final entry on any application or loan." With (g) (denial/withdrawal is the final entry), (h) (assignment/sale is the final entry), (i) (open-end: three years after each entry), and (j) (electronic storage permitted if producible in electronic format or reproduced on paper and delivered within five days of a Department request).
Because the clock is keyed to "the final entry on any application or loan," it maps awkwardly onto advertisements, which are not tied to a specific loan file. NOT VERIFIED as to how DOBI applies the 3-year clock to advertising specifically.
Social media and character-limited media
Verified[REGULATION] N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.2(a) covers advertisements "whether in print, broadcast or electronically transmitted," and deems business cards advertisements. [REGULATION] N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.3(c) reaches solicitation "in print, electronic or any other medium." [STATUTE] N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75(d) expressly lists "electronically transmitted."
No New Jersey rule or guidance addressing social media by name was located, and no abbreviated-disclosure accommodation for character-limited media was located. NOT VERIFIED.
Anything unusual
1. The first-vs-second mortgage identification requirement. the standout New Jersey rule. [REGULATION] N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.2(b): "Each verbal advertisement for a loan, which a licensee makes or authorizes to be broadcast or disseminated by radio, television, Internet or other electronic means, shall include a statement indicating whether the advertisement is for a first mortgage or second mortgage loan. The statement may be made by either verbal or visual means, provided that, if visual means are used, the statement shall appear for the entire time the advertisement is broadcast or disseminated." Three things to encode: (i) it attaches to verbal advertisements broadcast or disseminated by radio, TV, Internet, or other electronic means. so audio and video digital ads are in scope; (ii) the lien-position statement may be verbal or visual (disjunctive); (iii) if visual, it must be on screen for the entire duration of the ad. No other batch-3 state requires lien-position disclosure in advertising. 2. The deposit-vocabulary per se rule (N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.3(a)2). "savings," "thrift," "share passbook," "account," "deposit," "certificate," "or any other word or phrase of similar meaning" are deemed misleading when used to refer to loans. 3. The check-simulation rule is a flat ban, not a legend rule. Unlike Nevada (which permits check-simulating mail with "THIS IS NOT A CHECK"), New Jersey deems a check/money-order/draft-lookalike form misleading or deceptive with no curing legend available. A national direct-mail piece designed to Nevada's standard still fails in New Jersey. 4. The word "mortgage" is itself restricted in advertising, signs, letterhead and business cards to licensed or exempt persons (N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75(a)). 5. The qualifying-information rule in N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.3(a) is an affirmative duty: express *or implied* claims likely to be misleading absent qualifying information must carry that qualifying information clearly and conspicuously in the ad. 6. Knowing violations are third-degree crimes.
Penalties
Verified[STATUTE] N.J.S.A. 17:11C-70 (Authority of commissioner relative to issuing licenses), enacted as P.L. 2009, c. 53, § 20, subsection b.(4): "The commissioner may impose a civil penalty not exceeding $25,000 on any person for a violation of this act. Each violation of this act, including any order, rule or regulation made or issued pursuant to this act, shall constitute a separate offense. Additionally, each violation of this act which constitutes a knowing violation shall be considered a crime of the third degree." The same section authorizes cease-and-desist orders under the Administrative Procedure Act, summary injunctive actions, and (subsection b.(5)) barring a person found to have knowingly violated the act and thereby caused financial harm to consumers from acting as a lender, broker, MLO, stockholder, officer, director, partner, owner, or employee of a licensee. A parallel $25,000-per-violation civil penalty appears in P.L. 2009, c. 53 for violations of the "New Jersey Consumer Finance Licensing Act" (retrieved in the same enacted-law text). NOT VERIFIED as to that provision's exact N.J.S.A. section number. [REGULATION] N.J.A.C. 3:15 Subchapter 12 is titled "Imposition of Administrative Penalties." NOT VERIFIED as to the specific penalty schedule in Subchapter 12. the subchapter text was not retrieved.
Sources
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/N-J-A-C-3-15-8-1reproduction N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.1 (advertising "no other costs" / required insurance):
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/N-J-A-C-3-15-8-2reproduction N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.2 (NMLSR unique identifier in all solicitations and advertisements; first/second mortgage statement in verbal ads):
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/N-J-A-C-3-15-8-3reproduction N.J.A.C. 3:15-8.3 (false, misleading or deceptive claims; deemed-misleading list):
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/N-J-A-C-3-15-6-3reproduction N.J.A.C. 3:15-6.3 (books and records; 3-year preservation):
- https://law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/title-3/chapter-15reproduction N.J.A.C. Title 3, Chapter 15 index and chapter history (subchapter 8 = Advertising; readopted 12/14/2021):
- https://pub.njleg.gov/bills/2008/AL09/53_.HTMofficial P.L. 2009, c. 53 (A3816) — New Jersey Residential Mortgage Lending Act as enacted; § 25 is codified at N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75; § 58 amends N.J.S.A. 17:11C-41; § 35 contains the $25,000
- https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-17/section-17-11c-75/reproduction N.J.S.A. 17:11C-75 (Prohibited practices, violations) — current code:
- https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-17/section-17-11c-41/reproduction N.J.S.A. 17:11C-41 (Consumer lenders, prohibited practices) — current code:
- https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-17/section-17-11c-70/reproduction N.J.S.A. 17:11C-70 (Authority of commissioner; $25,000 civil penalty; knowing violation = crime of the third degree):
- https://www.nj.gov/dobi/banklicensing/liclend_newapps.htmlofficial NJDOBI — Licensure Under the New Jersey Residential Mortgage Lending Act:
- https://nj.gov/dobi/proposed/re220118njac3_15.pdfofficial NJDOBI 2021 Chapter 15 readoption (PRN 2021-007) [OFFICIAL]: