New York mortgage advertising rules

License and NMLS ID display

Regulation. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

New York does not primarily require an NMLS number in ads. It requires a legend plus a street address, which is a different model from every other state in this batch.

REGULATION. 3 NYCRR § 38.2(a) (legend, by licensee type):

"No mortgage broker shall advertise its business in New York in print or electronic media without including the legend 'Registered Mortgage Broker-NYS Banking Department'"

and, for bankers, the legend "Licensed Mortgage Banker-NYS Banking Department," in each case "or words to like effect." Exception, quoted: "Business cards, letterhead and general electronic media communications, to the extent that they are not used for general advertising purposes, need not include the legend."

REGULATION. 3 NYCRR § 38.2(b) (name + street address):

"must indicate the name of the entity and a street address of any one of its offices in New York State"

— or, if not located in New York, a street address of any one office outside New York. Express carve-out: this "will not apply to advertisements made by a mortgage broker, mortgage banker or exempt organization having more than 10 offices in New York State."

REGULATION. 3 NYCRR § 38.2(d) (broker-only third-party statement):

"Any advertisement by a mortgage broker must contain a statement to the effect that the mortgage broker arranges mortgage loans with third-party providers."

Conjunctive or disjunctive: CONJUNCTIVE. For a mortgage broker advertising in New York, three elements must appear together in the same advertisement: (i) the registration legend, (ii) the entity name *and* a street address, and (iii) the third-party-provider statement. There is no "any one of" formulation anywhere in § 38.2. The only flexibility is "or words to like effect" as to the legend's wording, and the >10-offices carve-out as to the address.

MLO-level. REGULATION, 3 NYCRR § 420.20(a)(4) and (a)(8) are prohibitions, not display mandates. An MLO may not "publish, advertise or display his or her MLO license in any manner which implies that the MLO is licensed or registered with the New York State Department of Financial Services" as a mortgage banker or broker; and may not "publish or advertise its MLO license or unique identifier in any manner which implies that such license or unique identifier can be shared or used by multiple individuals."

Prohibited claims

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

Chapeau: no covered entity shall "fraudulently or deceitfully advertise a mortgage loan, or misrepresent the terms, conditions or charges incident to a mortgage loan in any advertisement therefor." The rule then deems the following conduct fraudulent, deceitful or misleading:

• § 38.2(e)(1). "the advertisement of 'immediate approval' of a loan application or 'immediate closing' of a loan". *Attaches to: speed/approval claims.*
• § 38.2(e)(2). "the advertisement of a 'no-point' mortgage loan when points, as defined herein, are accepted as a condition for commitment or closing," or advertising "an intentionally incorrect specific number of points." *Attaches to: points only.*
• § 38.2(e)(3). "the advertisement that an applicant will have unqualified access to credit without disclosing what material limitations on the availability of credit may exist," giving as examples percentage down payment required, that a higher rate or points may be required, or maximum principal amount restrictions. *Attaches to: credit-availability claims.*
• § 38.2(e)(4). advertising "a specific time period within which a commitment will be issued unless a commitment will be issued to a qualified applicant within the time period specified, if at all". *Attaches to: commitment timing.*
• § 38.2(e)(5). see §5 below. *Attaches to: rates.*
• § 38.2(d). "No advertisement by a mortgage broker shall contain language which indicates or suggests that the mortgage broker will fund a mortgage loan." *Attaches to: brokers only.*

Important scope note: New York does NOT have an express ban on the words "lowest," "best," "cheapest," "guaranteed," "free," "no cost," or "government," and has no general superlative prohibition. (Contrast Ohio, which does.) New York's list is specific and enumerated. Superlatives in New York are reached, if at all, through the § 38.2(e) chapeau, § 38.7 prohibited conduct, and federal Reg N.

Rate advertising

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

Mandatory "subject to change" language whenever a rate appears. § 38.2(e)(5) deems it misleading to advertise a mortgage loan "where a prevailing rate is indicated in the advertisement, unless the advertisement specifically states that the expressed rate may change or not be available at commitment or closing."

Prepayment-penalty tag-along. § 38.2(g). an advertisement for a product containing a prepayment penalty "which advertisement sets forth the interest rate and/or points of such product shall include a statement indicating that the product has a pre-payment penalty." *Trigger: the ad states a rate and/or points. Not triggered by a rate-free ad.*

Product availability. § 38.2(c). no product may be advertised "unless the entity has the advertised product available to a reasonable number of qualified applicants responding to the advertisement on the date the advertisement appears, or the entity's next business day." There is a narrow safe harbor where aggregate availability is capped by an agreement with a third person (e.g., a State mortgage agency) and "the entity discloses in the advertisement for such product that the availability of such product is limited."

Ad filing, prior approval, retention

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

Retention: 2 years. REGULATION. 3 NYCRR § 38.2(f):

"shall maintain a record of samples of its advertisements (including commercial scripts of all radio broadcasts, television broadcasts and electronic media) for a period of two years"

— for examination by the superintendent, running "from the date of publication." Note the express inclusion of commercial scripts for radio, TV and electronic media, which means a screenshot-only retention program is non-compliant for broadcast and electronic content.

Website prior authorization. GUIDANCE (DFS). New York is the one state in this batch with a de facto prior-approval gate on a marketing channel. Per the DFS "Mortgage Industry. Website Authorization Instructions" page, covering Mortgage Bankers, Mortgage Brokers and Mortgage Loan Servicers:

"Until your website is approved, you should not conduct New York regulated mortgage broker/banker/servicer business through the site."

A Website Authorization Form must be submitted, and required legends must appear before authorization is granted. Domain-name restrictions (verbatim): a domain "must not contain a sequence of letters spelling 'bank,' 'trust,' 'saving,' or 'guaranty,' as well as derivatives thereof," and separately, "a mortgage broker may not use a domain name containing the word 'loan' or 'lending.'" The page cites 18 U.S.C. § 709 for the first restriction.

Traditional ad filing (print/broadcast): none found. No requirement to pre-file or obtain approval of non-website advertising was located.

Penalties

Statute. Guidance is not law.

Last verified 2026-09-17.

• STATUTE. Banking Law § 598: provides for an additional penalty "for each violation" in "a sum not to exceed an amount as determined pursuant to section forty-four of this chapter," plus liquidated damages of "twice the amount of any fees or other charges paid," and a Class A misdemeanor for unlicensed activity. (Retrieved via nysenate.gov; the fetch returned a summary with these quoted fragments rather than full text. treat amounts as directionally confirmed, exact full text NOT independently verified.)
• STATUTE. Banking Law § 44(1) (non-banking entities, incl. mortgage bankers/brokers): penalty "shall not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars for each day during which such violation continues," rising for a pattern of misconduct and for knowing violations. (Same caveat. retrieved as a summary with quoted fragments.)