United States
Hong KongNMLS exam retake rules
You may retake after 30 days. Fail three consecutively and the wait becomes 180 days from the last attempt. Each retake is a fresh USD 110 enrollment, and there is no cap on total attempts.
There is no limit on how many times you can sit this exam. There are limits on how quickly.
The waiting periods
| Situation | Wait before the next attempt |
|---|---|
| After a failed attempt | 30 days |
| After a second consecutive fail | 30 days |
| After a third consecutive fail | 180 days from the last attempt |
The third one is the one that bites. Six months is long enough that most of what you learned for the third attempt will have gone by the fourth.
It is also long enough to end a job offer that was contingent on getting licensed.
What a retake costs
USD 110, the same as the first attempt. You open a new enrollment window and book a new seat with Prometric.
The 20-hour pre-licensure course does not repeat. That requirement is satisfied once.
How to use the 30 days
Badly, is the usual answer. People book the retake for day 31 and spend the month re-reading the same course material that did not work the first time.
Your score report is the thing to work from. It breaks your performance down by content area, and it is the only genuinely diagnostic information you will get.
- Find the two weakest areas and give them the majority of the month
- Drill calculations daily rather than weekly - they decay fastest
- Sit a full timed mock at least twice, not one the night before
- Rebook only when a mock is landing above 80%, not on the earliest available date
If you have failed twice, treat the third attempt as the one that matters rather than another roll. The jump from a 30-day wait to a 180-day wait is severe, and the difference between attempt three and attempt four is half a year.
Does a fail show up anywhere
Your test history sits in NMLS, and a sponsoring employer with access to your record can see it. A fail does not bar you from licensure and it does not expire off the record either.
What matters for the license is that you eventually pass. The attempts before it are not a disqualification.
Common questions
How long do you wait to retake the NMLS exam?
30 days after a failed attempt. After three consecutive fails the wait is 180 days from the last one.
How many times can you take the NMLS exam?
There is no cap on total attempts. The limits are on timing, not on number.
Does a retake cost extra?
It costs the same USD 110 as the first attempt, and you open a fresh enrollment window each time.
Do you retake the 20-hour course after failing?
No. The pre-licensure education requirement is satisfied once and does not repeat with the test.
Can an employer see that I failed?
Your test history is held in NMLS and a sponsoring employer with access to your record can see it. It does not bar you from being licensed.