SAFE

Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act. The SAFE Act was passed in 2008 as an amendment to the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. The Act established minimum licensing standards for mortgage loan originators (MLOs) and requires that they be registered with the federal government or licensed by the states. MLOs that work for an insured depository institution regulated by a federal banking agency or by the Farm Credit Administration are required to register with the federal government; all others are required to be state licensed.