§969.37. Licensing procedures

A.(1) The application for a license under this Chapter shall be in writing, under oath, and in the form prescribed by the commission. The application shall contain: (a) the name of the applicant; (b) date of incorporation or organization; (c) the address of all offices from which consumer loans are originated; (d) the name and resident address of the owners, members, or partners or, if a corporation or association, of the directors and principal officers; and (e) such other pertinent information as the commission may require to make an evaluation of the applicant.

(2) As part of the pertinent information considered, the commission shall consider information relative to all of the following:

(a) Financial standing and business integrity of the applicant.

(b) Ability of the applicant to conduct properly the business for which a license is sought.

(c) Adequacy of the applicant's established place of business for the purpose for which a license is sought.

(d) Effect on the motor vehicle finance business and the consuming public in the community or territory and state of Louisiana.

B. No license shall be issued unless the commission, upon investigation, finds that the applicant, and the partners or members thereof if the applicant is a partnership or limited liability company, and of the officers and directors thereof if the applicant is a corporation, are such as to warrant a reasonable belief that the business will be operated honestly and fairly within the purposes of this Chapter.

C.(1) The applicant shall be entitled to a hearing on the question of his qualifications for a license if the applicant requests such in writing to the commission and either of the following have occurred:

(a) The applicant has received notification from the commission that his application has been denied; or

(b) The commission has not issued the applicant a license and it has been sixty days since the date that the application for the license was filed with the commission.

(2) A request for a hearing based on the denial of an application must be received by the commission, in writing, within fifteen days of the date that the commission mailed the denial notice to the applicant.

(3) The denial notice from the commission to the applicant shall be in writing and shall state, in substance, the commission's findings supporting the denial of the application. Such notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the primary business address on the application.

D.(1) The license fee for every licensed lender subject to this Chapter for each calendar year or part thereof shall be the sum of four hundred dollars for the principal place of business of the licensee and the sum of four hundred dollars for each branch of the licensee maintained in this state. If a lender makes direct consumer loans to consumers at a seller location, that location is not deemed to be a branch office of the lender.

(2) The license fee for every administrator for each calendar year or part thereof shall be fixed by the commission and shall not exceed fifteen hundred dollars.

(3) The license fee for every salesman or agent for each calendar year or part thereof shall be fixed by the commission and shall not exceed seventy-five dollars.

E. License fees shall be in addition to other fees and taxes paid by the licensee. All license fees collected under the provisions of this Chapter shall be paid to the commission and shall be used for administration of this Chapter by the commission. The commission is authorized to employ personnel necessary for administration under this Chapter.

F. Each license shall specify the location of the licensee's office or branch and, if that office or branch is located within this state, the license must be conspicuously displayed there. In case such location is changed, the commission shall endorse the change of location on the license without charge.

G. Upon approval of such application and the payment of such fee, the commission shall issue a license to the applicant to engage in the origination of consumer loans or the purchase of motor vehicle credit contracts, notes, and agreements by assignment, or issue a license to sell or administer debt waiver and debt forgiveness agreements under and in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter for a period which shall expire the last day of December following the date of issuance. Such license shall not be transferable or assignable. No licensee shall transact any business provided for by this Chapter under any other name.

H. All foreign corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability companies seeking to maintain a license under the provisions of this Chapter shall be registered to do business in this state with the secretary of state. Evidence showing such registration shall be furnished by applicant or licensee upon request by the commission.

Acts 1999, No. 794, §1, eff. July 2, 1999; Acts 2003, No. 340, §1; Acts 2004, No. 910, §1; Acts 2005, No. 255, §1; Acts 2006, No. 785, §1.