Yes. The District of Columbia’s mortgage lender and broker statute directly addresses a person acting in a dual capacity and permits it with a statutory written notice and a signed acknowledgment.
What District of Columbia requires
- Give the disclosure of dual capacity notice the statute prescribes and collect the buyer’s signed acknowledgment.
- Hold an active District MLO license sponsored by a licensed mortgage company.
What the rule says
Receive compensation for negotiating, placing, or finding a mortgage loan where a mortgage broker, or any person affiliated with such mortgage broker, has otherwise acted as a real estate broker, agent, or salesperson in connection with the sale of the real estate which secures the mortgage loan
unless the borrower is given the following notice in writing at the time the mortgage broker’s services are first offered to the borrower: DISCLOSURE OF DUAL CAPACITY
The foregoing notice shall be at least 10-point type and the prospective borrower shall acknowledge receipt of the written notice.
What applies in every state
- Both licenses must be active. The mortgage side is an individual MLO license, sponsored by a licensed mortgage company, with the SAFE test, 20 hours of education and a background check behind it.
- Federal law sits above the state rule. RESPA Section 8 bars pay for a referral, and Regulation Z sets what a loan originator may be paid for. Compensation on the mortgage side is for origination work performed. The RESPA and referral-fee explainer walks through it.
- The lender on the loan has its own rule. FHA permits the dual role since 2022. Conventional lenders decide file by file in writing.
- The buyer keeps the right to choose any lender, and the disclosure says so.