When you're taking financial advice from someone, it's reasonable to want them to be licensed and to be able to trust that they have the know-how to back up what they're talking about. In the mortgage industry, this can be handled a couple of ways.
Every state has different requirements for mortgage loan officers and brokers. There's state-level licensing required for someone to be able to originate mortgages. These include certifications or licenses that an individual loan officer must have and licenses that must be maintained by the institution funding the loan.
For nationwide banks, there are federal registrations, but non-bank lenders and local originators will have their MLOs licensed at the state level.
Lenders are also required to comply with the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, or the SAFE Act. This act requires that federal and state licensing for MLOs be published in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS).
The NMLS directory allows clients to check on the licensing and registration details of individual lenders and their MLOs to make sure they're properly licensed.