Georgia Residential Mortgage Act Per Loan Fees Reporting and Payment Due for Semi-Annual Period

You are receiving this communication because you are an active financial institution or mortgage company in the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (Department’s) records or someone representing your institution/company may have submitted fees to the Department for the prior Georgia Residential Mortgage Act (GRMA) semi-annual reporting period.

Please be reminded of the following for the semi-annual reporting period, which applies to reporting and remittance for any fees collected July 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022 (“22B”):

IF YOU DID NOT CLOSE ANY LOANS DURING THE SEMI-ANNUAL PERIOD AND HAVE NO FEES TO SUBMIT, NO REPORTING OR FURTHER ACTION IS REQUIRED ON YOUR PART.

Georgia Residential Mortgage Act (GRMA) Per Loan Fees - The $10.00 per loan fees required by O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1011(b) and Department Rule 80-5-1-.04 are due on a semiannual basis.  GRMA fees are required to be collected and remitted by the collecting agent, which is the entity “listed as the secured party on a security deed or any other loan document.”  This requirement exists to ensure that each collecting agent is given proper credit for remitting the required GRMA fees.  The fees along with a fee statement indicating the number of mortgage loans closed by the collecting agent shall be remitted semiannually to the Department through its new online reporting and payment system located at: https://dbf.georgia.gov/georgia-residential-mortgage-act-grma. 

If this is your first time submitting your GRMA payment through the site, you will be required to register for an account.  If you have previously registered for an account, please ensure that you have the correct login information on hand.  If you do not have your login information, you can select the Forgot Password and/or Forgot Username options on the sign-in page of the GRMA payment site.  More than two incorrect login attempts will cause the system to lock your account and you will be required to contact the Department to regain access. 

Resource guides will be available on the site that provide step-by-step instructions for completing the GRMA submission process.  Please do take the time to review the guidance as it will provide all the information necessary to get you through the reporting process as seamlessly as possible.  If you have any questions or concerns about the reporting process, please feel free to contact the Department directly.

If done properly, the use of this payment system should eliminate any findings by the Department that the collecting agent did not remit all the required fees. 

To avoid fines for failure to remit GRMA fees when due, reporting and payment must be completed on-line by the deadlines established in Department Rule 80-5-1-.04:

• Fees collected for the period July 1 through December 31 of each year shall be remitted to the Department no later than the first business day of March of each year. The Department's reporting and payment site for period 22B is now open and it will remain open since the new site is available all year round.  Please note that although the reporting period will remain open throughout the year, you will still be assessed a late fee if you do not remit the GRMA fees during the required reporting period.

Please note that there are three separate reporting processes once you arrive at the main landing page for GRMA reporting and payment https://dbf.georgia.gov/georgia-residential-mortgage-act-grma.

1. The Banks and Credit Unions Regulated by the Department option is only for banks and credit unions chartered in the State of Georgia that are regulated by the Department. If you are a national bank, federal savings bank or federal credit union, out-of-state bank or out-of-state credit union, you will not be able to choose this option but should choose GRMA Remitters Not Regulated by the Department.
2. The Mortgage Companies Regulated by the Department option is only for mortgage companies that are/or were licensed by the Department of Banking and Finance, State of Georgia. If your NMLS# is not in our system, you will not be able to choose this option but should choose GRMA Remitters Not Regulated by the Department.
3. All other companies/entities reporting and remitting GRMA fees should choose the GRMA Remitters Not Regulated by the Department reporting option.

Refer to the Department’s Frequently Asked Questions document for further information about GRMA $10 per loan fees reporting and remittance requirements.

Additional tips for our GRMA reporting and payment site: Most of our payment sites perform better using the Mozilla Firefox browser.  Please do not use Internet Explorer, as some features will not be available on the payment site.  NOTE: Be sure to refresh your browser and/or clear your browser's cache to ensure that you see the current, active page.

Thank you,

Department of Banking and Finance 2990 Brandywine Road, Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30341-5565 (770) 986-1633 https://dbf.georgia.gov/