Bears LendingEvery license, every regulator, and how to check them yourself.
Licensing is the difference between a lender and a website. Below are our licenses by state, the department that issued each one, and the lookup you can use to confirm them — for us or for anyone else.
Licenses and the regulator that issued each one
NMLS Consumer Access ID #1928374 covers all three states. Numbers below are per-license.
Florida11 stores
Florida rates & laws →
Georgia9 stores
Georgia rates & laws →
Alabama6 stores
Alabama rates & laws →
Four steps to check a lender before you apply
Takes about two minutes and works for any company, including us.
Find the license number
Licensed lenders print their state license number on the website footer and on every agreement. No number, no license.
Look it up at the regulator
Florida: flofr.gov · Georgia: dbf.georgia.gov · Alabama: banking.alabama.gov. Search by company name or license number.
Match the name and address
The licensed entity name and address must match the site. "Bears Lending, LLC, Jacksonville FL" — not a similar name at a PO box.
Check NMLS Consumer Access
Our NMLS ID is 1928374. The record shows every state registration and any regulatory actions.
Standards we've signed up to
Membership isn't a license, but each of these bodies audits its members against a published code.
INFiN
Financial services trade association. Members follow the INFiN Best Practices: full disclosure, no rollovers where prohibited, extended payment plans, no threats of criminal action.
Member since 2011National Pawnbrokers Association
Sets standards for item valuation, secure storage, insurance and stolen-property reporting for pawn operations.
Member since 2009Better Business Bureau
Accredited with an A+ rating. Complaint history and responses are public on our BBB profile.
Accredited since 2012NMLS
Nationwide Multistate Licensing System. Consumer Access shows our registrations in each state.
ID #1928374Truth in Lending Act
Federal law requiring the APR, finance charge and total of payments on every consumer credit agreement. Every Bears Lending agreement complies.
FederalState examinations
Each state regulator examines licensed lenders on a schedule. Our last examinations: FL 2025, GA 2025, AL 2026.
OngoingQuestions about this page
Is Bears Lending licensed in my state?
If you're in Florida, Georgia or Alabama, yes — the numbers are above. We don't lend in any other state.
What's the difference between a license and a registration?
A license is issued after the regulator examines the company's finances, policies and management. A registration is a notice filing. All Bears Lending lending activity is licensed.
What does the NMLS ID tell me?
The NMLS Consumer Access record lists every state where a company is registered, the license types, and any public regulatory actions.
How do I file a complaint with a regulator?
Each regulator card above has the department name and phone number. Complaints can be filed online at each department's website; we respond to every regulator inquiry within the statutory window.
Licensed in three states,
verifiable in two minutes.
Check the numbers above at your state regulator before you borrow — from us or anyone. Then apply with confidence.
- FL · GA · AL licensed
- NMLS #1928374
- INFiN & NPA member
- BBB A+
License numbers on this page are placeholders to be replaced with the issued numbers before launch.
Store hours