In California you have the option to apply for both the lenders license and brokers license simultaneously. Most advise that you apply for both. Because it can't hurt anything. I have discussed licensing with several brokers that do business in California. Most have went through the painstaking process. Word to the wise make sure your application is perfect prior to sending it. Otherwise I have heard horror stories as to the amount of time it takes once an application has been rejected for pretty insignificant oversights. Now having said that we are a direct funder in the equipment financing arena. We do have a approval process for all brokers we do business with. We will consider brokers with little experience as long as we can make sure they are competent.