Job Aid: Your First Complaint in SES

This job aid serves as a guide for company complaints users to complete the set-up process for their company (“Company Enrollment”) and respond to a consumer complaint in the State Examination System (SES).

It highlights the basic workflow for responding to a complaint in SES and points out important information along the way. Since the workflow in SES is not specific to any industry or business type, this job aid is relevant for any complaint processed in SES.
Figure 1. Basic Flow for Processing a Complaint in SES
Basic Flow for Processing a Complaint in SES

1. Agency Communicates with Company

When an agency has received a consumer complaint they wish to process in SES, they will first communicate with the company to inform the entity about the complaint and their intended use of SES.

Remember: Your company may receive notifications from multiple state agencies regarding their anticipated use of SES. If the notifications looked similar, it’s because CSBS has provided agencies with communication templates to assist with their transition to SES.

2. Agency Initiates SES Company Enrollment

The SES Company Enrollment process was designed so that the agency creates the first user of the company as they likely know who is best suited to handle the complaint on behalf of the company.

Tip: SES displays the NMLS Contact Person and the NMLS Complaints Contact if provided by the company in NMLS. To help ensure the right individuals are identified as the appropriate company contacts by the agency, it is recommended that you make sure your contacts in NMLS are correct and regularly updated as needed.

3. Company Completes SES Company Enrollment

After the agency enrolls the appropriate individual, the company user is notified via email. The company notification provides the steps company users must take to access the system.

Figure 2. SES - Quick Learning Opportunity
Watch the Company Enrollment video (6:30 mins) to learn more, including:
  • How agencies initiate enrollment;
  • How to ensure your information is captured in SES if your company is not regulated on NMLS;
  • Information about Okta and how to set up your multi-factor authentication tool;
  • A guided demonstration of all system pages completed during the enrollment process;
  • Information on account management, including assigning contacts, user account creation, and roles;
  • And, outstanding tasks – what to look for once you’ve completed enrollment!

4. SES Complaints Contact Assigns the Company POC

If you watched the video provided in the last step, you’ll know that the SES Complaint Contact is responsible for assigning a Company Point of Contact (POC) to each complaint received in SES. In turn, the Company POC oversees the complaint and is responsible for responding to the agency’s information request.

5. POC Responds to Information Request (IR)

As Company POC, they may assign other company users to assist with drafting responses. However, only the Company POC can submit a response to the agency. Responses can be saved in draft and can also be marked for restricted access so that only the Company POC and the agency can see the response. Once the response has been sent, your job is done until you receive an update from SES. The agency is automatically notified of the submission and the status is updated to ‘Sent’ in SES.

Figure 3. What does an Information Request Response look like in SES?
In SES, responses can be sent via:
  • On-screen text
    • 4,000 characters limit
  • Document upload
    Please note the following restrictions with regard to file uploads in SES. It is recommended to use a ZIP folder or File Sharing Links when uploading large files or more than 25 files at a time.
    • File formats supported: SES will accept all file formats, but the following commonly supported file types are recommended: PDF, Word®, Excel®, CSV, ZIP
    • Max file size: 1 GB
    • For files larger than 1 GB1:
      • Use ZIP compression to reduce file to less than 1 GB1
      • Split the file into multiple smaller files
      • Use File Sharing Links.
    • Max no. characters per file name: 200
    • Max no. files per upload: 25, for uploads larger than 25 total files:
      1. Upload first 25.
      2. Select the Save Draft option in Available Next Actions then click the Save Draft button.
        Note: You may need to refresh the screen to see that the files have uploaded to the system.
      3. Return to the response screen to upload the next 25 files and repeat.
    • Total no. files: unlimited
  • External file sharing link
    • For files that exceed 1GB

If additional information is needed, the agency can send the response back to the company for updates or create a new information request for your company to respond to in SES. Once the response(s) meets the needs of the agency, the agency will then close the complaint, triggering a closure notification to the company.

SES Company Resources

Be sure to check out the SES Quick Start Guide for Companies. If you have any additional questions, please contact the NMLS and SES Call Center by telephone (1-800-269-6189) for assistance.

Table 1. State Examination System (SES) Hours of Operation
Day of the Week Full Access Limited Access2
All Times Eastern
Monday through Friday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM 6:00 PM – 9:00 AM
Saturday & Sunday All Day

New Year's Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

President's Day

Memorial Day

Juneteenth

Independence Day

Labor Day

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Day.

 All Day
1 For documents uploaded to the Interactions tab, the maximum file size is 25 MB.
2 During periods of Limited Availability, the System will be operational, but availability may not be guaranteed. The system may experience periods of planned or emergency maintenance.