Agency Guide to Getting Started with the State Examination System (SES)

This guide provides information about adopting SES for your agency, onboarding your agency to the system, adoption timelines, SES training options, and SES Consumer Complaints,

About SES

The State Examination System (SES) is a one-stop-shop for financial services industry supervision that brings an agency’s entire engagement with companies onto a single platform, which in turn brings efficiencies to state supervision.

SES is a web-based platform managed by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). The purpose of SES is to support the supervision and complaints processes for state regulators and the companies they supervise.

Initiating the Agency Onboarding Process

​If your state agency is interested in adopting the State Examination System (SES), completing the Agency Interest Form (PDF format) is the first step of initial commitment.

Adoption Timeline

After an agency submits the Agency Interest Form (PDF format), agencies can expect to launch in SES after 60 days.
  • Pre-onboarding activities and adoption considerations take around 30 days to complete.
  • Conducting a system review, setup, and training takes another 30 days to complete.

Agency Agreements for SES Adoption

An agency must agree to the following to adopt use of SES:

Agency Considerations for SES Adoption

An agency should consider the following when adopting use of SES:
  • The need to whitelist various SES notification email addresses
  • Determine if agency users need physical (vs. mobile) Symantec tokens for two-factor authentication
  • If collecting agency fees through NMLS, the agency needs to be authorized to accept and process said fees on behalf of the agency
  • Develop a communication plan for companies regarding the use of SES to conduct supervisory activities

Information Required from the Agency for SES Adoption

An agency must provide the following information when adopting use of SES:
  • SES contacts for the agency
  • Current library of forms used during the exam process
  • Exam priorities for SES (which industry first)
  • Future exam schedule
  • Target dates
  • Completion of a training needs assessment

Tasks To Be Completed Prior to Go-Live

Before an agency can go live on SES, the following tasks must be completed:
  • CSBS completes the “State to Standard” forms library comparison
  • CSBS and the agency schedule and complete SES Training
  • Agency user account setup