source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-sel-b2-2-01
  authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-2-01 — General Borrower Eligibility Requirements
  description: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-2-01 — General Borrower Eligibility Requirements.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-sel-b2-2-01-full
  canonical_id: fnma-sel-b2-2-01-full
  section: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-2-01 — General Borrower Eligibility Requirements
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - selling-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-2-01 — General Borrower Eligibility Requirements
    source_class: fnma-guide
    source_url: https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/selling-guide
    snapshot_id: 5f7b8b79da595d76
    fetched_at: '2026-05-25T14:09:57Z'
    content_hash: sha256:98cf85a02861bbe84914a0e339b327c8fc131869a8a573882007bbeea60c5701
    paragraph_quote: 'B2-2-01, General Borrower Eligibility Requirements (09/03/2025)
      Introduction This topic contains information on general borrower eligibility
      requirements, including: General Borrower Eligibility Requirements General Borrower
      Identity Criteria Tax Identiﬁcation Numbers Establishing Borrower Ownership
      Interest General Borrower Eligibility Requirements Fannie Mae purchases or securitizes
      mortgages made to borrowers who are natural persons and have reached the age
      at which the mortgage note can be enforced in the jurisdiction where the property
      is located. There is no maximum age limit for a borrower. Exceptions to the
      requirement that borrowers be natural persons are: inter vivos revocable trusts,
      HomeStyle Renovation mortgages, and Published May 6, 2026 224 land trusts in
      those states where the beneﬁciary is an individual. (Note: Fannie Mae permits
      land trusts on a negotiated basis for states where land trusts are widely accepted.)
      See the following for additional information: B2-1.3-04, Prohibited Reﬁnancing
      Practices, B2-2-04, Guarantors, Co-Signers, or Non-Occupant Borrowers on the
      Subject Transaction B2-2-05, Inter Vivos Revocable Trusts, B5-3.2-02, HomeStyle
      Renovation Mortgages: Loan and Borrower Eligibility, and Community Land Trusts
      in B5-5.3-01, Shared Equity Overview. General Borrower Identity Criteria A borrower
      is any applicant (e.g., individually or jointly) whose credit is used for qualifying
      purposes to determine ability to meet Fannie Mae’s underwriting and eligibility
      standards. “Co-borrower” is a term used to describe any borrower other than
      the borrower whose name appears ﬁrst on the note. Lenders must conﬁrm each borrower’s
      identity prior to the extension of credit. Fannie Mae’s requirements for borrower
      identity veriﬁcation are intended to align with lenders’ existing federal obligations
      under laws requiring information and document veriﬁcation, including the Department
      of Treasury''s Oﬃce of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations and the U.S.
      Patriot Act. See A3-2-01, Compliance With Laws, for additional information concerning
      borrower identity veriﬁcation. Tax Identiﬁcation Numbers Fannie Mae requires
      that each borrower have a valid Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer
      Identiﬁcation Number (ITIN), in addition to meeting existing legal residency
      and documentation requirements. (For additional information, see B2-2-02, Non–U.S.
      Citizen Borrower Eligibility Requirements.) DU and Loan Delivery may identify
      data integrity issues pertaining to the borrower’s Social Security number. Lenders
      must take steps to resolve any issues, including invalid format, numbers not
      issued, borrower age/issue date discrepancies, or Social Security numbers associated
      with deceased individuals. If a lender cannot resolve any Social Security number
      inconsistencies, the lender must validate the Social Security number directly
      with the Social Security Administration (SSA). The following requirements apply:
      The lender may use one of the two methods listed below to validate a borrower''s
      Social Security number: Form SSA–89 (Authorization for the Social Security Administration
      to Release Social Security Number Veriﬁcation), or Electronic Consent Based
      Social Security Number Veriﬁcation (eCBSV) Service. If using a third-party vendor,
      the lender must ensure that the vendor goes directly to the SSA to validate
      the Social Security number using one of the two methods listed above. The lender
      must retain documentation in the loan ﬁle that evidences the validation of the
      Social Security number. The lender must deliver the loan with SFC 162 if the
      Social Security number was validated through the SSA but there is a discrepancy
      identiﬁed with the Social Security number in the credit report, DU, or Loan
      Delivery edits. Published May 6, 2026 225 If the Social Security number cannot
      be validated with the SSA, the loan is not eligible for sale to Fannie Mae.
      Establishing Borrower Ownership Interest A borrower must establish ownership
      interest in the security property and become liable for the note (whether individually
      or jointly) by: signing the security instrument, signing the mortgage or deed
      of trust note, and taking title to the property in the name of the individual
      borrower(s). If the security property is held in a life estate established under
      state property law, the following provisions apply: The life tenant (the individual
      who has the right to possess and use the subject property during their lifetime)
      must be a borrower. One (or more) remaindermen (individuals who have an irrevocable,
      vested and alienable interest in the subject property and who will receive full
      ownership of the subject property upon the death of the life tenant) may also
      be co-borrowers. Both the life tenant and all remaindermen must sign the security
      instrument to convey their respective interests in the property. For additional
      information, see B2-3-01, General Property Eligibility. Recent Related Announcements
      The table below provides references to recently issued Announcements that are
      related to this topic. Announcements Issue Date Announcement SEL-2025-07 September
      03, 2025 Announcement SEL-2022-10 December 14, 2022 Announcement SEL-2020-05
      September 02, 2020'
  judgment: false
