source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-svc-d1-6-02
  authority: Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D1-6-02 — Handling Notices of Liens, Legal
    Action, Other Actions Impacting Fannie Mae's Interest
  description: Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D1-6-02 — Handling Notices of Liens, Legal
    Action, Other Actions Impacting Fannie Mae's Interest.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-svc-d1-6-02-full
  canonical_id: fnma-svc-d1-6-02-full
  section: Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D1-6-02 — Handling Notices of Liens, Legal Action,
    Other Actions Impacting Fannie Mae's Interest
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - servicing-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D1-6-02 — Handling Notices of Liens, Legal
      Action, Other Actions Impacting Fannie Mae's Interest
    source_class: fnma-guide
    source_url: https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/servicing-guide
    snapshot_id: cf63a82bbb4adfba
    fetched_at: '2026-05-22T23:53:19Z'
    content_hash: sha256:89df66c43baad07f8a8dd9d224492fff7d15e8839edba02ad0e74c7e50fe5da3
    paragraph_quote: 'D1-6-02, Handling Notices of Liens, Legal Action, Other Actions
      Impacting Fannie Mae’s Interest (05/10/2023) Introduction This topic contains
      information on handling notices of liens, legal action, other actions impacting
      Fannie Mae’s interest. Handling Notices of Liens, Legal Action, Other Actions
      Impacting Fannie Mae’s Interest Handling Notices of Liens, Legal Action, Other
      Actions Impacting Fannie Mae’s Interest Fannie Mae reserves the right to direct
      and control all litigation involving a Fannie Mae mortgage loan, and the servicer
      and any law ﬁrm handling the litigation must cooperate fully with Fannie Mae
      in the prosecution, defense, or handling of the matter. The servicer must describe
      Fannie Mae as “Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), a corporation
      organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America” in legal
      proceedings. Fannie Mae may not be referred to as a government agency. The servicer
      must not initiate legal proceedings or intervene in legal proceedings on Fannie
      Mae’s behalf without Fannie Mae’s prior written approval, with the exception
      of routine foreclosures, bankruptcy matters, and possessory actions for certain
      mortgage loans. The servicer must take all reasonable actions to prevent new
      liens that would be superior to Fannie Mae’s mortgage lien from being attached
      against the property. The servicer must refer to the Property Preservation Matrix
      and Reference Guide for further clariﬁcation on handling code violations, liens,
      condemnation, demolition, and similar issues on vacant or abandoned properties
      securing a delinquent mortgage loan. From time to time, servicers may be served
      with a summons and complaint relating to a Fannie Mae mortgage loan (e.g., a
      condemnation action, a probate proceeding, a partition action, a quiet title
      action, a code violation notice, a tax sale, or a subordinate loan foreclosure).
      The servicer is responsible for handling these types of legal actions, including
      retaining any legal counsel necessary to represent Fannie Mae’s interests. The
      following table outlines the servicer’s responsibilities upon receipt of notice
      of a legal action impacting Fannie Mae’s interest. ✓ The servicer must... Notify
      Fannie Mae’s Single Family Legal department immediately of any non-routine litigation
      and certain matters requiring escalation as required in accordance with this
      Guide by submitting a Non-Routine Litigation Form (Form 20). See E-1.3-02, Reporting
      Non-Routine Litigation to Fannie Mae for additional information. Published May
      13, 2026 284 ✓ The servicer must... Use counsel selected and engaged pursuant
      to Fannie Mae’s requirements. See A4-2.2-01, Selecting and Retaining Law Firms
      for additional information. Note: If a legal proceeding involves allegations
      that would trigger Fannie Mae’s right to indemniﬁcation from the servicer (e.g.,
      allegations of origination issues or servicing errors), the servicer is authorized
      to retain any counsel of its choice. Obtain excess fee approval from its Fannie
      Mae Servicing Representative (see F-4-02, List of Contacts) if the legal proceeding
      does not involve allegations that would trigger Fannie Mae’s right to indemniﬁcation
      from the servicer. Instruct counsel to • notify the borrower about their responsibility
      for expenses when the deed of trust or mortgage loan provides for the borrower
      to reimburse any legal fees or costs incurred by the servicer, and • handle
      such matters by stipulation or any other expeditious matter that will reduce
      fees and costs. Notify Fannie Mae’s Project Standards Team (see F-4-02, List
      of Contacts) if, for a condo association, co-op corporation or PUD project,
      the servicer is advised of any proposed action that requires the consent of
      a speciﬁed percentage of the mortgage loan holders in the project, the servicer
      must contact Fannie Mae immediately with its recommendation regarding the proposed
      action. MERS Notices: If the servicer receives an electronic notice from MERS
      related to a mortgage loan that it services for Fannie Mae, it must take the
      actions listed in the following table. ✓ The servicer must... Take appropriate
      and timely action based on the notice. Advise MERS that it is the servicer for
      any notice in which the servicer is unidentiﬁed but becomes aware by checking
      all electronic messages on a daily basis. The servicer of a co-op share loan
      must protect Fannie Mae’s interest in the share loan under the terms of any
      recognition agreement. Recent Related Announcements The table below provides
      references to recently issued Announcements that are related to this topic.
      Published May 13, 2026 285 Announcement Issue Date Announcement SVC-2023-03
      May 10,2023'
  judgment: false
