source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-sel-b3-5.1-01
  authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01 — General Requirements for Credit
    Scores
  description: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01 — General Requirements for Credit
    Scores.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-sel-b3-5.1-01-full
  canonical_id: fnma-sel-b3-5.1-01-full
  section: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01 — General Requirements for Credit Scores
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - selling-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01 — General Requirements for Credit
      Scores
    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: 'B3-5.1-01, General Requirements for Credit Scores (04/22/2026)
      Introduction This topic describes Fannie Mae’s requirements for borrower credit
      scores, including: Published May 6, 2026 453 Credit Score Versions Minimum Credit
      Score Requirements Exceptions to the Minimum Credit Score Requirement DU Credit
      Score Requirements Delivery of Credit Scores Loan-Level Price Adjustments Based
      on Credit Score Credit Score Versions Credit scores are required for most loans
      purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae is in the process of implementing
      new credit score models to support transition to a modernized and more competitive
      credit score framework for loan underwriting. The credit score models approved
      by U.S. Federal Housing (FHFA) are classic FICO, VantageScore® 4.0, and FICO
      10T. As Fannie Mae advances implementation of this modernized framework, the
      following versions of the classic FICO score, produced from software developed
      by Fair Isaac Corporation, are currently required for loans underwritten through
      DU and manually underwritten mortgage loans: Equifax Beacon® 5.0; Experian®/Fair
      Isaac Risk Model V2SM; and TransUnion FICO® Risk Score, Classic 04. The lender
      must request these FICO credit scores for each borrower from each of the Fannie
      Mae-approved score providers when they order the three in-ﬁle merged credit
      report. If the borrower’s credit ﬁle includes complete and accurate information
      suﬃcient to ensure the validity of the credit score, the lender does not need
      to further evaluate the borrower’s creditworthiness. The following versions
      of VantageScore 4.0 are eligible for use by approved lenders: Equifax VantageScore
      4.0, Experian VantageScore 4.0, TransUnion VantageScore 4.0. Lenders that wish
      to participate in the delivery of loans assessed using VantageScore 4.0 should
      contact their Fannie Mae customer account team for information regarding program
      availability, eligibility requirements, and applicable delivery instructions.
      Note: The credit report will indicate if a credit score could not be produced
      due to insuﬃcient credit. The credit report must be maintained in the loan ﬁle,
      whether the report includes traditional credit and a credit score or indicates
      that a credit score could not be produced due to insuﬃcient or frozen credit.
      Consistent with FHFA approvals supporting credit score modernization, the following
      models are also approved for use in connection with future loans delivered to
      Fannie Mae. FICO 10T Versions FICO Score 10T (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion)
      Fannie Mae is working to implement FICO Score 10T in a timely manner. Lenders
      will be advised when loans Published May 6, 2026 454 with FICO Score 10T can
      be delivered. Minimum Credit Score Requirements The following table describes
      the minimum credit score requirements and how to determine the loan-level credit
      score that applies to loan eligibility. Transaction Type Minimum Credit Score
      Manually underwritten loans The requirements are published in the Eligibility
      Matrix and are based on the credit score and the highest of the LTV, CLTV, or
      HCLTV ratios (as applicable); loan purpose; number of units; amortization type;
      and DTI ratio. To determine the credit score that applies for loan eligibility,
      use the following: • Loans with one borrower - representative credit score,
      • Loans with more than one borrower - average median credit score. The minimum
      credit score that applies for loan eligibility is: 620 — ﬁxed-rate loans 640
      — ARMs DU loan caseﬁles A minimum credit score is not required for DU loan caseﬁles.
      DU will assess a borrower''s creditworthiness in accordance with the risk factors
      outlined in B3-2-03, Risk Factors Evaluated by DU. Mortgage loans insured or
      guaranteed by a federal government agency (HUD, FHA, VA, and RD) The minimum
      representative credit score is 620. Loans delivered pursuant to any variance
      contained in the Lender Contract Manually underwritten loans: Higher of 620
      representative credit score or average median credit score, as applicable, or
      the minimum representative credit score required by the variance. See B3-5.1-02,
      Determining the Credit Score for a Mortgage Loan for additional information.
      Exceptions to the Minimum Credit Score Requirement Published May 6, 2026 455
      Certain transactions are not subject to the minimum credit score requirement,
      including: loans where no borrower has a credit score (see Section B3–5.4, Nontraditional
      Credit History); manually underwritten HomeReady mortgage loans that include
      a borrower with a low credit score (see B5-6-02, HomeReady Mortgage Underwriting
      Methods and Requirements); and high LTV reﬁnance loans, except for those loans
      underwritten using the Alternative Qualiﬁcation Path. DU Credit Score Requirements
      Credit scores are not an integral part of DU''s risk assessment because DU performs
      its own analysis of the credit report data. However, lenders must request credit
      scores for each borrower from each of the three credit repositories when they
      order the three in-ﬁle merged credit report, described in B3-5.2-01, Requirements
      for Credit Reports. If one or two of the credit repositories do not contain
      any credit information for the borrowers who have traditional credit, the credit
      report is still acceptable as long as credit data is available from one repository,
      and the lender requested a three in-ﬁle merged report. If the transaction does
      not meet the above requirements, refer to Section B3–5.4, Nontraditional Credit
      History, for underwriting and eligibility requirements. Frozen Credit Requirements
      If the borrower’s credit information is frozen at one of the credit repositories
      for borrowers who have traditional credit, the credit report is still acceptable
      as long as credit data is available from two repositories, and the lender requested
      a three in-ﬁle merged report. Loans for borrowers with credit data frozen at
      two or more of the credit repositories will not be eligible whether underwritten
      manually or in DU. Delivery of Credit Scores Loan Delivery collects credit score
      data for each borrower and also at the loan level. Lenders are required to deliver
      the representative credit score for all loans. For additional information, see
      the Loan Delivery Job Aid: Credit Scores. Loan-Level Price Adjustments Based
      on Credit Score Loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) are assessed based on the
      representative credit score for the loan, in addition to other eligibility and
      loan features. See the Loan-Level Price Adjustment (LLPA) Matrix for additional
      information about LLPAs, including information about how LLPAs are assessed
      for loans that include borrowers without a credit score. Recent Related Announcements
      The table below provides references to recently issued Announcements that are
      related to this topic. Published May 6, 2026 456 Announcements Issue Date Announcement
      SEL-2026-04 April 22, 2026 Announcement SEL-2025-09 November 05, 2025 Announcement
      SEL-2022-09 October 05, 2022 Announcement SEL-2021-08 September 01, 2021 Announcement
      SEL-2020-04 August 05, 2020 Announcement SEL-2019-07 August 07, 2019'
  judgment: false
