source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-sel-a2-4.1-02
  authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide A2-4.1-02 — Ownership and Retention of Loan
    Files and Records
  description: Fannie Mae Selling Guide A2-4.1-02 — Ownership and Retention of Loan
    Files and Records.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-sel-a2-4.1-02-full
  canonical_id: fnma-sel-a2-4.1-02-full
  section: Fannie Mae Selling Guide A2-4.1-02 — Ownership and Retention of Loan Files
    and Records
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - selling-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide A2-4.1-02 — Ownership and Retention of Loan
      Files and Records
    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: 'A2-4.1-02, Ownership and Retention of Loan Files and Records
      (12/19/2017) Introduction This topic contains information on individual mortgage
      loan ﬁles, including: Ownership of the Loan File General Requirements for Records
      Record Retention Requirements Ownership of the Loan File Published May 6, 2026
      66 All records related to loans (including all data and materials representing,
      based on, or compiled from such records) sold to or serviced for Fannie Mae
      are Fannie Mae’s property and any other owner of a participation interest in
      the loan regardless of their physical form or characteristics or whether they
      are developed or originated by the loan seller, servicer, or others. Each of
      the loan originator, seller, servicer, and any service bureau or any other party
      providing services in connection with selling or servicing a Fannie Mae loan:
      has no right to possess these documents and records except under the conditions
      speciﬁed by Fannie Mae, and must hold these documents solely for the beneﬁt
      of Fannie Mae. The servicer must use the loan origination ﬁle to accumulate
      other pertinent servicing and liquidation information. If the seller does not
      service the loan, it must transfer the loan ﬁle to the servicer. The servicer
      must document in the servicing loan ﬁle its compliance with all Fannie Mae policies
      and procedures, including timelines that are required by the Servicing Guide.
      The servicer and the responsible party must keep all of the individual loan
      records and all servicing records for the time it serviced the loan. General
      Requirements for Records The seller/servicer must: maintain the accounting records
      relating to loans in accordance with sound and generally accepted accounting
      principles; ensure that the records meet Fannie Mae’s requirements; ensure the
      accuracy, security, conﬁdentiality, integrity, completeness and legibility of
      the individual loan ﬁle; protect against any anticipated threats or hazards
      to the security or integrity of ﬁles and records; protect against unauthorized
      access to or use of ﬁles and records and is responsible for requiring, by contract,
      that any subservicers or other third parties that access mortgage ﬁles and records
      also implement these measures; periodically review changes in technology to
      make sure that all records continue to be obtainable and readable in the future.
      The following table describes Fannie Mae’s general rights related to its audit
      of records. Published May 6, 2026 67 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR AUDITS OF RECORDS
      Topic Description Right to Audit Fannie Mae may examine and audit, at any reasonable
      time, all loan records and other information that Fannie Mae considers necessary
      to ensure that the seller/servicer is complying with Fannie Mae requirements.
      Delivery of Records • When Fannie Mae sends a written request to a seller/servicer
      to examine mortgage records, the seller/servicer must deliver all records to
      Fannie Mae or to whomever Fannie Mae designates within the time frame speciﬁed
      by Fannie Mae. • Fannie Mae will not execute any trust receipts for documents
      it requests and will not pay for their delivery. If the seller/servicer is retaining
      any of the records in a format other than paper, the seller/servicer must reproduce
      them at its own expense. • If Fannie Mae has only a participation interest in
      a loan, Fannie Mae will provide proof of its ownership interest upon request.
      • If the seller/servicer is unable to respond to Fannie Mae’s request to produce
      records in a timely manner, the seller/servicer must provide a reasonable explanation
      for its failure to produce the records and, if appropriate, oﬀer evidence that
      it has satisﬁed any requirement about which Fannie Mae is concerned. • The seller/servicer
      is responsible for all Fannie Mae Losses incurred by Fannie Mae in enforcing
      its right of access to the records, unless it is determined that Fannie Mae
      had no legal right of access. Published May 6, 2026 68 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
      FOR AUDITS OF RECORDS Topic Description Audit Activities Fannie Mae’s examination
      and audit of the seller/servicer’s records may consist of • monitoring all monthly
      accounting reports submitted to Fannie Mae; • conducting periodic procedural
      reviews during visits to the seller/servicer’s oﬃce or the document custodian’s
      place of business; • conducting in-depth audits of the seller/servicer’s internal
      records and operating procedures; and • performing spot-check reviews of loans
      in the seller/servicer’s portfolio on a random sample basis. Record Retention
      Requirements The following table describes the record retention requirements
      for certain types of records. RECORD RETENTION REQUIREMENTS Type of Record Requirements
      Loan payment records The servicer must maintain permanent mortgage account records
      for each loan it services for Fannie Mae. The records must be identiﬁed by Fannie
      Mae’s loan number (and any related participation certiﬁcate or MBS pool number)
      in addition to any other identiﬁcation the servicer uses. The servicer may develop
      its own system for maintaining these records, as long as it can produce an account
      transcript within a reasonable time after it is requested. The servicer’s accounting
      system must be able to produce detailed information for the following: • all
      transactions that aﬀect the loan balance, • the ﬁnancial status of the loan,
      and • any overdrafts in the escrow account. Published May 6, 2026 69 RECORD
      RETENTION REQUIREMENTS Type of Record Requirements Accounting reports Unless
      instructed otherwise, the servicer may destroy any accounting reports 18 months
      after such reports are ﬁled with Fannie Mae. Annual Statement of Eligibility
      for Document Custodians (Form 2001) A servicer that is also a Fannie Mae document
      custodian must maintain a copy of Form 2001 for seven years at all locations
      that are covered by the completed form and ensure that they are available for
      on-site reviews. Records related to HAMP The servicer must retain: • all documents
      and information evidencing the complete evaluation of a borrower for HAMP for
      seven years after document collection or four years after loan liquidation,
      whichever is later; and • all data, books, reports, documents, audit logs, and
      records, related to HAMP, and a copy of all computer systems and application
      software necessary to review and analyze any electronic records for at least
      four years, or for such longer period as may be required by applicable law.
      Records related to 2MP The servicer must retain: • all documents and information
      evidencing compliance with our requirements when evaluating a borrower for 2MP,
      for seven years after document collection or for four years after loan liquidation,
      whichever is later; • all documents and information related to the monthly payments
      during and after any trial period, as well as incentive payment calculation
      and such other required documents; and • detailed records to document the reason(s)
      for any trial loan modiﬁcation failure. Published May 6, 2026 70 RECORD RETENTION
      REQUIREMENTS Type of Record Requirements Records related to bankruptcy or foreclosure
      proceedings • The servicer must retain all of the documents required to be included
      in the individual loan ﬁle and must ensure that they are readily accessible
      if needed in any bankruptcy or foreclosure proceeding, or for any other purpose
      in connection with the servicing of the loan. • The servicer may hold copies
      if originals are not required, while originals have been sent for ﬁling but
      have not yet been returned, or while the originals are otherwise temporarily
      out of the seller/servicer’s possession. Expense reimbursement claims The servicer
      must retain in the loan servicing ﬁle all supporting documentation for all requests
      for expense reimbursement. Liquidation records After a loan is liquidated, the
      servicer must keep the individual loan records for at least four years, unless
      the local jurisdiction requires longer retention or Fannie Mae speciﬁes that
      the records must be retained for a longer period. Records related to repurchase
      or reimbursement If a loan or property is repurchased or a make whole payment
      remitted, the responsible party must keep the individual loan records for at
      least four years from loan liquidation unless applicable law requires longer
      retention or Fannie Mae speciﬁes that the records must be retained for a longer
      period. Note: The time frame from loan liquidation is measured from the date
      of the loan payoﬀ or the date that any applicable claim proceeds are received,
      whichever is later. For eMortgages, the seller/servicer must follow the record
      retention requirements for the type of record described in the table immediately
      above, if applicable, and the requirements for storing mortgage loan ﬁles and
      records as described in A2-4.1-03, Electronic Records, Signatures, and Transactions.
      Recent Related Announcements There are no recently issued Announcements related
      to this topic. Published May 6, 2026 71'
  judgment: false
