source:
  type: guide
  id: fhlmc-5203.1
  authority: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 5203.1 — Credit
    reports
  description: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 5203.1 — Credit
    reports.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fhlmc-5203.1-full
  canonical_id: fhlmc-5203.1-full
  section: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 5203.1 — Credit
    reports
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fhlmc
  - freddie-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 5203.1 — Credit
      reports
    source_class: fhlmc-guide
    source_url: https://guide.freddiemac.com/ci-guide
    snapshot_id: 5869ee9e606cd4ae
    fetched_at: '2026-05-23T00:27:40Z'
    content_hash: sha256:9a1b23e5024bb369e7a59d36b3702383c11ace68b5d209fdef791bc8f955c637
    paragraph_quote: '5203.1: Credit reports (04/22/26) This section contains information
      related to: ■ Additional terms used in this chapter ■ Credit report requirements
      for Loan Product Advisor® Mortgages ■ Credit report requirements for Non-Loan
      Product Advisor Mortgages ■ Credit report requirements for all Mortgages Credit
      reports are used to evaluate the Borrower’s creditworthiness, including the
      calculation of total monthly debt payments. For Manually Underwritten Mortgages
      and Loan Product Advisor Mortgages, each Mortgage file submitted to Freddie
      Mac must contain at least one written credit report that meets the requirements
      of this section. (a) Additional terms used in this chapter The following additional
      terms are used in this chapter: Additional terms used in this chapter C Consumer
      reporting agency (CRA) A consumer reporting agency (CRA) is an organization
      engaged primarily in gathering, recording, updating, storing and distributing
      financial and public record information concerning the debt repayment histories
      of individuals being considered for credit extension. The following national
      organizations meet this definition: ■ Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc.
      ■ Experian Information Solutions, Inc. ■ Trans Union LLC Freddie Mac Single-Family
      Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 5203 As of 04/22/26 Page 5203-2 Additional terms
      used in this chapter Credit reporting company (CRC) A credit reporting company
      (CRC), also known as a credit reporting agency reseller, is an organization
      engaged in the preparation and sale of credit reports. These reports contain
      data obtained from CRAs and may also contain information and verifications obtained
      from other sources. I In-file credit reports An in-file credit report contains
      “as is” information from a CRA that has not been updated or re-verified. For
      a Manually Underwritten Mortgage, if the Seller uses in-file credit reports,
      the Seller must obtain reports from at least two CRAs for each Borrower. M Merged
      credit reports A merged credit report includes the credit information from multiple
      CRAs for an individual Borrower. A joint merged credit report includes the CRA
      credit data for two individual Borrowers. The credit information from each CRA
      may be presented in a stacked merged credit report (i.e., all records from all
      CRAs are included in the report), or the CRC may eliminate duplicate records
      through an automated merge process. Each CRC may use a slightly different merge
      logic to eliminate duplicate records. R Residential Mortgage Credit Report (RMCR)
      A Residential Mortgage Credit Report (RMCR) is a detailed account, prepared
      by a CRC, of the credit, employment and residence history, as well as public
      records information, for an individual Borrower or two individual Borrowers.
      Credit information from multiple CRAs is merged and verified by a CRC before
      the RMCR is sent to the user. The CRC may verify other information not included
      in CRA records. Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 5203
      As of 04/22/26 Page 5203-3 Additional terms used in this chapter T Trended credit
      data Trended credit data is expanded credit information that reflects historical
      Tradeline data, such as balances, scheduled payments and actual payments, reported
      for each month over an extended period of time. (b) Credit report requirements
      for Loan Product Advisor Mortgages Freddie Mac encourages the Seller to use
      the merged credit reports or joint merged credit reports obtained through Loan
      Product Advisor; however, the Seller may use credit reports obtained outside
      of Loan Product Advisor. Credit reports used in connection with Loan Product
      Advisor Mortgages must meet the following requirements: ■ Credit reports submitted
      to Loan Product Advisor must include trended credit data ■ All credit reports
      must be of the same type. For example, the Seller may not use a merged credit
      report for one Borrower and an RMCR for another Borrower. ■ All credit reports
      used by the Seller must be included in the Mortgage file If the credit report
      is obtained outside of Loan Product Advisor, the Seller must request the CRA
      or CRC to include FICO scores, or VantageScore 4.0 scores if the Seller is approved
      for their use as required by Section 5203.2(c), from all credit repositories
      on all credit reports. Loan Product Advisor will automatically request FICO®
      scores for each Borrower for credit reports obtained through Loan Product Advisor.
      (c) Credit report requirements for Non-Loan Product Advisor Mortgages Credit
      reports used in connection with Non-Loan Product Advisor Mortgages must meet
      the following requirements: ■ All credit reports must be of the same type. For
      example, the Seller may not use a merged credit report for one Borrower and
      an RMCR for another Borrower. ■ All in-file credit reports for any one Borrower
      must be dated within 14 days of each other ■ All credit reports used by the
      Seller must be included in the Mortgage file Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer
      Guide Chapter 5203 As of 04/22/26 Page 5203-4 If the Mortgage is not submitted
      to Loan Product Advisor, the Seller must request the CRA or CRC to include FICO
      scores from all credit repositories on all credit reports. See Section 5203.2
      for additional information on Credit Scores. (d) Credit report requirements
      for all Mortgages The Seller may use in-file credit reports, merged credit reports,
      joint merged credit reports or RMCRs. All credit reports must meet the applicable
      requirements in the following table: Credit report requirements Requirement
      In-file credit report Merged credit report RMCR The report must be based on
      accurate identifying information (name, current and previous address and Social
      Security number) for the Borrower. The Seller must re-request the credit reports
      if a data entry error was made or if the credit reports contain incorrect identifying
      information. X X X The report must have no erasures, alterations, correction
      fluid or correction tape and must be filed in the Mortgage file. X X X The report
      must show the names of the CRAs from which the information was obtained. X X
      X Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 5203 As of 04/22/26
      Page 5203-5 Credit report requirements Requirement In-file credit report Merged
      credit report RMCR Separate CRA inquiries are required when multiple Borrowers
      have maintained credit individually. X X X The report must contain information
      from at least two CRAs for each area in which the Borrower has resided during
      the most recent two- year period. X X X For Borrowers with frozen credit, no
      more than one CRA may have frozen credit information. X X X The report must
      be issued by a CRC that obtains or verifies all information from sources other
      than the applicant. X X X The report must present all credit data in a format
      that is easy to read and free of excessive coding. All codes must be clearly
      defined. X X X The report must identify the full name, address and telephone
      number of the CRA or CRC that issued the report. X X X Freddie Mac Single-Family
      Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 5203 As of 04/22/26 Page 5203-6 Credit report
      requirements Requirement In-file credit report Merged credit report RMCR The
      report must identify the party that ordered the credit report and the party
      that was billed for the report (if different from the party that ordered the
      report), unless the billed party has a documented agent or corporate relationship
      with the party that ordered the report. X The report must be delivered to the
      requestor. X X X The report must show responsive statements concerning items
      on the credit report. Example: The CRC must report “unable to verify” or “employer
      refused to verify.” The same responsive reporting applies to trade and credit
      history. X The report must generate an inquiry that will be identified on subsequent
      credit reports (i.e., hard credit pull) X X X The report must list all inquiries
      made within the previous 90 days. X X X Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer
      Guide Chapter 5203 As of 04/22/26 Page 5203-7 Credit report requirements Requirement
      In-file credit report Merged credit report RMCR The report must show a positive
      statement that the consumer reporting agency attempted to verify the Borrower’s
      current employment and, if obtainable, income. The report must show the date
      of verification, which may be made by telephone. If there has been a change
      in employment in the past two years, the credit report must state the Borrower’s
      previous employment and income. In cases in which employment was not verified,
      the report must indicate why it was not. X The report must include all available
      public records information. The legal search must disclose whether any judgments,
      foreclosures, tax liens or bankruptcies were discovered in the public records.
      Adverse items must be reported as provided under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
      X X X Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 5203 As of 04/22/26
      Page 5203-8 Credit report requirements Requirement In-file credit report Merged
      credit report RMCR The report must list, in all cases, the historical status
      of each account by one of the following formats: ■ A “number of times past due”
      format. Freddie Mac prefers the format of “0 x 30, 0 x 60, 0 x 90 days” late.
      ■ The format of R1, R2, etc., is acceptable if the meaning of the ratings is
      given and the credit report also gives historical negative ratings, such as
      “was R3 in 6/84” ■ A consecutive numbering sequence for payment history — such
      as “00010000...” is also acceptable as long as its meaning is clear from the
      credit report Statements such as “current,” “as agreed,” or “satisfactory” by
      themselves are not acceptable because they are too vague. X X X Freddie Mac
      Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 5203 As of 04/22/26 Page 5203-9
      Credit report requirements Requirement In-file credit report Merged credit report
      RMCR The CRC must interview the subjects of the credit report when the agency
      has incomplete information or when it discovers information that indicates the
      possible existence of undisclosed credit information or public records. The
      interview may be conducted by telephone and should obtain any information necessary
      to provide a credit report that is factually correct and complete. X Each account
      with a balance must have been checked with the creditor within 90 days of the
      date of the credit report. X The report must indicate the dates the accounts
      were last updated with the creditors. X X X The report must contain all credit
      and legal activity during at least the last seven years. X X X Freddie Mac Single-Family
      Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 5203 As of 04/22/26 Page 5203-10 Credit report
      requirements Requirement In-file credit report Merged credit report RMCR Credit
      reports received from foreign countries must: ■ Meet the requirements for domestic
      reports, ■ Meet the information requirements for an RMCR as described in Section
      5203.1(a) above, and ■ Meet the requirement to contact two national CRAs for
      each area in which the Borrower has resided during the most recent two years
      All foreign credit reports must be completed in English, or the Seller must
      provide a translation and warrant that the translation is complete and accurate.
      X X X Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 5203 As of 04/22/26
      Page 5203-11 Credit report requirements Requirement In-file credit report Merged
      credit report RMCR All credit reports must be dated within 120 days before,
      as applicable, the: ■ Note Date ■ Effective Date of Permanent Financing for
      Construction to Permanent Mortgages and Renovation Mortgages, unless otherwise
      permitted for One-Time Close Construction to Permanent Mortgages in Section
      4602.2 ■ Modification date for Seller-Owned Modified Mortgages ■ Conversion
      Date for Seller-Owned Converted Mortgages ■ Date of the assumption agreement.
      See Chapter 4402 for documentation requirements for Seller-Owned Modified Mortgages
      and Seller-Owned Converted Mortgages. X X X Note: In addition to reviewing the
      files delivered by the Seller, Freddie Mac will spot-check credit reports and
      make other checks to ensure the quality of credit reports used in the underwriting
      process. Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 5203 As of
      04/22/26 Page 5203-12 If Freddie Mac, in its discretion, determines a credit
      report is inadequate, Freddie Mac reserves the right to declare as unacceptable
      the CRC originating the report and prohibit the Seller from ordering credit
      reports from that CRC for Mortgages sold to Freddie Mac.'
  judgment: false
