source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-svc-e-1.1-01
  authority: Fannie Mae Servicing Guide E-1.1-01 — General Requirements for Referring
    a Mortgage Loan to a Law Firm
  description: Fannie Mae Servicing Guide E-1.1-01 — General Requirements for Referring
    a Mortgage Loan to a Law Firm.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-svc-e-1.1-01-full
  canonical_id: fnma-svc-e-1.1-01-full
  section: Fannie Mae Servicing Guide E-1.1-01 — General Requirements for Referring
    a Mortgage Loan to a Law Firm
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - servicing-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Servicing Guide E-1.1-01 — General Requirements for Referring
      a Mortgage Loan to a Law Firm
    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: 'E-1.1-01, General Requirements for Referring a Mortgage Loan
      to a Law Firm (05/08/2024) General Requirements for Referring a Mortgage Loan
      to a Law Firm General Requirements for Referring a Mortgage Loan to a Law Firm
      The following table describes the servicer’s responsibilities for all referrals
      to law ﬁrms for default-related legal services. ✓ The servicer must... Send
      the referral to a law ﬁrm that has been selected and retained for the jurisdiction
      under the requirements set forth in A4-2.2-01, Selecting and Retaining Law Firms.
      Submit a complete referral package to the law ﬁrm and work with the law ﬁrm
      to determine • the documents needed in that particular jurisdiction for the
      speciﬁc proceedings, and • whether the documents may be photocopies or must
      be the originals. Advise the law ﬁrm to which the referral is made that Fannie
      Mae owns or securitizes the mortgage loan being referred. Published May 13,
      2026 397 ✓ The servicer must... Manage referrals to law ﬁrms to avoid any conﬂicts
      of interest on the part of the law ﬁrm with respect to Fannie Mae and the servicer.
      Provide Fannie Mae’s Legal department (see F-4-02, List of Contacts) with written
      notice at least 5 business days prior to transferring any default-related matter
      that results in an aggregate of 30 or more transfers within a 6-month period
      from a single law ﬁrm to another law ﬁrm in the same state. The servicer must
      include an implementation plan and transfer details for all of the applicable
      default-related matter transfers during this 6-month period. Note: If a foreclosure
      sale has already occurred, the servicer must obtain Fannie Mae’s prior approval
      before transferring any default-related matter to another law ﬁrm. The law ﬁrm
      to which a foreclosure referral is made will handle any subsequent bankruptcy
      case, unless the bankruptcy case is ﬁled in a diﬀerent jurisdiction and the
      servicer has not selected and retained the law ﬁrm to perform legal services
      in the jurisdiction in which the bankruptcy case is ﬁled. In those cases, the
      bankruptcy case must be handled by a law ﬁrm selected and retained by the servicer
      in the jurisdiction in which the bankruptcy case was ﬁled. When the bankruptcy
      case is resolved, the matter must be referred back to the law ﬁrm that originally
      received the foreclosure referral if foreclosure is still necessary, unless
      the law ﬁrm’s retention has been terminated or a suspension of new referrals
      is in place. See Required Referral Timelines for Mortgage Loans Previously Referred
      for Foreclosure in E-1.2-01, Timing of the Bankruptcy Referral for additional
      information and requirements. Fannie Mae may deny reimbursement of fees and
      out-of-pocket expenses for any referrals to law ﬁrms that have not been selected
      and retained under these requirements. See A1-4.2-02, Compensatory Fees for
      Delays in the Liquidation Process for additional information. Recent Related
      Announcements The table below provides references to recently issued Announcements
      that are related to this topic. Announcements Date Issue Announcement SVC-2024-03
      May 8, 2024'
  judgment: false
