VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines

va-m26-7-ch01

VA Pamphlet 26-7 (Lender's Handbook) Chapter 1 governs lender approval to originate and close VA-guaranteed loans.

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source:
  type: regulation
  id: va-m26-7-ch01
  authority: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines
  description: |
    VA Pamphlet 26-7 (Lender's Handbook) Chapter 1 governs lender
    approval to originate and close VA-guaranteed loans.
obligations:
  - id: va-m26-7-ch01-maintain-origination-records-2yr
    canonical_id: va-m26-7-ch01-maintain-origination-records-2yr
    section: VA M26-7 Ch. 1, Topic 11 — Maintenance of Loan Records
    description: |
      [LENDER] must maintain all loan origination records on VA-guaranteed
      home loans for at least 2 years from the date of loan closing. Even
      if the loan is sold, the original lender must maintain all records
      (or legible copies) for the required period.
    type: maintain
    audit_question: For every VA-guaranteed home loan [LENDER] originated, can [LENDER] evidence retention of the complete loan origination record set (application, verifications, credit reports, sales contracts, appraisal/compliance inspections, closing papers, etc.) for at least 2 years from the date of loan closing, including for loans sold to a subsequent holder?
    program_review: Does the program retain the complete loan-origination record set (application, verifications, credit reports, sales contracts, appraisal/compliance inspections, closing papers) for at least 2 years from closing, including for loans sold to a subsequent holder?
    file_review: Spot-check originated (and sold) loans; confirm the complete origination record set is retained for the 2-year minimum.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: origination
    owner_role: compliance_officer
    secondary_owner_role: closer
    cadence: continuous
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - va
      - m26-7
      - ch01
      - recordkeeping
      - lender-approval
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines
      source_class: va-handbook-m26-7
      source_url: https://benefits.va.gov/WARMS/M26_7.asp
      snapshot_id: b4bc25cdd49513a7
      fetched_at: '2026-05-23T01:50:00Z'
      content_hash: sha256:2516e061c3a90ce65e72b43ae4022a97e784d65ec7580998c523b5dc69ba6520
      paragraph_quote: 'Lenders must maintain all loan origination records on VA-guaranteed home '
      drafter_attestation: Copied verbatim from VA Handbook snapshot b4bc25cdd49513a7 (M26-7 Ch. 1, Topic 11 — Maintenance of Loan Records) at 2026-05-23. Source PDF retrieved via Wayback Machine.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-23T01:58:17+00:00'
    promoted_from: va-m26-7-ch01-roundb-v1.yaml
  - id: va-m26-7-ch01-qc-plan-audit-scope-10pct
    canonical_id: va-m26-7-ch01-qc-plan-audit-scope-10pct
    section: VA M26-7 Ch. 1, Topic 14, Subsection c — Adequate Scope of QC Plan
    description: |
      [LENDER]'s Quality Control plan must provide for audits or reviews
      of not less than ten percent of all VA-guaranteed mortgages
      originated by the lender monthly, including its branches and
      authorized agents, except that lenders making more than 140 VA
      mortgages monthly may use statistical sampling methods in lieu of
      the ten percent.
    type: monitor
    audit_question: For every reporting month, can [LENDER] evidence that its QC plan covered not less than ten percent of VA-guaranteed mortgages originated that month (including branches and authorized agents), or — if making more than 140 VA mortgages monthly — that the statistical sampling method used in lieu of the ten percent is documented?
    program_review: Does the QC plan provide for audits/reviews of not less than ten percent of VA-guaranteed mortgages originated monthly (including branches and authorized agents), or — above 140 VA mortgages monthly — a documented statistical-sampling method in lieu of the ten percent?
    file_review: Review monthly QC scope records; confirm the 10% coverage (or the documented statistical-sampling method) including branches/agents. The officer judges whether the sampling method is statistically adequate.
    judgment: true
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: origination
    owner_role: compliance_officer
    secondary_owner_role: underwriter
    cadence: monthly
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - va
      - m26-7
      - ch01
      - quality-control
      - audit-scope
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines
      source_class: va-handbook-m26-7
      source_url: https://benefits.va.gov/WARMS/M26_7.asp
      snapshot_id: b4bc25cdd49513a7
      fetched_at: '2026-05-23T01:50:00Z'
      content_hash: sha256:2516e061c3a90ce65e72b43ae4022a97e784d65ec7580998c523b5dc69ba6520
      paragraph_quote: ' Audits or reviews are not less than ten percent of all VA-guaranteed '
      drafter_attestation: Copied verbatim from VA Handbook snapshot b4bc25cdd49513a7 (M26-7 Ch. 1, Topic 14c — Adequate Scope) at 2026-05-23. Source PDF retrieved via Wayback Machine.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-23T01:58:17+00:00'
    promoted_from: va-m26-7-ch01-roundb-v1.yaml
  - id: va-m26-7-ch01-qc-funding-fee-15-days
    canonical_id: va-m26-7-ch01-qc-funding-fee-15-days
    section: VA M26-7 Ch. 1, Topic 14, Subsection i — Funding Fees Paid
    description: |
      [LENDER]'s Quality Control plan must ensure that VA funding fees are
      remitted within 15 days from the date of loan closing and that late
      charges and interest penalties are promptly submitted.
    type: do
    audit_question: For every VA-guaranteed loan closed, can [LENDER] evidence that the VA funding fee was remitted within 15 days from the date of loan closing, and that any late charges and interest penalties were promptly submitted?
    program_review: Does the QC plan ensure VA funding fees are remitted within 15 days of closing and that late charges and interest penalties are promptly submitted?
    file_review: Spot-check closings via the QC sample; confirm funding-fee remittance within 15 days and prompt submission of any late charges/interest.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: closing
    owner_role: compliance_officer
    secondary_owner_role: closer
    cadence: per_loan
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - va
      - m26-7
      - ch01
      - funding-fee
      - qc-plan
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines
      source_class: va-handbook-m26-7
      source_url: https://benefits.va.gov/WARMS/M26_7.asp
      snapshot_id: b4bc25cdd49513a7
      fetched_at: '2026-05-23T01:50:00Z'
      content_hash: sha256:2516e061c3a90ce65e72b43ae4022a97e784d65ec7580998c523b5dc69ba6520
      paragraph_quote: 'The QC plan must ensure that VA funding fees are remitted within 15 days '
      drafter_attestation: Copied verbatim from VA Handbook snapshot b4bc25cdd49513a7 (M26-7 Ch. 1, Topic 14i — Funding Fees Paid) at 2026-05-23. Source PDF retrieved via Wayback Machine.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-23T01:58:17+00:00'
    promoted_from: va-m26-7-ch01-roundb-v1.yaml
_promotion_history:
  - promoted_at: '2026-05-23T01:58:17+00:00'
    candidate_path: obligations\_remediation\_round_b_drafts\va-m26-7-ch01-roundb-v1.yaml
    candidates_promoted: 3
    candidates_skipped_existing: 0

Verbatim regulatory text (3)

Verbatim provisions from VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines — each quote is a verified substring of the regulator-published source snapshot, not retyped. Quoted for reference; this is not legal advice. The operational layer (P&P updates, prompts) lives in the regulation update kits.

VA M26-7 Ch. 1, Topic 11 — Maintenance of Loan Records

Lenders must maintain all loan origination records on VA-guaranteed home

Source: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines · source URL · snapshot b4bc25cdd49513a7

VA M26-7 Ch. 1, Topic 14, Subsection c — Adequate Scope of QC Plan

Audits or reviews are not less than ten percent of all VA-guaranteed

Source: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines · source URL · snapshot b4bc25cdd49513a7

VA M26-7 Ch. 1, Topic 14, Subsection i — Funding Fees Paid

The QC plan must ensure that VA funding fees are remitted within 15 days

Source: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines · source URL · snapshot b4bc25cdd49513a7

Operationalizing VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 1 — Lender Approval Guidelines

This is verbatim, source-snapshotted regulator text from the Claude for Compliance open corpus. To turn a rule like this into compliance work product: gap-analyze your policies and procedures (P&Ps) against these requirements to surface stale, conflicting, or missing provisions; operationalize any change with a ready-to-run update kit; and produce audit-ready evidence — every step grounded only in the regulator’s own words, never invented.

Source of record: https://claudeforcompliance.com/regs/va-m26-7-ch01/ · register va-m26-7-ch01 · Claude for Compliance. Free to read and download; see regulatory updates and methodology.