Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01 — General Requirements for Credit Scores

Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01 — General Requirements for Credit Scores

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

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