Which Credit Score Does a Mortgage Lender Use?

Educational information, not legal or financial advice. Mortgage program and lender requirements can change.

Scope first

This article covers conventional loans delivered to Fannie Mae and the current FHFA-directed credit-score rollout for loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). It does not describe every mortgage program or every lender's underwriting standards.

Within that scope, the required model, the reports ordered, and the method for selecting a loan-level score are set by FHFA policy and Fannie Mae's Selling Guide.

The short answer

FHFA is in an interim phase. Approved lenders may choose either Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0 for loans sold to the Enterprises. Lenders that are not approved for VantageScore 4.0 should continue using Classic FICO for those loan deliveries.

For Fannie Mae, the rollout is limited. Lenders outside it must continue using Classic FICO scores from all three nationwide consumer reporting agencies for Desktop Underwriter and manually underwritten loans.

So there is not one current answer for every conventional mortgage: it depends on whether the lender is approved to use the newer model for that Enterprise delivery.

Classic FICO means three specified versions

For Fannie Mae loans underwritten through Desktop Underwriter and manually underwritten mortgage loans, the current Classic FICO versions are:

| Nationwide consumer reporting agency | Required Classic FICO version | | --- | --- | | Equifax | Beacon® 5.0 | | Experian | Fair Isaac Risk Model V2SM | | TransUnion | FICO® Risk Score, Classic 04 |

A score based on another model version is not one of these specified Classic FICO versions. Fannie Mae lists the required versions in its current guide.

How Fannie Mae selects a score

Fannie Mae recommends obtaining at least two scores for each borrower. Its representative-score procedure is:

1. With two scores for a borrower, select the lower score.
2. With three scores for a borrower, select the middle score.
3. With more than one borrower, select the lowest applicable score from the group as the representative credit score for the loan.

For example, the middle of 700, 680, and 680 is 680. The middle of 700, 700, and 680 is 700.

A joint application does not average the two borrowers' scores

For multiple borrowers, Fannie Mae says to determine the applicable score for each borrower and select the lowest applicable score from the group as the representative score.

If a borrower does not have a credit score, the guide instructs lenders to determine the representative score from the other borrowers' scores.

A separate calculation for certain manually underwritten loans

For certain manually underwritten transactions, Fannie Mae uses an average median credit score to determine whether a minimum-score requirement is met. That is different from the representative score.

In Fannie Mae's example, borrowers with median scores of 605 and 693 have an average median score of 649, while the representative score remains 605. The guide limits this calculation to certain manually underwritten transactions.

Three reports still matter in the current rollout

FHFA says adding VantageScore 4.0 does not initially change the Enterprises' current credit-reporting requirements. Fannie Mae says VantageScore 4.0 is currently available to a limited number of approved lenders through a tri-merge credit report from each credit bureau.

For lenders outside that rollout, Fannie Mae requires Classic FICO scores from all three nationwide consumer reporting agencies when the lender orders the three in-file merged credit report.

What is next

FHFA says FICO 10T remains approved for future use, but it is not yet in the current interim lender-choice phase. Fannie Mae says it will provide advance notice and implementation guidance before FICO Score 10T becomes available.

For now, approved lenders may choose one model—Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0—for a loan delivered to the Enterprises. FHFA says the Enterprises will not initially accept scores from multiple models on the same loan at delivery.

Sources

• FHFA — Credit Scores (last updated April 22, 2026)
• Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01 — General Requirements for Credit Scores (current guide topic dated April 22, 2026)
• Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-02 — Determining the Credit Score for a Mortgage Loan (current guide topic dated April 22, 2026)
• Fannie Mae — Credit Score Models and Reports Initiative

AI Credit Copilot provides education, not personalized mortgage, credit, legal, or financial advice.