B3-5.1-02, Determining the Credit Score for a Mortgage Loan (10/05/2022)

The representative credit score for the loan is determined based on the credit scores of each borrower and is used to determine loan eligibility for manually underwritten loans with only one borrower, certain DU loan casefiles, and for pricing purposes (i.e., assessing LLPAs) on all loans. Follow these steps to calculate the representative credit score for a loan:

For certain transactions, the average median credit score is used in place of the representative credit score to determine whether the minimum credit score requirement is met.

The following examples demonstrate how to calculate the average median credit score for eligibility purposes.

With the exception of loan casefiles underwritten through DU, Fannie Mae permits the lender to use a credit report from a foreign country to document a borrower's credit history. (See B3-5.2-01, Requirements for Credit ReportsB3-5.2-01, Requirements for Credit Reports.) If a credit score is provided with the foreign credit report it cannot be used to establish eligibility, or be delivered to Fannie Mae unless the credit score is the classic FICO, as required by  B3-5.1-01, General Requirements for Credit ScoresB3-5.1-01, General Requirements for Credit Scores. See Section B3–5.4, Nontraditional Credit History, for requirements that apply when a loan includes a borrower without an acceptable credit score.