What Is the Minimum Credit Score Required for a Mortgage?

FHA's minimum credit score is 500 with at least 10% down; with a score of 580 or higher, FHA lets you put down 3.5%. A conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae has no fixed minimum when its automated system approves the file and generally needs 620 for a fixed-rate loan a person underwrites by hand, while VA and USDA set no minimum score at all. These are program floors. Many lenders require a higher score, and a lower score raises your cost even when you are approved.

Do you need good credit to get a mortgage?

No. You do not need good credit to qualify, but you need a score that meets the program's floor and the lender's own minimum, and a credit history without recent serious problems such as a foreclosure or bankruptcy.

What good credit changes is the price and the number of choices. The CFPB's home loan toolkit says that applying with a higher credit score generally means you are offered lower interest rates and have more lenders to choose among. It also says some people who improve their credit before buying save $50 or $100 on a typical monthly payment. Below 620, a conventional loan may qualify through automated approval or Fannie Mae's manual HomeReady exception for one-unit homes. For that exception, the credit report must show the low score results from limited credit history rather than negative credit information. The lender must also establish an acceptable nontraditional credit profile using other payment records; how to get a mortgage with a bad credit score covers the steps.

What is the minimum credit score for each loan type?

Freddie Mac, the other company that buys conventional loans, publishes its own credit rules, so ask the lender which company's rules your loan will follow.

Which score counts. Lenders pull a score from each of the three credit bureaus. FHA calls the one it uses the Minimum Decision Credit Score: the middle of three scores or the lower of two, and on a joint loan, the lowest of the borrowers' scores. Fannie Mae also uses each borrower's middle of three scores or lower of two. For pricing on all loans, it uses the lowest of those borrower scores; averaging applies only to eligibility for certain manually underwritten joint loans. A sole borrower with scores of 610, 625, and 640 has a qualifying score of 625 under both programs.

Score models. Fannie Mae requires Classic FICO scores and also accepts VantageScore 4.0 from lenders approved to use it. Freddie Mac's credit fee table applies the same pricing whether the score is VantageScore 4.0 or Classic FICO. The free score from a credit card or app may be a different model, so the lender's number can differ from what you see.

Why do lenders ask for more than the minimum?

A lender rule stricter than the program's is called an overlay. VA's own guidance says it does not require a minimum score "but some lenders do have a requirement," and it advises contacting more than one lender to compare. The same applies to FHA: 500 and 580 are the lowest scores FHA will insure, not scores every FHA lender accepts.

Because overlays differ, ask each lender two questions before it pulls your credit: what minimum score it accepts for the loan type you want, and whether that minimum changes with your down payment. A lender that turns you down at 590 does not mean every lender will. For lenders that accept lower scores, see whether a mortgage broker can help with bad credit.

How does your score change the rate and mortgage insurance?

Conventional loans. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge the lender a one-time fee on each loan they buy, priced by your credit score and your loan-to-value ratio (LTV), the loan amount divided by the home's value. The Federal Housing Finance Agency says lenders typically pass upfront fees to borrowers as a slightly higher interest rate. Freddie Mac's credit fees for purchase loans with terms over 15 years, effective October 1, 2026:

On a $320,000 loan with 20% down, the fee is $1,200 at 780 or higher (0.375%) and $8,800 below 640 (2.750%), a $7,600 difference you pay as points at closing or through the rate. The fee is waived for first-time buyers with income at or below 100% of the area median (120% in high-cost areas) and for Freddie Mac's Home Possible loans at or below 80% of the area median, so ask the lender whether you qualify. With less than 20% down, you also pay private mortgage insurance, which the insurer prices for your loan; ask each lender to show the monthly amount on your Loan Estimate.

FHA loans. FHA's mortgage insurance premiums do not change with your score. Every FHA purchase pays an upfront premium of 1.75% of the base loan. The annual premium depends on your loan amount, down payment, and term, and the score affects it only through the down payment it requires. The rates below apply to terms over 15 years and base loan amounts of $726,200 or less:

• Score 580 or higher, 3.5% down: 0.55% a year for the life of the loan.
• Score 500 to 579, 10% down: 0.50% a year for 11 years.

On a $300,000 home, 3.5% down is $10,500 and 10% down is $30,000, so a score of 579 instead of 580 requires $19,500 more cash at closing. FHA loan requirements covers the rest of FHA's rules, and VA loan requirements covers VA's credit and income tests.

What if you have no credit score?

A thin or missing credit file is not the same as a low score. FHA lets a lender approve a borrower with no score by reviewing nontraditional credit, such as rent and utility payment records, by hand. Fannie Mae exempts loans where no borrower has a score from its minimum score rule and has separate nontraditional credit requirements for them. Qualifying with no credit history explains what records to gather.

Before you apply, check all three of your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and dispute errors with each bureau. The CFPB notes that fixing a reporting error can raise your scores in as little as 30 days, so do it before a lender pulls your credit. Then see how to qualify for a mortgage for the debt, income, and down payment checks that come with the score, or what a mortgage is for how the loan works.