Can a Mortgage Broker Offer FHA, VA, or USDA Loans?

Yes. A mortgage broker can arrange a Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Section 502 Guaranteed loan, but a lender approved by that program must underwrite the loan (review and approve it) and receive the government insurance or guarantee. FHA stopped approving brokers on their own in 2010, so a broker now takes FHA applications as a sponsored originator for an FHA-approved lender. Which programs a broker can offer, including jumbo loans above the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 for a one-unit home in most of the country, depends on the wholesale lenders (lenders that accept loans from brokers) it works with.

Which lender has to make each type of loan

A broker takes your application and sends it to a lender, which makes the loan (what a mortgage broker does). Each government program names the kind of lender that must make the loan:

Is there such a thing as an FHA-approved broker?

Not as a separate approval. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which runs FHA, published a final rule on April 20, 2010, that ended FHA approval of loan correspondents, the category brokers had used. According to HUD Mortgagee Letter 2010-20, FHA stopped accepting new correspondent applications on May 20, 2010, and existing correspondent approvals expired after December 31, 2010.

HUD's FHA handbook (Handbook 4000.1) sets the terms of the sponsorship that replaced it:

• Only a lender with Direct Endorsement authority may sponsor a broker. That lender must confirm the broker's state license and that the broker and its loan staff are not barred from FHA programs.
• The sponsoring lender is responsible to HUD for the broker's actions.
• The broker may not close FHA loans in its own name unless the broker company is itself an FHA-approved lender.

A broker company can hold its own FHA approval only by meeting HUD's lender standards, which include a net worth of at least $1 million, rising with FHA loan volume up to $2.5 million. When a broker calls itself "FHA-approved," ask whether it means its own lender approval or a sponsorship, and which lender will underwrite your loan.

How VA loans work through a broker

To use a broker, the VA lender must ask VA in writing to recognize the broker as its agent, and the broker can start once VA acknowledges the request (38 CFR 36.4352). The lender must also certify that it takes full responsibility for the agent's acts, errors, and omissions.

VA's fee rule (38 CFR 36.4313) also limits what you pay:

• The lender may charge a flat fee of no more than 1 percent of the loan amount in place of all origination costs the rule does not list, so any broker pay you cover has to fit inside that 1 percent. The rule also bars brokerage charges against the veteran for obtaining the VA guaranty. On a $400,000 loan, the flat fee, broker pay included, can be no more than $4,000.
• Listed items, such as the VA appraisal, credit report, recording fees, and title insurance, are charged separately.

How USDA loans work through a broker

USDA's Section 502 home loans come in two forms, and a broker can take part in only one of them.

Guaranteed loans. When a broker originates or closes a guaranteed loan, the approved lender that takes it over stays responsible for underwriting, for getting USDA's conditional commitment (its advance approval to guarantee the loan), and for making sure closing costs and fees meet program rules.

USDA also requires every guaranteed loan to meet the federal qualified mortgage rules, which cap points and fees (upfront charges such as origination fees). For 2026, the cap is 3 percent of the total loan amount, a Truth in Lending figure that can be a little less than the amount you borrow, on loans of $137,958 or more. On a total loan amount of $250,000, the cap is $7,500. Who pays the mortgage broker explains which broker charges count toward it.

Direct loans. USDA's Rural Housing Service makes Section 502 Direct loans itself, to low- and very-low-income buyers in rural areas who cannot get credit elsewhere, and you file the application with the agency. You may apply through a USDA-certified loan application packager, a person trained and certified to prepare these applications, but packagers must work for a nonprofit or a public agency. A mortgage broker cannot arrange a Direct loan.

Can a mortgage broker get you a jumbo loan?

Yes, if at least one of its wholesale lenders makes jumbo loans. A jumbo loan is a mortgage above the conforming loan limit, the largest loan Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will buy. For 2026, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) set the one-unit limit at $832,750 in most of the United States and up to $1,249,125 in high-cost areas, with higher limits in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. What a jumbo or super jumbo loan is covers loan sizes and terms.

Because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cannot buy a loan above the limit, their credit score and down payment rules do not apply to it. Each jumbo lender sets its own minimum credit score, down payment, and cash reserves (savings left after closing), so requirements can differ among the lenders a broker uses. Ask the broker how many of its lenders make jumbo loans at your loan amount and what each one requires; how brokers choose among their lenders explains how it picks one.

If you are a veteran with full entitlement (your whole VA home loan benefit available), VA sets no loan limit, as long as you can afford the loan and the appraisal supports the purchase price. The lender still has to approve you. Ask the broker to quote a VA loan next to the jumbo loan, and see government-insured versus conventional loans for how the two types differ.

How to confirm which programs a broker can place

1. Ask the broker to name the lender it would use for each program you want: the FHA lender that sponsors it, the VA lender it works for as an agent, the USDA-approved lender, or the jumbo lender.
2. Look up an FHA lender on HUD's Lender List Search at hud.gov to confirm its FHA approval.
3. Search the broker company and your loan officer on NMLS Consumer Access (nmlsconsumeraccess.org) to confirm they are licensed in your state.

To compare the broker's offer with a bank or direct lender's offer for the same loan, follow the steps in how to choose the best lender for your mortgage.