Mortgage Credit Score Requirements by Program: What FHA, VA, USDA and Fannie Mae Set in 2026

Say two people apply for a mortgage in the same week. One has a middle credit score of 610 and figures she's out of luck. The other sits at 690 and assumes the score settles everything. Both of them are guessing, because "what score do I need" has no single answer. It depends on the program, on which of your scores the lender has to use, and on whether the lender has stacked its own floor on top of the program's rules.

Every major loan program handles credit scores differently. Some publish a hard line, some publish none at all, and one changed its rule within the last year. Here's how each of them worked as of November 2026, and where lenders add their own requirements.

Key takeaways

• The score a lender uses usually isn't the one on your banking app. It's the middle of your three bureau scores, or the lower of two, and on most programs the lowest borrower on the loan sets the score for the file.
• HUD's handbook draws two lines for FHA: 580 and above is eligible for FHA's maximum financing, 500 to 579 is limited to a lower loan-to-value, and below 500 is ineligible.
• The VA doesn't set a minimum credit score. Any floor you hear about on a VA loan comes from the lender or investor.
• Since November 16, 2025, Fannie Mae hasn't required a minimum score on loans run through its automated system, Desktop Underwriter. Its manual-underwriting floors stayed in place.
• Overlays added by individual lenders are common, and they're why one company can turn down a file another will take.

Which score the lender uses

Mortgage lenders pull a tri-merge report, meaning a score from each of the three bureaus. The programs then tell the lender which one to use.

Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, updated in April 2026, says to take the middle of three scores, or the lower of two. If the three are 700, 680 and 680, your score for the loan is 680. When there's more than one borrower, Fannie generally uses the lowest of those as the representative figure for the loan. Freddie Mac's credit score guidance follows the same "middle or lower, then lowest" method, and HUD's FHA rules also go by the lowest borrower.

That last point matters for couples. If one spouse has a 760 and the other a 600, most programs read the file at 600. Sometimes the stronger path is to leave the lower-scoring spouse off the loan, though that also removes their income from the qualifying math. We'll run it both ways before you decide.

Manual underwriting on Fannie Mae loans works a little differently. There, the Selling Guide uses an average median instead: take each borrower's middle score and average the two. Fannie's own example is one borrower at 605 and another at 693, which averages to 649.

FHA: HUD's 580 and 500 lines

HUD calls it the Minimum Decision Credit Score. Handbook 4000.1 sets three bands:

• 580 or higher: eligible for FHA's maximum financing.
• 500 to 579: HUD limits the loan-to-value to 90%, so the borrower needs a larger down payment.
• Below 500: not eligible for FHA-insured financing.

A borrower with no credit score at all isn't automatically out. HUD's handbook allows a file with non-traditional or insufficient credit to be underwritten manually, built on things like a rent payment history.

One change is already scheduled. HUD's Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, issued in October 2026, adds VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T alongside Classic FICO for FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027. The letter is clear that the 500 and 580 thresholds don't move, whichever model is used, and all borrowers on a loan have to be scored the same way. Our FHA benefits post covers the rest of what FHA does well and what it costs.

VA: no minimum from the VA

This surprises a lot of veterans. The VA doesn't set a minimum credit score. VA's own credit underwriting training for lenders states it plainly, and its credit standards FAQ adds that a high score can be listed as a compensating factor on the loan analysis. A thin credit file isn't treated as a negative either, and non-traditional tradelines can be used.

What the VA does require is a review of each veteran's credit history itself, including any late payments, collections or other derogatory items and the explanation behind them. A score is only one way of summarizing that history.

So when a VA borrower hears "you need a 620," that number belongs to a lender or the investor buying the loan, not to the VA. If you're still working out whether you have VA eligibility, our post on who qualifies for a VA loan starts there.

USDA: the system picks the score

USDA's guaranteed program runs files through its Guaranteed Underwriting System, called GUS. USDA's handbook leaves the choice of score to GUS on automated files and tells manual underwriters to use the middle of three scores or the lower of two. An applicant with no score can qualify on non-traditional credit, and the handbook says using a non-traditional history isn't a reason to deny a loan.

The same chapter says lenders may impose additional criteria at their discretion, which is where most of the score floors you'll hear about on USDA loans come from. Our USDA eligibility post covers the property map and income test that matter just as much as credit.

Conventional: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The biggest change of the past year sits here. For years, 620 was the floor everyone quoted for a conventional loan. In November 2025, with Desktop Underwriter version 12.0, Fannie Mae stopped requiring a minimum credit score on DU loan casefiles. As of its November 2026 Selling Guide, DU looks at the whole credit profile instead of applying a single cutoff.

That doesn't mean scores stopped mattering. Fannie's Selling Guide still sets minimums for manually underwritten loans: 620 for a fixed rate and 640 for an ARM. The score also still drives pricing. Fannie Mae's loan-level price adjustment matrix, updated in September 2026, is laid out by credit score band, so a file that DU will accept can still cost noticeably more further down the scale.

Fannie Mae also lets lenders choose between Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0 as of 2026, provided every borrower on the loan is scored on the same model. Freddie Mac's Loan Product Advisor can assess a file where no borrower has a score at all, and Freddie requires scores on manual underwriting.

The FHA-versus-conventional decision is about more than the score floor. Mortgage insurance usually decides it, and our FHA vs conventional comparison walks through that side.

Jumbo and non-QM: the investor sets the line

Loans above the conforming limit, and non-QM products like bank statement and DSCR loans, don't run on an agency's rulebook. The company that buys the loan writes its own guidelines, and credit score floors vary from one investor to the next. That's why these programs are worth shopping across more than one investor.

The programs side by side

Overlays: why two lenders can give two answers

An overlay is a rule a lender or investor adds on top of the program's own guidelines. A lender might require a 640 on FHA even though HUD's line is 580, or a 620 on VA even though the VA sets none. USDA's handbook says outright that lenders may add their own criteria.

Overlays aren't a trick. They reflect how a given lender or investor manages its risk. They do mean that a "no" from one company is a statement about its overlays, not necessarily about your eligibility for the program.

We check a file against the program's own rules and against more than one investor's overlays at the start, before you've paid for an appraisal or written an offer. If your score sits near a line, you'll know which programs and investors fit before you go house hunting.

If your score sits near a line

A few points can move a file from one band to another. The things that tend to help are ordinary: pay revolving balances down before the credit report is pulled, don't open new accounts during the process, and check all three bureau reports for errors early enough to dispute them. Our post on what underwriters look at explains why the score is only one part of the review.

Common questions

What's the lowest credit score for a mortgage?

It depends on the program. As of 2026, HUD's FHA rules made borrowers eligible down to a 500 score with a lower loan-to-value limit, and the VA and Fannie Mae's automated underwriting set no published minimum at all. Lender overlays often sit above those program rules.

Does Fannie Mae still require a 620 credit score?

Not on loans run through Desktop Underwriter. Fannie Mae removed that requirement for DU casefiles created on or after November 16, 2025. Its Selling Guide still set 620 for fixed-rate and 640 for adjustable-rate loans that are manually underwritten as of November 2026.

If my spouse has a lower score, which one counts?

On most programs, the lower one. FHA, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's automated loans generally use the lowest borrower's score for the file. Fannie's manual underwriting averages the borrowers' middle scores instead.

Can I get a mortgage with no credit score?

Several programs allow it. FHA, VA and USDA all permit non-traditional credit, such as a documented rent history, and Freddie Mac's Loan Product Advisor can assess a file with no score on it. Expect more documentation and, on some programs, manual underwriting.

Find out where your score fits

Send us your situation and we'll pull a full tri-merge report, show you which score each program would use, and match it against the programs and investors that fit. Browse our loan programs, or contact us to start.