/BRIEFING · October 13, 2026

FHA takes VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T on January 1, and it decides on the lowest score

FHA published the rules on October 8. Send more than one score model and the borrower is judged on the lowest of them, and every model has to pass.

Primary source: HUD, Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, Updated Minimum Decision Credit Score Methodology (PDF) · HUD, FHA Alternative Credit Scores Questions and Answers (PDF) · HUD, FHA Alternative Credit Scores Preparedness Guide (PDF)

01

The date, and what it attaches to

FHA will accept VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T alongside the classic FICO score on case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027. The rule is Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, published October 8.

The trigger is the case number, not the application date or the closing date. Until a file has a case number assigned in 2027, it is classic score only.

FHA also says a lender may cancel an existing case number and order a new one on or after January 1 so the file can be run with the new models. Whether that makes sense for a given file is a question for the lender, not a default.

02

The lowest score decides

This is the part that is easy to get backwards. Within each model, FHA keeps its familiar rule: the middle of three bureau scores, the lower of two. But when a lender submits more than one model, the borrower’s score is the lowest of those model scores, not the best.

Then, as before, the transaction is decided on the lowest score among all the borrowers.

So adding a second model can never lift a borrower above what the first model gave them. It can only hold them where they were or pull them down.

03

Every model has to pass

FHA runs every model on the credit report through its automated scorecard. All of them have to come back as an Accept for the file to get an Accept. If any one of them comes back as a Refer, the file is a Refer.

FHA expects lenders to look at this before submitting. Its guidance says a lender can have the credit provider remove one or more models from the report and resubmit, and that some lenders may prefer to submit a single model.

A Refer is not the end of the file. FHA confirms a referred loan can still be manually underwritten under the existing rules, whichever models it was scored with.

04

The same models for everyone on the loan

Every borrower on a loan has to be scored with the same model or models. A lender cannot use one model for the primary borrower and a different one for the co-borrower.

FHA does not recommend any particular model. The choice belongs to the lender, within that rule.

05

What did not change

A tri-merge credit report is still required. FHA’s minimum score thresholds are the same numbers they were, and they apply to the new models exactly as they apply to the classic one.

This is FHA only. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have their own rules and their own timeline, covered in an earlier briefing on VantageScore 4.0.

06

What this piece does not tell you

It does not say a newer model will score anyone higher. The models use different methods, and FHA does not claim one is more generous than another.

It does not say whether a particular lender will offer the new models on day one. FHA allowing them is not the same as a given desk having them running.

It does not say whether any borrower qualifies, and nothing here changes what a loan costs.

The program this applies to

Conventional, FHA, VA & USDA

See who it’s for, how it works, and the common questions.

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Tell me the property and the plan and I’ll come back with what’s eligible. Eligibility and terms vary by scenario.

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Sources

HUD, Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, Updated Minimum Decision Credit Score Methodology (PDF) read October 13, 2026
HUD, FHA Alternative Credit Scores Questions and Answers (PDF) read October 13, 2026
HUD, FHA Alternative Credit Scores Preparedness Guide (PDF) read October 13, 2026

Guidance changes and lenders adopt it on their own timelines. Check the primary source before relying on any of this for a live file.

Educational only. Not an offer, an approval, or advice on your specific file.

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