VantageScore 4.0 mortgages: who it helps and how to ask for it
Files with a paid collection, medical collections, a short credit history or a steady paydown tend to score higher on VantageScore 4.0. Lenders approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can use it since September 9, 2026, and FHA lenders from January 1, 2027. Fannie Mae prices both models on one grid, so a higher middle score can lower your price.
Key takeaways
- Conventional loans sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can use VantageScore 4.0 today. FHA joins for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027.
- VantageScore 4.0 ignores paid collections and medical collections. Classic FICO 2, 4 and 5 still count paid collections.
- Fannie Mae prices both models on one grid, so a higher VantageScore 4.0 middle score can mean a smaller price adjustment.
- The lender picks one model for every borrower on the loan. Which lender you use decides which score you're judged on.
On this page6 sections
Until this year, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA all ran on Classic FICO. Since September 9, a lender writing a Conventional loan can score your file with VantageScore 4.0 instead, and FHA lenders get the same option in January.
Your file is the same either way. A lender using VantageScore 4.0 can still arrive at a different middle score than one using Classic FICO. The gap shows up most on files with a paid collection, old medical bills or a short history, and near a price row or a program minimum it changes what the loan costs.
Which mortgages accept VantageScore 4.0 right now?
| Loan | VantageScore 4.0 allowed? | The rules that come with it |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional, sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac | Yes, open to all approved lenders since September 9, 2026 | One model for every borrower on the loan; scores from all three bureaus; at Fannie Mae, Desktop Underwriter loans only |
| Conventional, manually underwritten at Fannie Mae | No | Classic FICO only |
| FHA | Yes, for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027 | Same model types for every borrower; tri-merge report; if more than one model is submitted, the lowest score counts |
The full timeline, including where FICO 10T stands, is in the credit scores mortgage lenders pull. This page is about the part that affects your approval and your price: who comes out ahead on 4.0.
Who VantageScore 4.0 tends to help
The model reads the same three credit reports Classic FICO reads. It weighs some things very differently, and those differences cluster around the files lenders used to turn away.
Paid collections. VantageScore excludes paid collection accounts. FICO 2, 4 and 5, the Classic mortgage versions, still count them. If you settled or paid a collection in the last few years, it can drop out of your VantageScore 4.0 calculation while it keeps weighing on your Classic FICO. Our guide to how collections affect each score version has the full breakdown.
Medical debt. VantageScore says its 3.0 and 4.0 models stopped using medical collection information at the end of January 2023.
Short credit histories. Classic FICO needs at least six months of history and a recent update before it will score you. VantageScore uses machine learning to score many people below that bar. It says the model scores about 33 million more consumers than other commercial models, more than 10 million of them at 620 or higher.
Rent and utilities. All VantageScore models use rent and utility payments when they're reported to the bureaus. Rent only helps if it actually reaches your report, which rent reporting explains.
A paydown streak. VantageScore 4.0 reads 24 months of trended data, so it can see whether your card balances have been falling or climbing. Two people with the same balance this month can look different if one has been paying down for a year.
A worked example: one file, two models
Say Andre is selling his first home and buying a $300,000 house with 5% down, a $285,000 Conventional loan. He paid off a $900 collection in 2024. This example is hypothetical, and the scores are only there to show the math.
His Classic FICO scores come back 628, 641 and 655, so his middle score is 641. His VantageScore 4.0 scores, where the paid collection no longer counts, come back 652, 660 and 671, so his middle is 660.
Since September 30, 2026, Fannie Mae prices both models on one grid. At 5% down, a 641 falls in the 640 to 659 row, which carries a 1.875% price adjustment. A 660 lands in the 660 to 679 row at 1.625%.
| Item | Classic FICO | VantageScore 4.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Middle score | 641 | 660 |
| Fannie Mae price row | 640 to 659 | 660 to 679 |
| Adjustment at 5% down | 1.875% of the loan | 1.625% of the loan |
| On a $285,000 loan | $5,343.75 | $4,631.25 |
Nothing in Andre's file changed between the two columns, and the lender's model choice moved his price adjustment by $712.50. Fannie Mae charges the adjustment to the lender, and it usually reaches you as a higher rate or points. Some files score lower on VantageScore 4.0, so ask which model the lender uses before anyone pulls credit. The middle score finder works out the middle for any set of scores.
Why the lender you pick decides your score
Each wholesale lender decides whether to offer VantageScore 4.0 and on which programs, and they've moved at different speeds. A retail bank uses whatever model it has chosen. A broker can send your file to a lender using the model your file scores better on.
Many of the lenders AAA Capital Funding works with already accept VantageScore 4.0. If your Classic FICO middle score sits just under a price row or a program minimum, ask about VantageScore 4.0 before your credit is pulled.
What VantageScore 4.0 doesn't change
HUD says FHA's thresholds "remain unchanged regardless of Credit Score Model Type": 580 or higher for maximum financing, 500 to 579 at 90% loan-to-value. Lenders still take your middle score from all three bureaus, as the middle score rule explains, and a reporting error drags down every model alike. Conventional minimums are covered in credit score needed for a Conventional loan.
How to get ready
- Pull all three reports. Every model reads the same files. Get them free at AnnualCreditReport.com and fix real errors first.
- Look for what VantageScore 4.0 skips. Paid collections and medical collections are the two to find.
- Keep balances falling. Trended data rewards a steady paydown, so time payments before each statement closes for a few months before you apply.
- Ask before anyone pulls credit. Which score model do you use, and do you offer VantageScore 4.0 on this program? Asking first means the answer can still change who pulls your credit.
Common questions
Will VantageScore 4.0 lower my mortgage price?
It can. Fannie Mae uses one price grid for Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0, so if your VantageScore 4.0 middle score lands in a better score row, the price adjustment on a Conventional loan is smaller.
Is the VantageScore in my app the one a mortgage lender would use?
Usually not. Many free apps show VantageScore 3.0. Mortgage lenders that use VantageScore pull version 4.0 from all three bureaus and use your middle score.
Does VantageScore 4.0 lower the minimum score for a mortgage?
No. HUD says FHA's 580 and 500 thresholds don't change with the model. What can change is the number you bring to those thresholds.
If my lender pulls both FICO and VantageScore, which one counts?
For FHA loans from 2027, HUD's letter says the lowest score across the submitted models counts. For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, the lender uses one model for every borrower on the file.
Sources
- Credit Scores (policy page, updated October 2, 2026)FHFAfhfa.gov
- Lender Letter LL-2026-06: VantageScore 4.0 Broad Lender AvailabilityFannie Maesinglefamily.fanniemae.com
- Loan-Level Price Adjustment Matrix (09/30/2026)Fannie Maesinglefamily.fanniemae.com
- Mortgagee Letter 2026-11HUDhud.gov
- Mortgage FAQsVantageScorevantagescore.com
- VantageScore 4.0 for mortgageExperianexperian.com
We check every source listed here before publishing and review this page when the rules it covers change. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it and log the correction.