There's no such thing as one mortgage score. A lender pulls your credit from all three bureaus, gets a score from each, and then sets two of them aside.
Which two depends on a rule worth knowing before you sit down with a loan officer. Once you know it, you stop asking "what's my score?" and start asking which of your three reports is setting the number.
Which credit score do mortgage lenders use?
For a conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the lender gets a score from each of the three bureaus and uses the middle one. As of October 2026, the lender picks the scoring model, either Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0, and has to use the same one for every borrower on the loan.
Fannie Mae's Selling Guide still requires a three-bureau merged credit report, with a score requested from each bureau when the lender orders it. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had planned to allow a two-bureau report. It moved that change to "a date to be determined," and as of October 2026 there still isn't one.
One detail matters here. Classic FICO isn't the FICO Score 8 that myFICO calls the version most widely used by lenders. It's three older versions, one for each bureau. Fannie Mae lists them as Equifax Beacon 5.0, Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model V2 and TransUnion FICO Risk Score, Classic 04. myFICO calls them FICO Score 5, FICO Score 2 and FICO Score 4.
How does a mortgage lender pick one score from three?
It takes the middle score. Fannie Mae's rule is the middle of three scores, the lower of two, or the only score if there's just one, and HUD defines an FHA borrower's score the same way. With more than one borrower, Fannie Mae uses the lowest of their scores as the score for the loan.
Say your three scores come back 652, 688 and 701. Your score for the loan is 688. Your best bureau doesn't count, and neither does your worst. Ties go to the number that repeats: Fannie Mae's own examples are 700, 680 and 680, which comes out to 680, and 700, 700 and 680, which comes out to 700.
Now add a co-borrower whose middle score is 641. Fannie Mae calls the lowest of the borrowers' scores the "representative credit score," so the loan is now a 641 loan. Whether both names belong on the application is a question to settle with your loan officer before anyone applies. For some manually underwritten loans, Fannie Mae also has the lender average the borrowers' middle scores.
That representative score does real work. Fannie Mae uses it to set pricing on every loan through its upfront fees, and to decide eligibility on a manually underwritten loan with one borrower. Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter system has no minimum score. A manually underwritten loan still needs at least 620 on a fixed rate and 640 on an adjustable rate.
Why does the middle-score rule matter for credit repair?
Because your middle score comes from whichever report lands in the middle, and your three reports don't always carry the same information. Correct an error on your weakest report and the middle score can change, even if your best report never moves.
Go back to 652, 688 and 701. Suppose the 652 report is carrying a collection that isn't yours, and it's on that bureau only. If the correction takes that score past 701, your three scores become 688, 701 and something higher, and your middle score is 701. No one can promise how far a correction moves a score. The point is which report you work on first.
That only goes for items that are inaccurate, outdated or unverifiable. An accurate late payment stays until it ages off, on every bureau that reports it.
Which scoring models can mortgage lenders use now?
As of October 2026, lenders selling loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can use Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0. FICO 10T has been approved, but the FHFA says it "is not currently eligible for delivery," and no start date has been announced.
Here's the timeline. On September 9, 2026, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac opened VantageScore 4.0 to every approved lender, without the prior written approval that had been required. On September 30, 2026, they adjusted their upfront fees so the fees line up across Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0. FHFA's policy also requires the same model for every borrower on a given loan.
Aligned fees don't mean you get the same number from both models. The CFPB says your score can differ depending on the scoring model, which bureau supplied the data, the type of loan, and even the day it was calculated.
Can I choose whether my lender uses FICO or VantageScore?
No. The lender chooses the model, not the borrower. What you can do is ask which model a lender uses before it pulls your credit, because the CFPB says your score can differ depending on the scoring model and on which bureau supplied the data.
For some files, the model makes a visible difference. Medical collections are the clearest example. VantageScore said in 2022 that VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 no longer use medical collection data, whatever the amount or age. myFICO says unpaid medical collections over $500 still count in its scores, with less weight in FICO Score 9 and the FICO Score 10 suite than in older versions. Classic FICO is one of those older versions.
So the same unpaid medical collection can be invisible to one model and counted by the other. If that's on your report, ask the question at every lender you talk to. If rent is the part of your history you're hoping a lender sees, here's how rent actually reaches a mortgage decision.
Why is my mortgage score different from the score I check?
Because the score you check may come from a different model, a different bureau or a different day. myFICO says a lender may use a different FICO Score than the versions you get from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether.
That's not a reason to ignore your score. It's a reason not to plan around a single number. The three reports are what a lender reads, and they're the part you can actually work on.
Will FHA loans use VantageScore or FICO 10T?
Yes, starting with case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027. HUD's FHA INFO 2026-21 says FHA will accept VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T for Title II forward mortgages from that date, alongside the Classic FICO scores it already takes.
Until then, FHA runs on Classic FICO. The way FHA picks your score doesn't change: HUD's handbook defines each applicant's decision credit score as the middle of three, the lower of two, or the only one available. For what FHA, VA and conventional loans require beyond the score, here's my full guide to getting mortgage-ready, and here's what changed for buyers in 2026.
What I'd do before a lender pulls your credit
- Pull all three reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com. The bureaus have permanently extended free weekly reports.
- Read them side by side. Look for an account that appears on one report and not the others, a balance that doesn't match, or a late payment that only one bureau shows.
- Find your middle bureau and your lowest one. The middle one is your score for the loan today. A correction on either of those two is what can move it. Raising your highest score never changes the middle.
- Challenge only what's wrong. Inaccurate, outdated or unverifiable items can be disputed. Accurate ones get worked around, not argued with.
- Ask each lender which scoring model it uses, and if you're applying with someone, look at their three reports too. The lower middle score prices the loan.
If you're already a client of mine, text me at 1-877-892-6691 before you apply for pre-approval, and we'll check all three of your reports first. If we haven't met, book a free call before a lender pulls your credit. I'll read your three reports line by line and show you which bureau is setting your middle score and what's holding it there.