The Federal Housing Administration will accept FICO Score 10T on mortgages whose case numbers are assigned on or after January 1, 2027. FICO announced on September 11 that FHA-approved lenders can use the score, which the company says draws on trended credit data and rental payment history. FHA had announced the same start date a day earlier, on September 10, and said VantageScore 4.0 will be accepted too, next to Classic FICO, the score lenders have long used. The change covers one kind of FHA loan, and FHA says its detailed lender rules are still to come.
What FHA announced on September 10
FHA’s notice, numbered FHA INFO 2026-21, does two things. It sets January 1, 2027 as the implementation date, and it issues a preparedness guide for lenders and other industry groups. The notice follows an earlier one dated May 21, 2026, in which FHA said it intended to add VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10T as eligible credit score models. That earlier notice tied the plan to a declaration by HUD Secretary Scott Turner on April 22.
FHA gave its reasons in the May notice. It said opening the door to more models would “catalyze long-delayed competition, reduce systemic dependency on a single legacy model, encourage pricing discipline in the credit reporting market, and better reflect contemporary consumer credit behavior.” In plain terms, FHA wants lenders to have more than one scoring option, and it wants credit scores to reflect how borrowers behave today.
The new date applies to what the notice calls Title II forward mortgages only. A forward mortgage is the ordinary kind of loan used to buy or refinance a home, as opposed to a reverse mortgage. FHA says its automated underwriting system, the Technology Open To Approved Lenders (TOTAL) Scorecard, will be updated for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027. The cutoff attaches to the case number, not to the day a loan closes.
For anyone planning to buy with an FHA loan around the turn of the year, the practical question is which credit score the lender will pull and when the new models start to apply. The answer depends on the date a loan receives its FHA case number, because loans numbered on or after January 1, 2027 fall under the new rules. Lenders, not borrowers, decide which of the approved models they will run, so the choice starts with the lender’s systems.
FHA has promised formal policy updates for lenders, and The Retirement Money Brief sends the next update on FHA credit-score rules when one is published.
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What FICO says Score 10T measures
In its announcement of the FHA decision, FICO says Score 10T “leverages trended credit and rental payment data to provide a more comprehensive view of borrower behavior over time.” Trended data tracks how balances and payments move across many months, instead of showing only a single snapshot. Rental payment data matters most for renters, who often pay a landlord on time for years without that history appearing in a traditional credit file.
FICO also made a performance claim. It says that on FHA first-time homebuyer mortgages, Score 10T outperforms competing models by more than 10 percent, and that the advantage grows in periods with higher default rates. That is the company’s own measurement, not a finding by FHA or HUD. FICO says Score 10T is available at no cost through its FICO Score 10T Free Access program alongside Classic FICO, and FHA’s notice does not address pricing.
How FHA will choose the score that counts
FHA’s Alternative Credit Scores Preparedness Guide keeps the existing method. Lenders still need a tri-merged credit report from an independent consumer credit reporting agency, which combines data from the three national credit bureaus. When three scores exist, the middle score is the one FHA uses, the decision score. When only two scores exist, the lower one is used, and a single score stands on its own.
With several models in play, the guide adds a step. A decision score is worked out for each borrower under each model, and the score for the whole transaction is the lowest decision score of all borrowers. All borrowers on a loan must be scored under the same model or models. A couple applying together therefore cannot have one partner judged by Classic FICO and the other by Score 10T.
The guide states that the established thresholds of 500, 580 and 620 also apply to the new credit score models. A Score 10T result is measured against the same cutoff lines as a Classic FICO result, so the new model does not come with lower bars. The guide does not mention rental payment data, and it does not address manual underwriting. Lenders are told to review credit reports and make sure every model submitted receives an Accept recommendation.
Where Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stand
Score 10T is not yet usable on loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s credit score page says FICO 10T was validated in 2022 but “is not currently eligible for delivery,” and that the two companies plan to give guidance on timing. For those loans, lenders can pick Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0, and VantageScore 4.0 was opened to all approved lenders as of September 9. From January 1, an FHA borrower could therefore face different scoring options than a borrower with a conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which must use one model for all borrowers on a loan.
Lining up for the January 1 switch
FHA’s notice puts the work on lenders. It encourages mortgage companies to reach out to their credit and technology partners so the necessary systems, processes and capabilities are in place. FHA has also scheduled ten virtual office hours sessions, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern each day, during the weeks of November 16 to 20, 2026 and January 11 to 15, 2027. Questions go to the FHA Resource Center at (800) CALL-FHA (225-5342). The FHA INFO page on HUD’s site carries the notice and links to the guide.
Until FHA publishes formal policy updates, the notice says lenders must keep following the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1. A buyer or renter planning an FHA loan around the new year can ask a lender which of the three models it plans to run, and whether the loan’s case number will be assigned before or after January 1, since that date decides which rules apply.
What remains unannounced is how lenders will handle rental payment history in practice. FHA’s guide says nothing about it, and FICO’s description of the model is the only source for that feature so far. The 10 percent performance figure is FICO’s own comparison, and FHA has not said how much weight any model will carry. The first real evidence will come after January 1, when FHA lenders begin issuing loans under the three-model system.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Money Overview’s editorial team.
