FHA Sets Implementation Date for Alternative Credit Score Models

FHA has announced that January 1, 2027, is the implementation date for adding VantageScore 4.0 (v4) and FICO Score 10T (10T) as eligible credit score models for FHA-insured mortgage underwriting, and has issued a preparedness guide to help mortgagees and other stakeholders ready their operations for the transition.

The move follows FHA INFO 2026-11, released on May 21, 2026 (see prior WBK coverage), in which FHA confirmed its intention to accept the two newer models alongside the incumbent Classic FICO score. With this announcement, lenders now have a firm date to align systems, vendor arrangements, and quality-control processes to a multi-model underwriting environment.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are also implementing VantageScore 4.0 for all lenders (see Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announcements) moving the conventional and government-insured channels toward a common set of eligible models.