Most mortgage pre-approval letters are valid for 60 to 90 days. If yours expired before you found a home, you can renew it. The process is faster than the original approval because the lender already has most of your information. What changes: the lender pulls a new credit report, requests updated pay stubs and bank statements, and may adjust your loan amount if market conditions or your finances have shifted.
How to Renew an Expired Pre-Approval
Contact your original loan officer first. Do not start over at a new lender unless the original experience was a problem. Starting over resets the hard credit pull and the timeline.
- Contact your loan officer and tell them you need a renewal. Starting over at a new lender resets the hard credit pull and the timeline.
- Gather updated documents: the last 30 days of pay stubs, the last 2 months of bank statements, and your most recent tax return if the year has turned over since the original approval.
- The lender pulls a new credit report. This is a hard pull but counts as one inquiry if done within a 45-day window of the first.
- Receive your updated letter, typically within 1 to 2 business days with complete documentation.
What Can Change During the Renewal
Your qualifying loan amount may shift if rates have moved significantly since your original approval, if your credit score has changed, or if you have taken on new debt. Do not open new credit cards, buy a car, or take on new loans between pre-approval and closing. Any new debt reduces your qualifying amount and may disqualify you entirely for the program you were approved for.
Renew Before It Expires, Not After
If your letter is approaching its expiration date and you are still searching, renew it before it expires rather than after. A lender can typically extend or renew within 24 hours when nothing has changed materially. Renewing proactively means you never arrive at an accepted offer with an expired letter in hand.
Renew your pre-approval
Get an updated pre-approval letter, usually within 1 to 2 business days once your documents are in.
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