What is the credit report fee on a Loan Estimate?

Updated November 2026 · Every dollar figure is an illustrative example, not a quote

The credit report fee pays for the three-bureau report and scores the lender pulls on you, and roughly $25 to $100 is common for one or two borrowers. It is in Section B, and it is the one fee a lender may collect before you receive the Loan Estimate.

Where it is on the form

Page 2, Section B, Services You Cannot Shop For, as a line named Credit Report Fee. Some lenders also show a small line for a credit refresh or 'soft pull' before closing, which belongs in the same section.

Illustrative rangeOften $30–$150 for one or two borrowers

A tri-merge report (all three bureaus) for a single borrower is at the low end; a joint report for two applicants costs more, and a second pull or a refresh before closing can add a little. Report prices rose in 2023 and 2024, so a figure near the top of the band is not unusual.

Paid toThe credit reporting company the lender uses

Can you shop for it?No

Can it change at closing?Zero tolerance: It cannot go up at closing

The rule that makes this fee special: before you receive the Loan Estimate and tell the lender you intend to proceed, the only fee it may collect is a bona fide, reasonable fee for a credit report. Any other up-front charge, however it is named, is out of order.

Rate shopping and credit pulls go together. Scoring models count every mortgage inquiry inside a short window as one, so applying with two or three lenders in the same couple of weeks costs your score about what one application would. Does shopping rates hurt my credit? covers the window.

Can you shop for it?

No. The lender picks its credit vendor and the report has to be the lender's own pull. You cannot bring your own report or score, though a free copy of your own report from the bureaus before you apply is a good way to catch errors first.

Can it change between the Loan Estimate and closing?

Zero tolerance. A Section B fee cannot be higher on the Closing Disclosure than on the Loan Estimate unless a real change led to a revised estimate. A small refresh pull before closing should already be on the estimate if the lender plans one.

Questions to ask the lender

Is this the only fee you collect before I receive the Loan Estimate?
Will you pull my credit again before closing, and is that pull already on this estimate?
Which bureaus and which score model do you use? (Mortgage lenders mostly use older FICO models, so the number may differ from an app's.)

Red flags

Any other fee requested alongside the credit report fee before the Loan Estimate arrives.
A credit report fee well above what other lenders charge for the same report, or charged twice.
A credit refresh at closing that was never on the Loan Estimate.

Questions people ask

Can a lender charge a credit report fee before the Loan Estimate?

Yes, and it is the only fee they can. The rule is that no other fee may be collected until you have received the Loan Estimate and said you intend to proceed.

Why is my mortgage credit score lower than the one in my app?

Mortgage lenders mostly use older FICO score models, and they take the middle of your three bureau scores, or the lower middle score when there are two borrowers. Consumer apps often show a newer model or a single bureau. The difference is the model, not an error.

Does applying with several lenders mean several credit report fees?

Yes, each lender pulls its own report and may charge for it. The fees are small, and the scoring models treat the pulls inside a short window as one, so the cost of a second quote is a few dollars and no real score damage.

Only have one quote? That's the problem.

Tell us the rate and the fees you were quoted. It is free, there is no credit pull, and nobody calls you. We check whether another lender beats it, fees included. Or start with the free Loan Estimate checker, which reads your rate, points and Section A and flags anything out of the ordinary.

Check my quote

Every dollar figure on this page is illustrative. Fee ranges are general observations, not a survey or a quote, and are not a loan offer, approval, commitment to lend, or Loan Estimate. Your actual rates and fees depend on qualification with lenders, your state and county, and your closing date. The tolerance rules described are the federal TRID rules in general terms; the rule itself and your own Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure decide how it applies to your loan. comparemyloan does not negotiate with lenders, lock rates, or take loan applications.