Middle score finder

Type in each bureau’s score for you, and for a co-borrower if there is one. You’ll see each person’s middle score, the single score the loan would be decided on, and how far each bureau’s score sits from the next line.

Free. No account. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Score the loan is decided on

668

Your middle score, set by Equifax.

What that score qualifies for on paper

How the middle score finder works

The tool follows the rule that FHA and Fannie Mae publish for picking scores, in two steps.

Step one: each borrower’s score

With three scores, the borrower’s score is the middle one. With two, it’s the lower one. HUD’s Mortgagee Letter 2026-11 spells this out for FHA, and Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide uses the same method for its representative credit score. When two bureaus show the same number, that number is the middle.

Step two: the loan’s score

With more than one borrower, the loan uses the lowest of the borrowers’ scores. That is FHA’s Minimum Decision Credit Score, and it’s the score Fannie Mae uses to price the loan. Fannie also computes an average of the borrowers’ middle scores, but only to test minimums on certain manually underwritten loans, so the tool doesn’t show it. Other programs and lenders can differ, so your lender confirms the score it will use.

What it takes for a middle score to move

A middle score clears a line only when two of your scores clear it. With three scores, your highest one usually already sits above the middle, so the middle bureau is the one that has to reach the line. Your lowest score doesn’t set the middle at all unless it climbs past another score. If the line is above your highest score too, both your highest and your middle score have to reach it. With two scores, both have to reach it.

Worked example. Say Experian shows 641, Equifax 668 and TransUnion 702. Sorted, that’s 641, 668, 702, so the middle score is 668, set by Equifax. The next pricing line on Fannie Mae’s grid is 680. TransUnion is already past it. Equifax is 680 minus 668 = 12 points short. Experian, at 641, doesn’t need to move for this step. For 720, the line sits above TransUnion too, so Equifax would be 52 points short and TransUnion 18. The tool shows these gaps. It can’t say how many points any action would add, because no scoring company publishes that.

Now add a co-borrower with 760, 744 and 781. Their middle is 760. The loan’s score is the lower of 668 and 760, which is 668. On Fannie Mae’s grid, 668 sits in the 660 to 679 row: an adjustment of 1.875% of the loan with 20% down, against 0.375% in the top row (LLPA matrix, 09/30/2026). For FHA, 668 is above 580, so the 3.5% minimum down payment applies under HUD’s rules, though lenders can set higher minimums.

Questions about this tool

Do mortgage lenders average my three credit scores?

No. For one borrower they use the middle of three scores, or the lower of two. Scores of 641, 668 and 702 average 670, but the lender uses 668.

My co-borrower has a higher score. Does that help the loan’s score?

Not on FHA loans or Fannie Mae pricing, which both use the lowest of the borrowers’ scores. The higher score still matters if that person ever applies alone, and their income and assets count either way.

Why doesn’t my lowest score matter here?

With three scores, the middle one is the second highest. Your lowest score can rise or fall without changing it, as long as it stays below the other two. It still matters to the lender in other ways, since it reflects what one bureau has on file.

What changes for FHA loans in 2027?

Under HUD Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027, lenders can submit FICO 10T or VantageScore 4.0 alongside Classic FICO. If more than one model is submitted, each borrower’s score is the lowest across those models.

Which scores should I type in?

The scores from a mortgage credit pull, if you have them, all from the same model. Most apps show FICO 8 or VantageScore, which can differ from the Classic FICO versions most mortgage lenders still use.