A mortgage preapproval typically lasts 30 to 90 days, depending on the lender. Your preapproval letter will either list an expiration date or state how many days it remains valid. Once that window closes, you’ll need to renew it if you’re still shopping for a home.
Why Preapprovals Expire
A preapproval is based on a snapshot of your finances: your income, debts, credit score, and assets at the time you applied. The lender uses that snapshot to estimate how much they’d be willing to lend you. But your financial picture can shift in a matter of weeks, and so can the broader lending environment. Lenders set expiration dates to make sure the information backing your preapproval is still accurate when you actually make an offer on a house.
Lenders may also adjust their own guidelines based on economic conditions. You might meet every requirement at the time of preapproval, but by the time you enter underwriting (the detailed review before your loan is finalized), some of those requirements could have changed. A time limit on the preapproval gives the lender a chance to reassess before committing.
What Determines Your Specific Window
Most lenders fall somewhere in the 30 to 90 day range, but the exact duration varies. Some lenders default to 60 days, others to 90. The length can also depend on the loan product. Not all loan types even offer preapproval, and some that do may have shorter validity periods.
There’s no standard you can count on across the industry, so check the letter itself. The expiration date or validity period should be printed clearly. If it’s not, call your loan officer and ask.
What Can Void a Preapproval Early
Even within the valid window, certain changes to your financial situation can effectively cancel your preapproval. A preapproval is not a guarantee that you’ll get the loan. It’s a conditional commitment, and if the conditions change, the lender can pull back.
The most common triggers include:
- Job loss or income change. Losing your job, switching employers, or taking a pay cut alters the lender’s assessment of your ability to repay. Even a lateral move to a new company can raise questions if the timing is close to closing.
- Taking on new debt. Financing a car, opening a new credit card, or running up existing balances changes your debt-to-income ratio, which is a key metric lenders use to decide how much you can borrow. A higher ratio makes you a riskier borrower.
- Credit score drops. New negative entries on your credit report, higher credit utilization, or opening new accounts can lower your score. Lenders pull your credit again before closing, and a meaningful decline could lead to denial.
- Property issues. If the home you’re buying appraises for less than the purchase price, that changes the loan-to-value ratio and may reduce what the lender will finance. Title problems or failed inspections can also derail an otherwise solid preapproval.
The simplest rule during your home search: keep your financial life as stable as possible. Don’t open new accounts, don’t make large purchases on credit, and don’t change jobs unless you have to.
Renewing an Expired Preapproval
If your preapproval expires before you find a home, you can renew it. The process is usually simpler than the original application since the lender already has most of your information on file. You’ll typically need to provide updated pay stubs, bank statements, and any other documents that reflect changes since your first application.
The lender will likely run a new hard credit inquiry, which is the type that can temporarily lower your credit score by a few points. However, credit scoring models treat multiple mortgage inquiries within a short window (generally 14 to 45 days, depending on the model) as a single inquiry. If you’re renewing shortly after your preapproval expires, the additional pull may not affect your score at all. If several months have passed, expect a small, temporary dip.
Preapproval and Rate Locks Are Different Things
A preapproval tells you how much a lender is willing to lend you. It does not lock in an interest rate. The rate you’re quoted during preapproval is an estimate based on current market conditions, and it will almost certainly change by the time you’re ready to close.
A rate lock is a separate agreement where the lender guarantees a specific interest rate for a set period, typically 30, 45, or 60 days. You generally lock your rate after you have an accepted offer on a property and have applied for the actual loan. Your Loan Estimate, a standardized document the lender provides after you apply, will show whether your rate is locked and for how long.
If your rate lock expires before closing, you may need to pay a fee to extend it, or you could end up with whatever rate is available at that point. When choosing a lock period, make sure it covers the expected time to close, plus a small buffer for delays.
Timing Your Preapproval
Since most preapprovals last no more than 90 days, the best time to get one is when you’re genuinely ready to start making offers. Getting preapproved six months before you plan to buy means you’ll almost certainly need to renew, adding another credit inquiry and another round of paperwork.
On the other hand, waiting until you’ve already found a house puts you at a disadvantage. Sellers in competitive markets expect buyers to have a preapproval letter in hand when they submit an offer. Without one, your offer may not be taken seriously.
A practical approach: get preapproved when you’re within a month or two of starting your home search. That gives you the full validity window to shop, tour homes, and negotiate, while keeping the financial snapshot as current as possible.