FHA Loan Lookup: Case Number, Servicer, and Lender Checks

An FHA loan lookup usually starts with one of two pieces of information: your FHA case number or the property address. HUD runs free tools and phone lines that use those inputs to return the insurance status of a loan, the current servicer, whether a property or condo project is eligible for FHA financing, and whether a lender or appraiser is authorized to handle FHA work. Which tool to use depends on what you’re trying to find out.

Finding Your FHA Case Number

Nearly every other FHA lookup depends on the case number, so start there. It’s a unique identifier assigned to each FHA-insured mortgage, typically shown as three groups of digits separated by dashes: a state code, a case sequence, and a suffix.

The most reliable place to find it is your Closing Disclosure, usually near the top of the first page. Monthly mortgage statements and annual escrow analysis letters from your servicer also print the FHA case number alongside the loan account number.

If none of your paperwork has it, call the FHA Resource Center at 1-800-225-5342, available 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday, or email answers@hud.gov. A representative can look up the case number using your property address, Social Security Number, or other identifying details.¹

If a case number has been linked to the wrong property or borrower, you can’t fix it yourself. Case transfers and Mortgage Insurance Certificate corrections run through the HUD FHA Self-Service Portal or by email to the FHA Resource Center using HUD’s templates. In practice your lender or servicer handles the submission, but contacting the Resource Center directly can move a stalled correction along.²

Looking Up Loan Details With a Case Number

Once you have the case number, HUD’s Single Family Case Detail page shows the current information for all FHA cases, both endorsed (actively insured) and non-endorsed. It returns the insurance status of the loan, the endorsement date, and the current servicer of record.³

The page returns loan-level data, not payment history or personal financial information. It’s the right tool for confirming whether a loan is still FHA-insured and which company services it. For payment histories, loss mitigation, or any account-level question, you’ll need the servicer.

Finding Your Current FHA Servicer

FHA loans change hands between servicers often, and it’s common to lose track of who’s collecting payments. Three lookups will tell you.

HUD’s National Servicing Center

The National Servicing Center keeps records for all FHA-insured loans and can identify your current servicer from your property address, Social Security Number, or case number. Call (877) 622-8525 or write to 301 NW 6th Street, Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK 73102.⁴

Knowing your servicer matters beyond where to send checks. You must work through your servicer to request a loan modification, enter forbearance, or pursue any other option under FHA’s loss mitigation program.⁵

MERS ServicerID

If your loan is registered with the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, the MERS ServicerID tool at mers-servicerid.org returns the servicer in seconds. The search accepts a property address, borrower name, the 18-digit MERS Mortgage Identification Number, or an FHA certificate number.⁶ Not every FHA loan is registered in MERS, but many are. The tool also shows the investor who owns the loan, a separate entity from the servicer.

Single Family Case Detail

If you already have the case number, the Single Family Case Detail page described above returns the current servicer along with the loan’s insurance status.

Checking Whether a Property Qualifies for FHA Financing

A home doesn’t automatically qualify for FHA financing because a buyer wants to use an FHA loan. The property must meet HUD’s Minimum Property Standards, which cover structural soundness, safety, and freedom from foreseeable hazards.⁷ An FHA-approved appraiser evaluates the home against those standards, and the appraisal decides eligibility. There isn’t a public database you can search to confirm in advance that a specific house will pass; you can only confirm whether it has been financed with an FHA loan before.

The Deed of Trust or Mortgage filed with the county recorder often contains the FHA case number from a prior loan. A past FHA loan on the property is a useful signal that the home cleared FHA inspection at some point, but it isn’t a guarantee today. Conditions change, and HUD updates its requirements.

If you’ve already paid for an FHA appraisal, the report is valid for 180 days from the effective date. If the transaction hasn’t closed by then, the appraisal can be updated (rather than redone) to extend the validity to one year from the original effective date. After one year, a completely new appraisal is required.⁸

Condominiums

For a condo, the project itself must be FHA-approved, not just the unit. HUD maintains a searchable database at entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm. Filter by state, county, city, ZIP code, or project name; results show whether a project’s status is approved, expired, rejected, or withdrawn.⁹ Project approvals expire every two years. The HOA or management company applies for recertification, so check status early in your search; a project that was approved when you started looking may have lapsed by closing.

If the project isn’t approved, FHA’s single-unit approval process allows a lender to evaluate an individual unit on its own. The lender submits Form HUD-9991 along with the project’s financial documents, CC&Rs, insurance certificates, and evidence that the project meets FHA requirements for owner-occupancy rates and financial stability.¹⁰ Not every lender will do the paperwork.

Verifying an FHA Lender

Not every mortgage company can originate FHA loans. A lender needs Direct Endorsement authority from HUD to submit loans for FHA insurance. Confirm a lender’s authorization through the HUD Lender List Search at hud.gov/program_offices/housing/sfh/lender/lenderlist. You can filter by insurance type (Title I property improvement or Title II mortgage programs), servicer-originator type, and whether the lender handles reverse mortgages or 203(k) rehabilitation loans.¹¹

A company that advertises FHA loans but doesn’t appear on the list is either working through a sponsor or isn’t authorized to originate them directly.

Verifying an FHA Appraiser

Every appraiser doing FHA work must be state-certified and listed on the Appraiser Qualifications Board’s National Registry. Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, HUD stopped accepting licensed-level appraisers (as opposed to certified) in 2009. Roster appraisers must hold either a Certified Residential or Certified General credential.¹²

Appraiser status can be checked through HUD’s appraiser page.¹³ The FHA Connection system that holds detailed roster information is built for industry professionals, so if you can’t access it directly, the FHA Resource Center can run a verification for you.

Checking for Disciplinary Actions

HUD can issue a Limited Denial of Participation that bars a specific person from FHA programs within a geographic area for up to 12 months. These are HUD-specific and don’t necessarily show up in broader federal databases.¹⁴

For broader sanctions, SAM.gov maintains the federal exclusion list, which covers debarments and suspensions across all federal programs. Search the Exclusions section by name or entity; a lender or appraiser who appears there cannot participate in any FHA transaction.¹⁵

Checking for an Upfront Mortgage Insurance Refund

If you paid an upfront mortgage insurance premium at closing, you may be owed a partial refund when the insurance terminates. Eligibility depends on when the loan closed and when HUD endorsed it:

Loans endorsed on or after December 8, 2004: no refund unless you refinanced into a new FHA loan, and none at all after the third year of insurance.
Loans closed on or after January 1, 2001 and endorsed before December 8, 2004: no refund after the fifth year.
Loans closed before January 1, 2001 and endorsed before December 8, 2004: no refund after the seventh year.

To qualify, the loan had to be acquired after September 1, 1983, you had to pay an upfront premium at closing, and the loan can’t be in default.¹⁶

A separate category, the “distributive share,” applies to loans originated before September 1, 1983 where the borrower paid for more than seven years and FHA insurance terminated before November 5, 1990. HUD is not liable for distributive shares that remain unclaimed six years after the initial notification was sent.¹⁶

If you’re eligible, HUD either asks the Treasury Department to issue a check or sends you Form HUD-27050-B, which requires completion, a signature, notarization (unless the refund is $2,000 or less), and proof that you owned the property when the insurance terminated. If you don’t hear back within 120 days of mailing the form, call HUD at (800) 697-6967. Documentation can also go to sf.premiums@hud.gov or by fax to (301) 572-8079.¹⁶

Two situations don’t produce a refund to the seller. When an FHA loan is assumed by a new buyer, the insurance stays in force and any future refund goes to whoever owns the property when the insurance finally terminates. When you refinance from one FHA loan to another, the refund from the old premium can be applied to the upfront premium on the new loan rather than paid out.

Key FHA Phone Numbers

Having the right number saves hours of being bounced between offices.

FHA Resource Center: 1-800-225-5342, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday. Email answers@hud.gov. General questions, case number lookups, lender and appraiser verification, policy questions.¹
National Servicing Center: (877) 622-8525, 301 NW 6th Street, Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK 73102. Servicer identification, loss mitigation, foreclosure avoidance.⁴
Premium Refund Inquiries: (800) 697-6967, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday. Email sf.premiums@hud.gov.¹⁶

Callers with hearing or speech impairments can reach these offices through the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

1
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA Resource Center
2
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Single Family Case Processing Requirements
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Single Family Case Detail
4
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). SFH: National Servicing Center
5
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA’s Loss Mitigation Program
6
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Can I Tell Who Owns My Mortgage
7
eCFR. Subpart S – Minimum Property Standards
8
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA Implements Revised Appraisal Validity Period Guidance
9
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Condominiums
10
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA Single-Unit Approval Required Documentation List
11
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD Lender List
12
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA Roster Appraisers Getting Started
13
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA Roster Appraisers
14
eCFR. 2 CFR Part 2424 Subpart J – Limited Denial of Participation
15
SAM.gov. Search – Exclusions
16
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA Homeowners Fact Sheet on Refunds