How to Fill Out and Submit a HUD Third Party Authorization Form

To let a housing counselor, attorney, or other representative speak with your mortgage servicer about your loan, you’ll need to submit a HUD third party authorization form. In practice, that usually means the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s model third-party authorization form, a free two-page PDF you fill out and send directly to your servicer. Once it’s on file, your representative can request account information and negotiate a loan modification, forbearance, or short sale on your behalf.

Which Form You Actually Need

There is no single HUD form number for this. The right form depends on who needs to release information about you:

To let your representative deal with your mortgage servicer on a workout (modification, forbearance, short sale), use the CFPB model third-party authorization form. It’s a free PDF download and most servicers accept it.¹
Some mortgage companies require their own servicer-specific form, usually available inside your online account or from the loss mitigation line. If your servicer insists on its version, use that one.
To have HUD itself release records from its files, HUD has a separate “Third Party Authorization for Release of Records/Information” form. That’s a different situation from authorizing your servicer, and most homeowners don’t need it.²

The rest of this guide walks through the CFPB model form, since that’s what covers the standard case.

Filling Out the CFPB Model Form

Pull out your most recent mortgage statement first. It has almost everything the form asks for. The form runs two pages: the first collects information about your servicer and your representative, the second contains the authorization language and your signature.

Page One: Servicer and Representative Details

At the top, write in your mortgage servicer’s name and the customer service or loss mitigation phone number from your statement. Enter your loan account number and property address. If you have more than one loan with the same servicer, list every applicable account number.¹

Below that, put your own name and phone number. The remainder of page one covers your representative:

Name of the entity, agency, or firm, and the specific authorized person
Office and mailing addresses
Email and phone number
State license number and issuing state, if the representative is licensed
Tax ID number of the firm

A separate section asks for attorney information if your representative is a lawyer, including the firm and every state where the attorney is licensed. If you’re working with a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, check the “HUD Approved Counseling Agency” box and enter the agency’s HUD HCS number. Another prompt asks whether the third party represents you for a workout arrangement with the named servicer. In most cases you’ll check yes.¹

Your representative signs and dates page one, confirming their information.

Page Two: Authorization and Signature

Page two is where you actually authorize the release of information. By initialing and signing, you allow your servicer, your third party, and the U.S. Treasury (and its agents) to share both public and nonpublic information about your finances and mortgage for the purpose of obtaining a workout arrangement. That includes your payment history, loan terms, credit score, income, debts, and the last four digits of your Social Security number.¹ The form does not ask for your full Social Security number.

Both the borrower and any co-borrower must sign and date the form, print their names, and provide the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, phone numbers, and email addresses. Make sure the names match the names on your mortgage exactly. If your loan lists “Robert” and you sign as “Bob,” expect a processing delay.

How Long the Authorization Lasts

Page two includes a field labeled “Approval valid until (date)” where you can set your own expiration. Leave it blank and the authorization automatically expires one year from the date you sign.¹ Loss mitigation cases often stretch past a year, so if you leave the field blank, set a calendar reminder to submit a fresh form before the anniversary. Your representative loses access on the expiration day, and servicers will cut them off without notice.

Sending the Form to Your Servicer

The completed form goes to your mortgage servicer, not to HUD or the CFPB. Servicers typically accept it one of three ways:

Online portal. Many servicers offer document upload inside the borrower account. This is usually fastest and creates an immediate record.
Fax. If there’s a dedicated loss mitigation fax number, use it and keep the confirmation page.
Certified mail with return receipt. Slower, but you get a signed delivery confirmation if the servicer later claims the form never arrived.

FHA accepts electronic signatures on servicing and loss mitigation documents, so a digitally signed PDF submitted through a servicer portal should be valid.³ Individual servicers set their own policies on top of that, though. If you plan to use an e-signature, call the loss mitigation line first and confirm they’ll accept it.

Processing times vary. Some servicers clear authorizations in a few business days; others take considerably longer. After you submit, check your online account or call to confirm receipt. Even after the form is processed, your representative may have to answer security questions the first time they call in. That’s normal.

Changing or Canceling Your Authorization

You can revoke the authorization at any time by sending your servicer a written notice stating that you’re canceling permission, along with your loan account number and the effective date. You can also switch representatives by completing a new form naming a different third party. The CFPB form specifies that signing a new authorization for a different third party cancels the previous one.¹

Do nothing and the authorization simply expires on the date you entered, or one year after signing if you left the field blank. A new form starts the clock over.

What Your Representative Can and Cannot Do

Once your servicer has the form on file, your representative can request account transcripts, discuss your delinquency status, review loss mitigation options with the servicer, and negotiate the terms of a workout on your behalf.¹

The form is not a power of attorney. Your representative cannot sign legal documents for you. If a modification offer comes back, you still have to review and sign the agreement yourself. Think of the authorization as a communication pass: it lets your representative talk to the servicer and gather information, but final decisions stay with you.

Verify Your Counselor Before You Sign

Before handing anyone access to your mortgage account, confirm they’re legitimate. HUD keeps a searchable directory of approved housing counseling agencies you can filter by zip code, state, and service type.⁴ The CFPB runs its own search at consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor.⁵ Approved agencies often provide foreclosure prevention counseling at little or no cost.

Foreclosure rescue scams target the same homeowners who need this form. Warning signs include anyone who demands an upfront fee before doing any work, tells you to stop paying your mortgage, asks you to send payments to them instead of your servicer, or pressures you to sign over your deed.⁶ A legitimate counselor won’t guarantee a specific outcome or ask you to cut off contact with your lender. Check any counselor’s credentials against HUD’s directory before you sign the authorization.

1
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Borrower Authorization of Third Party
2
Department of Housing and Urban Development. Affirmation/Declaration Third Party Authorization for Release of Records/Information
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mortgagee Letter 2014-03
4
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Counseling Services
5
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Find a Housing Counselor
6
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams