A verbal verification of employment is a phone call your mortgage lender makes to your employer shortly before closing to confirm you still hold the job the loan is based on. Fannie Mae requires it within 10 business days before the note date, and if the lender can’t complete it or an approved substitute, the loan becomes ineligible for sale on the secondary market.1Fannie Mae. Verbal Verification of Employment The call itself takes minutes. The timing and paperwork around it are what trip up closings.
What the Lender Is Actually Checking
The scope is narrower than most borrowers expect. The lender is calling to confirm one thing: does this person still work here? Your income, hire date, and job history were already documented earlier in underwriting. This last call just makes sure nothing changed between then and closing.
Fannie Mae requires the lender to document four items from the conversation: the name and title of the person at your employer who confirmed the information, the name and title of the lender’s employee who placed the call, the date of the call, and the source of the phone number used. The lender has to independently verify your employer’s phone number through a directory, the internet, directory assistance, or the applicable licensing bureau rather than using a number you supplied.1Fannie Mae. Verbal Verification of Employment That independent lookup is a fraud control. It also means the lender may call a different number than the one you’ve been using to reach HR.
Whoever answers has to be someone with access to personnel records, usually in human resources or payroll. A coworker who happened to pick up the phone won’t satisfy the requirement.
When the Call Has to Happen
For salaried, hourly, and commission earners, the verbal verification has to be completed within 10 business days before the note date.1Fannie Mae. Verbal Verification of Employment That window is tight. If closing slips by a week, the original call expires and the lender has to call your employer again.
Self-employed borrowers get a longer runway. The lender has to verify the existence of the business within 120 calendar days before the note date, either through a third party such as a CPA or licensing bureau, or by confirming a phone listing and address for the business.1Fannie Mae. Verbal Verification of Employment The question is also different: not whether you still work there, but whether the business still operates.
Missing the deadline isn’t something the lender can wave off. If the verbal verification or an acceptable alternative cannot be obtained before the loan is delivered, the loan is ineligible for sale to Fannie Mae.1Fannie Mae. Verbal Verification of Employment Most lenders sell loans on the secondary market, so an ineligible loan is a loan that won’t fund.
Alternatives if a Phone Call Won’t Work
A live call isn’t the only path. Fannie Mae allows several substitutes, each with its own window:
- A written confirmation of current employment status from your employer, obtained within 10 business days before the note date, including the name and title of the person who completed it.
- An email exchange with your employer from the employer’s work email address, completed within 10 business days before the note date.
- Your most recent paystub or qualifying bank statements, provided within 15 business days before the note date. This gives a slightly wider window than the phone call.
- An electronic verification pulled from a third-party vendor such as The Work Number, with data no more than 35 days old as of the note date.
- If you’re a union member working short-term assignments, verification obtained from the union rather than each individual employer.
Military borrowers have a separate route: the lender can accept a Leave and Earnings Statement dated within 120 calendar days before the note date, or verify employment through the Defense Manpower Data Center.1Fannie Mae. Verbal Verification of Employment
When a lender uses a third-party vendor outside Fannie Mae’s own Desktop Underwriter validation service, that’s still allowed, but you have to have authorized the verification, the data has to meet the document age rules, and the lender remains responsible for its accuracy.2Fannie Mae. Standards for Employment and Income Documentation If the electronic report is missing something, the lender has to supplement it by contacting you or your employer directly.
If Your Employment Status Changed
The verbal verification exists to catch late changes, and it does catch them. If the call reveals you’ve been laid off, fired, or moved to a different role at lower pay, the lender has to fully reevaluate your ability to repay before the loan proceeds.1Fannie Mae. Verbal Verification of Employment A job loss discovered this late usually kills the loan or forces a significant delay.
Temporary Leave of Absence
Being on leave doesn’t automatically disqualify you. If the employer confirms you’re on temporary leave, Fannie Mae still treats you as employed, but the lender has to collect additional documentation: the amount and duration of any income you’re receiving during leave, confirmation of your regular pre-leave income, your written statement that you intend to return to work, and employer documentation of your expected return date.3Fannie Mae. Temporary Leave Income
The qualifying income depends on when you’ll be back. If you’ll return before your first mortgage payment is due, the lender can use your regular employment income. If you won’t be back by then, the lender has to use whichever is lower: your temporary leave income or your regular income. If leave income falls short, you can sometimes bridge the gap with liquid financial reserves, following a specific formula in the Selling Guide.3Fannie Mae. Temporary Leave Income
If the Lender Can’t Reach Your Employer
This is where borrowers feel most powerless. If HR is closed for a holiday, your contact left the company, or the main line routes to automated menus with no verification option, the 10-business-day clock doesn’t pause.
Lenders usually try alternative numbers first, including direct lines or escalation through the main switchboard. If your employer uses a service like The Work Number, the lender can pull the data electronically instead. If none of that works, the lender may fall back on one of the approved alternatives, such as a paystub within 15 business days of the note date. But if no approved method succeeds before the loan is delivered, the loan can’t be sold to Fannie Mae, and most lenders won’t fund a loan they can’t sell.
What You Can Do Before Closing
Give your loan officer a direct, current phone number for someone in HR or payroll early in the process, and tell that person a verification call is coming. That one step prevents more closing delays than any other.
If your employer uses a verification vendor, check your records in advance. For data held by The Work Number, you can review your employment data report, then file a dispute through the service’s website, by phone, or by mail if something’s wrong. A recent pay stub, W-2, offer letter, or IRS tax transcript supports the dispute. The investigation can take up to 30 days while the service coordinates with your employer or payroll provider.
Thirty days is a long time when you’re under contract. If you suspect your employment records might be off, check them before the closing window closes in on you. Fixing an error in the last week is possible but hard on your timeline.