Checklist · Free download
Escrow Removal Request Prep Checklist
Prepare the facts a servicer may ask for before considering an escrow waiver or cancellation request. This does not assume that any borrower has a right to remove escrow.
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Actual first-page previewEscrow Removal Request Prep Checklist
Before you fill it out
What this resource helps you document
Prepare the facts a servicer may ask for before considering an escrow waiver or cancellation request. This does not assume that any borrower has a right to remove escrow.
01Loan facts
02Possible federal/program restrictions
03Servicer/investor conditions
04Tax and insurance readiness
05Questions to ask
Federal baseline to check
Use the form with the rule, not instead of the rule.
These templates organize facts and records. They do not create a borrower right that the underlying regulation, loan terms, investor rules, or state law does not provide.
- The 5-year / below-80% / current-status cancellation test in 12 CFR § 1026.35 applies to escrow accounts required for certain higher-priced mortgage loans (HPMLs); it is not a universal right to remove escrow from every conventional mortgage.
- For an HPML escrow required by that rule, a consumer request generally cannot be made earlier than 5 years after consummation, and cancellation also requires unpaid principal below 80% of original value and no current delinquency/default.
- Mortgage documents, state law, loan program rules, and investor/servicer policy can independently require or restrict escrow after the federal minimum period.
Use this resource carefully
- First determine why escrow exists: loan contract, state law, federal HPML rule, or investor/servicer policy. The answer changes which removal test matters.
- Do not use current appraised value in place of 'original value' for the HPML federal test unless the applicable rule or program specifically calls for it.
- Before removal, confirm who will pay taxes and insurance, their due dates, and whether any partial-year escrow balance will be refunded or applied.