Most people ask how long a mortgage approval lasts as if the answer were a single number printed somewhere on the letter. It is a reasonable assumption, and it is the reason so many careful borrowers get surprised a few weeks before closing.
A mortgage approval is really a bundle of separate pieces, and each one runs on its own clock. Your credit report and pay stubs get older every week, the appraisal has its own expiration, and a rate lock, if you have one, counts down on a completely different schedule. The approval holds as long as every piece in the bundle is still current and nothing underneath it has changed.
Once you can see the clocks, the timing stops feeling mysterious. Below is how each one works and how to plan around them.
Pre-approval, conditional approval, and clear to close are different things
The word "approval" gets used for at least three different stages, and they do not expire the same way.
A pre-approval is an early read. A loan officer has pulled your credit, looked at your income and assets, and put in writing roughly what you could qualify for. It is useful for making offers and for planning a refinance, but it is based on a snapshot, and it usually states its own expiration date on the letter.
A conditional approval comes after an underwriter has reviewed the full file. It means the loan works, subject to a list of conditions: an updated bank statement, a letter explaining a deposit, a final appraisal, proof of insurance. The approval is real, and it still depends on those conditions being met while the underlying documents are fresh.
Clear to close is the final sign-off. Every condition has been satisfied and the file is ready for signing. Even here, a few last checks happen right before the loan funds, which is why the timeline does not fully stop until you sign.
When someone asks how long a mortgage approval lasts, the honest answer depends on which of these they are holding. The closer you are to clear to close, the shorter the remaining window tends to be, because the final checks are designed to happen late.
Clock one: the age of your credit documents
This is the clock that matters most, and almost nobody explains it.
Under current conventional guidelines, credit documents must be no more than four months old on the note date, the day you sign the loan. "Credit documents" is broader than it sounds. It covers the credit report itself plus your employment, income, and asset documentation. When a document is part of a series, such as two consecutive monthly bank statements, the most recent one is the one that counts.
FHA runs a similar rule. HUD's Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 states that documents used to underwrite a mortgage may not be more than 120 days old at the disbursement date. VA guidance also generally looks for the credit report to be dated within 120 days of the note date, with a longer window for new construction.
So the practical ceiling on most approvals is about four months from the date your documents were produced, not from the date the letter was written. If your paperwork was pulled in early March and closing slides into July, expect the underwriter to ask for fresh versions. That request is routine, and it rarely signals a problem.
Clock two: the appraisal
The appraisal has its own shelf life, and it is usually longer than the credit documents.
Current conventional guidelines require the property to be appraised within the 12 months before the note date. If the appraisal is more than four months old but less than 12, the appraiser performs an update: an exterior inspection and a review of recent market data to confirm the value has not declined. Past 12 months, a new appraisal is required.
FHA sets its appraisal validity at 180 days from the effective date of the appraisal, under the same Handbook 4000.1 framework. VA appraisals carry their own validity period as well, which your loan officer can confirm for your specific file.
For most refinances this clock never becomes an issue, since the appraisal happens mid-process and closing follows within weeks. It matters more when a purchase contract stretches out or a refinance stalls for a few months.
Clock three: the rate lock
People often treat the rate lock and the approval as the same thing. They are separate, and they can expire on different days.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that rate locks are typically available for 30, 45, or 60 days, sometimes longer. A lock protects the rate you agreed to as long as you close inside that window and nothing material changes in your application. The CFPB is also clear that a locked rate can still move if your loan amount, credit score, or verified income changes.
So a borrower can hold a valid approval with an expired lock, or a live lock on a file whose documents have gone stale. If the lock runs out first, the loan terms get re-priced, and extension terms vary from loan to loan. Ask what an extension would cost before you choose a lock length, because that number belongs in your full cost picture alongside fees and the total you will pay over time.
Clock four: the Loan Estimate
Once you apply, you receive a Loan Estimate, the standard three-page disclosure of your terms and projected costs. That document has a short fuse.
According to the CFPB, if you wait more than 10 business days after receiving a Loan Estimate to tell the lender you intend to proceed, the lender can revise the terms and estimated costs and issue a new one. No other reason is required.
This is less about the approval expiring and more about the price of the approval staying put. If you are comparing options, give yourself a deadline inside that window so the numbers you are comparing are the numbers you can actually get.
Clock five: the last-minute employment check
Right before closing, the file gets one more look at your job. Under current conventional guidelines, a verbal verification of employment is typically completed within 10 business days before the note date for salaried income. Self-employed borrowers are verified on a longer window, and other programs have similar late-stage checks.
This is why a job change in the final weeks carries so much weight. The underwriter approved you based on a specific employer and income. If either changes, the file has to be re-evaluated, even when the new job pays more.
What ends a mortgage approval early
Time is only one way an approval stops working. More often it is a change in the file. The approval was issued on a set of facts, and when those facts shift, the underwriter has to look again.
The changes that most often reopen a file:
- A new job, a switch from salary to commission, or a gap in employment
- New debt, such as a car loan, a furniture purchase on credit, or a new credit card
- Large deposits that cannot be traced to a documented source
- A drop in your credit score from a new late payment or a jump in card balances
- Moving money between accounts in a way that breaks the paper trail
- Changes to the property, the purchase price, or the loan amount
None of these automatically ends the loan. Each one creates a question that has to be answered in writing, and answering it takes time. When the clock is already tight, that time is what causes the problem.
Smart, organized people run into this constantly, and it is rarely carelessness. Nobody tells you that buying a washing machine on a store card between approval and closing reads the same way as any other new debt. The system does not explain its own rules unless you ask.
Credit checks and the 45-day shopping window
A common worry is that refreshing an expired approval will pull your credit again and cost you points. Here the rules are kinder than most people expect.
The CFPB notes that within a 45-day window, multiple credit checks from mortgage lenders are recorded on your credit report as a single inquiry. The impact is the same whether one lender checks or several, provided the last check falls within 45 days of the first.
Past that window, a new mortgage credit check counts as a new inquiry. For most borrowers with solid credit the effect is modest, but it is worth knowing when you plan a timeline that might stretch across several months.
How to keep your approval current
You cannot stop the clocks, but you can line them up so none of them runs out at a bad moment.
- Ask your loan officer for the dates on every document in your file: the credit report, the most recent pay stub, the latest bank statement, and the appraisal. Those dates tell you your real deadline far better than the date on a pre-approval letter.
- Choose a lock length that fits a realistic closing date with some cushion, and ask what an extension would cost before you need one.
- Keep your financial life boring between application and closing. Hold off on new credit, keep your job steady if you can, and avoid moving large sums between accounts without a clear record.
- Send updated documents quickly when asked. A request for a fresh bank statement is a normal part of the process, and a prompt reply keeps the file moving.
- Tell your loan officer early if anything is about to change. A heads-up before a job start date or a large deposit is much easier to work with than a surprise found in underwriting.
For a refinance, the same logic applies with one addition. Look at the whole picture before you let a stalled file lapse. If the rate lock is the only thing that changed, the full cost of the new loan, including fees and how long you plan to keep it, still decides whether it makes sense.
Talk it through before a clock runs out
If you are holding a pre-approval and wondering whether it is still good, or you are partway through a refinance that has slowed down, the useful next step is small. A GoodLoan loan officer can look at the dates in your actual file, tell you which clock runs out first, and map out what it would take to close on time. GoodLoan is licensed through the NMLS, and we say no fairly often when a loan does not fit, so you get a straight answer either way. That conversation costs nothing.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a mortgage pre-approval last? Most pre-approval letters state their own expiration date, so start there. Behind that date, the practical limit is the age of your credit documents, which conventional guidelines cap at four months on the note date and FHA caps at 120 days. After that, the file needs updated documents.
Does a mortgage approval expire if my rate lock expires? No. They are separate. An expired lock means your terms get re-priced, while the approval itself holds as long as your documents are current and nothing material has changed. Either one can run out first.
Will renewing my approval hurt my credit score? Possibly a little. The CFPB notes that mortgage credit checks within a 45-day window count as a single inquiry. A new check outside that window counts as a separate inquiry, which usually has a modest effect for borrowers with solid credit.
What happens if my closing is delayed past my approval window? Usually the underwriter asks for updated documents, such as a new pay stub, bank statement, or credit report. If the appraisal is older than the allowed window, an update or a new appraisal may be needed. The loan often continues once those are in.
Can I change jobs after being approved for a mortgage? You can, and the file will have to be re-evaluated because the approval was based on your original employer and income. A final employment check typically happens within 10 business days of closing, so tell your loan officer before you make the move.
