How to Find Out Who Services Your Mortgage

Your mortgage servicer is the company you send monthly payments to. You can find it on your latest mortgage statement or coupon book, or on any servicing transfer notice. If you have neither, try MERS ServicerID or the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan lookup tools. You can also send a written request asking who owns your loan.

You might need this information to update your homeowners insurance, answer a letter about proof of coverage, file an insurance claim, or ask about escrow. Insurance agents and real estate professionals often need it for their clients too. Here are the steps, starting with the easiest.

Servicer vs. lender vs. owner: who's who?

• Lender (originator): the company that made your loan at closing.
• Servicer: the company that sends your statements, takes payments, runs your escrow account, and tracks your insurance. The CFPB notes it's common for a different company to take over servicing after closing.
• Owner (investor): the entity that holds the loan. It might be your lender, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or another investor.

For insurance purposes, the servicer usually matters most. It's the company your insurer must notify and, in most cases, the one named in your mortgagee clause.

Step by step: how to find your mortgage servicer

1. Check your latest mortgage statement or coupon book. The servicer's name, address, and phone number are printed there.
2. Look for a servicing transfer notice. Under 12 CFR 1024.33, the old servicer generally must notify you at least 15 days before a transfer, and the new servicer within 15 days after. The notice includes the new servicer's name, address, and a toll-free or collect phone number. Check your mail and email for the past few months.
3. Check your bank or bill-pay records. The payee on your mortgage payments is your servicer. If the payee recently changed, a transfer probably happened.
4. Search MERS ServicerID. MERS ServicerID identifies servicers for loans registered on the MERS System. You can search by 18-digit Mortgage Identification Number (MIN), property address and borrower details, or FHA, VA, or MI certificate number. The CFPB also lists a MERS phone line: (888) 679-6377.
5. Try the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lookups. Fannie Mae's Loan Lookup and Freddie Mac's Loan Look-Up Tool tell you whether either one owns your loan. That's ownership, not servicing, but it can help you follow the trail.
6. Check your closing documents. Your note, mortgage or deed of trust, and closing package name the original lender. They can also hold a servicing disclosure or a MIN.
7. Send a written request if you still can't confirm who owns the loan (see below).

Comparison: ways to identify your servicer or owner

How to ask your servicer who owns your loan

Regulation X gives you the right to ask in writing. Under 12 CFR 1024.36, a servicer must respond to a written request that includes your name, enough information to identify your loan, and the information you want. According to the CFPB's guide:

• The servicer must acknowledge your letter within 5 business days.
• If you ask for the owner's identity and contact information, it must respond within 10 business days.
• Most other requests must be answered within 30 business days, with a possible 15-day extension.
• Servicers generally can't charge a fee to respond.

Send the letter to the address the servicer designates for information requests, if it has one. That may not be the payment address.

Why this matters for your homeowners insurance

Your insurer sends cancellation notices, renewal bills (if you escrow), and proof of coverage to the mortgagee listed on your policy. If that's an old servicer, problems follow:

• Your new servicer may think you have no insurance and send force-placed insurance letters. See how to prevent lender-placed insurance.
• A renewal bill might go to a company that no longer pays it from your escrow.
• A claim check could name a company that no longer has an interest in your loan.

Once you know your current servicer, ask your insurance agent to update the mortgagee clause. If you recently paid off the loan, see removing your lender after payoff instead. Then send proof of coverage to the servicer's insurance department or verification portal.

What information to give your insurance agent

• The servicer's insurance clause: name as it should appear, ISAOA/ATIMA wording, and insurance mailing address
• Your loan number with the current servicer
• The effective date of any servicing transfer
• A copy of the transfer notice, if you have one

Servicers often use a different address for insurance documents than for payments. Using the payment address is one of the most common mistakes. If the servicer's website doesn't list an insurance address, call and ask for "the mortgagee clause for homeowners insurance."

How MortgageeClauses.com helps

Once you know who your servicer is, MortgageeClauses.com shows its mortgagee clause in one search. That includes the name as it should appear on the policy, ISAOA/ATIMA wording, and the insurance mailing address. Each record is marked Verified, meaning checked against a primary source such as the servicer's own site, or Pending Verification. You'll also find the servicer's phone, fax, email, and insurance verification portal link. Insurance agents, loan teams, and real estate professionals can start a 30-day trial without a card.

Key takeaways

• Your servicer is the company you pay each month. Your statement is the fastest way to find it.
• Transfer notices must arrive about 15 days before and within 15 days after a servicing change.
• MERS ServicerID can identify the servicer for MERS-registered loans.
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lookups tell you the owner, not the servicer.
• A written request gets the owner's identity within 10 business days.
• Update your insurance mortgagee clause whenever your servicer changes.