The VantageScore 4.0 Timeline for Agents: July 2025 to January 2027

Timothy and the question he could not answer

Timothy is a fictional real estate agent, and his situation is one that comes up often. A buyer sits across from him and asks a fair question: which credit score is the lender going to use? Timothy has heard about VantageScore 4.0. He has also heard three different dates from three different people. So he says what many of us say when we are unsure: it is coming someday.

The trouble is that someday already arrived. Timothy did not have a bad answer because he was careless. He had a bad answer because the dates were scattered across headlines, group chats and hallway conversations, and nobody had put them in order.

What the FHFA actually says

The FHFA policy page called Credit Scores, updated September 9, 2026, states it directly: "On September 9, 2026, the Enterprises expanded the availability of VantageScore 4.0 to all approved lenders, removing the requirement for prior written approval."

Read that carefully. Before that date, a lender needed prior written approval. After it, that requirement is gone for approved lenders. That is the heart of the story, and it is the part Timothy had wrong.

Here is the second half, which matters just as much. Lenders are not forced to switch. The same page makes clear that lenders may continue to use Classic FICO credit scores, or use VantageScore 4.0 in accordance with the requirements in the Enterprises' Selling Guides. In plain words, VantageScore 4.0 is now available to all approved lenders, and Classic FICO is still allowed.

The five dates, in order

Timothy fixed his problem by building one timeline. Here it is:

July 8, 2025: the FHFA decision.

April 22, 2026: the guides were updated.

September 9, 2026: all lenders. This is the date quoted above.

October 1, 2026: pricing aligned.

January 1, 2027: FHA.

That is the whole sequence from July 2025 to January 2027. Notice that it is a chain of steps, not one single switch. That is why people hear different dates and think someone has it wrong. Often, each person is describing a different step.

Available is not the same as required

This is the distinction I would like every agent and referral partner to carry into their next buyer conversation. A score model being available to approved lenders does not mean every lender uses it on every file. It does not mean Classic FICO has disappeared. And it does not tell you what a particular buyer's file will look like. Each of those depends on the lender and the borrower.

So the most useful thing Timothy can say to his buyer is not a prediction. It is a question: which score is my lender using on this file?

What Timothy does now

Timothy stopped repeating rumors. He saved the five dates and he asks the loan officer to confirm where the buyer's file stands on the timeline. His superpower is sequence. He can tell any buyer what changed and when, and that makes him calm, clear and credible in the moment when a buyer wants an answer.

One thing you can do today

Save the timeline above. Next time someone tells you VantageScore 4.0 is coming someday, you can answer with a date: September 9, 2026, all approved lenders. Then ask the lender which score they use.

If you are an agent or referral partner and your buyer has questions about how credit scores fit into their loan, I am happy to talk it through. Call me at 843-LOW-RATE. I find the path.

Home Loans Inc - Jason Sharon, Mortgage Broker. Company NMLS #1728740, Jason Sharon NMLS #1281448. Equal Housing Opportunity.