When private mortgage insurance must end under federal law

The short answer: for a covered loan, federal law lets you ask your servicer in writing to cancel private mortgage insurance (PMI) once your balance is scheduled to reach 80 percent of the home’s original value, requires PMI to end automatically when the balance is scheduled to reach 78 percent if you are current on payments, and ends it no later than the month after the loan’s halfway point if you are current.^{[1, 2, 4]} What this term means: PMI is insurance that protects the lender, not you, if you stop making payments on a conventional loan.^[5] The statute calls your request “cancellation” and the automatic end “termination.”^[1]

Paying PMI is common when the down payment is under 20 percent.^[5] This page explains the three dates the Homeowners Protection Act sets, what you have to do for the first one, and which loans fall outside the rule.

Checked as of 1 October 2026. This page describes the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C. §§ 4901–4903) as published by the Legal Information Institute, and the CFPB consumer pages cited below, current on that date. It covers United States federal law for single-family principal residences. It is not advice about whether you should cancel PMI, refinance, or pay down your loan.^{[1, 2, 4]}

Three ways PMI can end

How it ends	When	What has to be true
You ask (“cancellation”)	On or after the date your balance is first scheduled to reach 80 percent of the original value on the payment schedule (the initial schedule for a fixed-rate loan), or earlier if your actual payments bring the balance to 80 percent^[2]	You make the request in writing; you have a good payment history; you are current; and you satisfy any requirement of the loan’s holder for evidence that the property value has not fallen below its original value and for certification that there is no subordinate lien, such as a second mortgage^[1]
Automatic (“termination”)	On the date your balance is first scheduled, on the payment schedule (the initial one for a fixed-rate loan), to reach 78 percent of the original value^[2]	You are current on that date. If you are not, PMI ends on the first day of the first month after you become current^[1]
Final termination	No later than the first day of the month after the midpoint of the loan’s scheduled payment period (for a 30-year loan, after year 15)^{[1, 4]}	You are current on payments^[1]

What “original value” and “good payment history” mean

“Original value” is the lesser of the sales price in the contract or the appraised value when the loan closed. For a refinance of your principal residence it is only the appraised value the lender relied on to approve the refinance.^[2] The law measures against that figure, not today’s market value. The CFPB notes that some lenders and servicers may allow PMI to be removed under their own standards.^[4]

A “good payment history” means no payment 60 days or more past due during the 12-month period that begins 24 months before the later of the cancellation date or your request, and no payment 30 days or more past due during the 12 months before that later date.^[2]

What happens when PMI ends

You cannot be required to pay PMI premiums more than 30 days after the later of your request or the date you meet the evidence and certification conditions (cancellation), more than 30 days after the termination date (automatic termination), or more than 30 days after the final termination date.^[1] Within 45 days after PMI is canceled or terminated, the servicer must return any unearned premiums to you.^[1] If you and the lender agree to modify the loan’s terms, these dates are recalculated to reflect the modified terms.^[1]

Which loans are covered, and which are not

Principal residence only. The statute covers a single-family dwelling that is the borrower’s principal residence.^[2]
Private, not government, insurance. “Private mortgage insurance” excludes insurance made available under the National Housing Act, title 38 of the U.S. Code, or title V of the Housing Act of 1949.^[2] The CFPB says mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have different requirements and that different rules apply if your lender is paying for the mortgage insurance.^[4]
Loans closed on or after 29 July 1999. The CFPB describes the legal requirements it summarizes as applying to mortgages closed on or after that date.^[4]
High-risk loans. The 80 and 78 percent rules do not apply to a loan identified as high risk at closing, using Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines for loans within the conforming loan limit or the lender’s own determination for others. Those loans still end at the midpoint, and for the lender-determined group termination occurs at 77 percent of original value on the original schedule (for an adjustable-rate loan, the amortization schedule then in effect).^[1]

What the servicer has to tell you

When PMI is required on a covered loan, the lender must give you written notice at closing describing your cancellation right, the date you can first request it (for a fixed-rate loan, based on the initial payment schedule), the automatic termination date, and whether an exemption applies; notices for adjustable-rate loans and high-risk loans differ in their details.^[3] Each year the servicer must also send a written statement of your rights, with an address and telephone number you can use to ask whether you can cancel.^[3]

Steps to take

Find the PMI disclosure you received at closing. The CFPB says the first date you can request cancellation should appear on it, and that your servicer can tell you if you cannot find it.^[4]
Check whether your loan is covered: conventional, a principal residence, with PMI you pay for, not an FHA or VA loan.^{[2, 4]}
Send your servicer a written request. The statute requires it to tell you promptly what type of evidence of value it requires, so ask for that in writing.^[1]
Keep your payments current, since both the request and automatic termination depend on it.^[1]
If PMI keeps being charged after a date that should have ended it, put the problem in writing as a notice of error, or use the complaint channels in our complaint guide.

Where PMI appears on your paperwork when you are shopping for a loan, see how to read your Loan Estimate; the CFPB says the monthly PMI premium is shown on page 1 under Projected Payments.^[5] If your servicer collects insurance and taxes through an escrow account, our escrow explainer covers how those accounts are reviewed.

Limits and unknowns

This is a general explanation of federal law. Whether a particular loan is covered, how its high-risk status was set, and what evidence of value a servicer accepts depend on your loan documents and your servicer. State law and investor guidelines can add protections; the CFPB notes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines cannot be less favorable to the borrower than the federal rule.^[4] This page does not compare loan products or suggest a course of action for your loan.

When we update this page

We revise this page, and log the change, when any of the following happens:

12 U.S.C. §§ 4901–4903 is amended.
The CFPB updates its PMI pages.
A reader reports an error we confirm.

If something here looks wrong, report an error; we review reports within 5 business days. This page explains rules and names no lender, servicer or loan officer; it does not grade anyone. See how we check and the Register for how we assess individual originators.