Last reviewed: 8 October 2026
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TRID’s tolerance categories and cure requirement, explained
Our TRID timeline explainer covers when disclosures have to arrive. This page covers a separate, checkable question: how far a fee quoted on your Loan Estimate may rise by closing, and what the lender must do if it rises too far.
The three categories
| Category | What the rule says | Examples (Regulation Z and CFPB) |
|---|---|---|
| Cannot increase (general rule) | The charge paid or imposed must not exceed the amount originally disclosed, unless a listed exception applies. § 1026.19(e)(3)(i).[1] | The CFPB lists fees paid to the lender, mortgage broker or an affiliate for a required service; fees for a required service you were not allowed to shop for, where the provider is not affiliated; and transfer taxes.[2] |
| Up to 10 percent in total | The aggregate of third-party service charges and recording fees may exceed the aggregate disclosed by no more than 10 percent, if the charge is not paid to the creditor or an affiliate and the creditor permits you to shop for the service. § 1026.19(e)(3)(ii).[1] | Recording fees, and required services where you chose a provider from the lender’s written list; if that provider is an affiliate of the lender, the cost cannot change at all.[2] |
| Judged on good faith, not a cap | An estimate is in good faith if it was consistent with the best information reasonably available to the creditor when disclosed, even if the amount you pay is higher. The listed charges are prepaid interest, property insurance premiums, amounts placed in escrow, impound or reserve accounts, charges for services selected by you from outside the lender’s list, and property taxes and other charges for third-party services not required by the creditor (each as stated in § 1026.19(e)(3)(iii)).[1] | The CFPB’s consumer page says these “can increase by any amount at any time” because the lender does not control them.[2] The regulation attaches the best-information condition and, for charges paid to the creditor or an affiliate, requires that they be bona fide.[1] |
When a higher amount is allowed: revised estimates
A creditor may use a revised estimate in place of the original for the good-faith test only for the reasons listed in § 1026.19(e)(3)(iv):[1]
- Changed circumstance affecting settlement charges: an extraordinary event beyond the control of any interested party or another unexpected event specific to you or the transaction; information the creditor relied on that was inaccurate or changed; or new information specific to you or the transaction that the creditor did not rely on.
- Changed circumstance affecting eligibility: you become ineligible for a previously disclosed charge because a changed circumstance affected your creditworthiness or the value of the security.
- Revisions you request to the credit terms or the settlement that increase a charge.
- Interest-rate-dependent charges: points or lender credits change because the rate was not locked when the Loan Estimate was given; the revised disclosures are due within three business days after the rate is locked.
- Expiration: you indicate an intent to proceed more than 10 business days (or any longer period the creditor specified) after the Loan Estimate was provided.
- Delayed settlement on a construction loan: in new construction where the creditor reasonably expects settlement more than 60 days after the original disclosures, and those disclosures state clearly and conspicuously that revised disclosures may be issued at any time until 60 days before consummation.
The CFPB’s plain-language examples of a “change in circumstances” include choosing a different kind of loan or changing the down payment, an appraisal that comes in higher or lower than expected, a change in your credit, and a lender being unable to document income.[2] The creditor must provide the revised disclosures within three business days of receiving information sufficient to establish that a reason applies. A revised Loan Estimate cannot be provided on or after the day the Closing Disclosure is provided, and you must receive any revised Loan Estimate no later than four business days before consummation (a mailed copy is treated as received three business days after it is mailed).[1]
The cure: a refund, not just a corrected form
If the amounts you paid exceed what § 1026.19(e)(3)(i) or (ii) allows, the creditor complies with the Loan Estimate rule by refunding the excess no later than 60 days after consummation, and with the Closing Disclosure rule by delivering or mailing corrected disclosures that reflect the refund no later than 60 days after consummation. § 1026.19(f)(2)(v).[1] The CFPB’s consumer page puts it this way: if costs rose beyond the allowed limits and there was no change in circumstances, you are entitled to a refund of the amount above the limits.[2]
A worked example (hypothetical numbers)
| Item on the Loan Estimate | Loan Estimate | Closing Disclosure | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lender origination charge (cannot increase) | $2,000 | $2,000 | Within the rule. |
| Recording fees plus shoppable title services (10% group) | $2,000 combined | $2,350 combined | The group may total up to $2,200. The excess is $150, which the creditor must refund within 60 days after closing unless a listed reason for a revised estimate applies. |
| Prepaid interest | $300 | $340 | Judged on whether the estimate was consistent with the best information reasonably available, not on a cap. |
These figures are invented to show the arithmetic, not taken from any loan.
What this looks like as an actual borrower
Line up your Loan Estimate and final Closing Disclosure side by side; our comparison guide shows where each fee sits, and which services you can shop for affects which category a fee falls in. Ask the lender about any fee in the first category that rose, and about any 10-percent group whose total rose by more than 10 percent. For what you can do if the lender will not explain, see how to file a complaint. The CFPB also notes it is illegal for lenders to deliberately underestimate the costs on a Loan Estimate.[2]
Correction (8 October 2026): the earlier version of this page said a zero-tolerance fee “can’t increase at all, for any reason”; a documented changed circumstance or another listed reason allows a revised estimate, as the section above now says. It also said prepaid interest, insurance premiums, escrow deposits and similar charges “can change without a tolerance cap at all”; the regulation judges them by whether the estimate was consistent with the best information reasonably available, and it limits the list to specific charges. The list of charges in that category was incomplete and now matches § 1026.19(e)(3)(iii). See the updates log.