The Highest Score on Your Report Is Not the One FHA Uses

October 23, 2026

If you have been told the highest score on your report is the one that matters, set that idea aside. FHA does not ask which of your scores looks best. It asks which one is the Minimum Decision Credit Score, and that number is picked by rule, not by preference.

Two Selections, Not One

Most explanations stop at a single step. There are actually two. The first selection happens inside each borrower's own set of reported scores. The second happens across the borrowers on the loan.

Step one produces an MDCS for each person. Step two takes those individual results and picks the lowest. Keeping the two steps separate is what makes a co-borrower file easy to read.

Step One, Read Line by Line

The guideline language for a single borrower reads: "Where three scores are reported, the median score is the MDCS. Where two differing scores are reported, the MDCS is the lowest score."

Notice the words the guideline chooses. It names the median and it names the lowest. It never names an average, and it never names the highest. If three scores come back, you rank them from top to bottom and take the one in the center. If two different scores come back, there is no center, so the lower one is used.

Step Two, the Co-Borrower Blind Spot

The next sentence of the guideline reads: "Where the Mortgage involves multiple Borrowers, the Mortgagee must select the lowest MDCS for all Borrowers."

Here is where Bruce, a fictional buyer near Irmo, SC, would have been caught off guard. He looked at his own best score and felt ready. He never asked what his co-borrower's MDCS would be. Under step two, the lowest MDCS applies to every borrower on the file. His stronger result would not carry the loan, and the other borrower's number would set the terms.

Bruce is an illustration, not a real client. The pattern, though, is common among first-time and credit-conscious buyers who apply together.

Three Bands, Three Outcomes

Once the MDCS is set, the guideline sorts it into bands. If the MDCS is less than 500, the borrower is not eligible for FHA-insured financing. If it falls between 500 and 579, the borrower is limited to 90 percent LTV. If it is 580 or above, the borrower is eligible for maximum financing up to 96.5 percent LTV.

The bands are why a single point of difference can matter. Being near a line is not the same as being across it, and the only way to know where you stand is to know which score is the MDCS.

What to Have in Hand Before the First Call

Ask this: "What is the Minimum Decision Credit Score for each borrower on this loan, and which of the reported scores is it?"

Then request the credit report showing every reported score for each borrower. With the full report you can confirm three things yourself: how many scores were reported for each person, which one sits in the middle or at the bottom, and which borrower's MDCS is the lowest.

Questions That Come Up

Does averaging ever come into it? In the passage discussed here, the guideline describes the median and the lowest, and nothing else. If someone quotes you an average, ask them to point to the guideline.

Does the higher earner's score win? The guideline text says the lowest MDCS is selected for all borrowers. It does not mention income as a tiebreaker.

Is the best score on the report worthless? Not worthless, just not decisive. It simply is not the number the lender is required to work from.

Where I Come In

I am Jason Sharon, a licensed mortgage broker at Home Loans Inc. When someone brings me their scores, I start by finding the MDCS for each borrower, and then I build the plan around the number that actually decides the loan. If you want to go through yours, call 843-LOW-RATE. I find the path.

This article is educational and uses a fictional example. It is not a loan offer or commitment to lend.

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