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Your Credit And The VA Loan

Is there a minimum credit score for a VA loan?

Not from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA does not set a minimum credit score. Your lender has its own credit standards on top of VA's.VA looks at how you have paid your bills over time.

This page shows what VA checks instead of a score, how past credit problems count, and what to ask your lender.

VA and federal law sourcedChecked October 2026

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What VA asks for instead of a score

Federal law lets VA back a loan only when you are "a satisfactory credit risk." VA's lender handbook explains how a lender decides that, and it sets no score.

"VA does not have a minimum credit score requirement." VA's lender handbook, Chapter 4.

  • Your lender checks your credit for VA. It pulls your credit report and decides whether you meet VA's credit standards.
  • Your lender has its own standards too. VA says you must meet VA's and your lender's standards for credit. Ask each lender what it looks for, including any score.
  • VA looks at the whole pattern. VA's lender handbook calls the way you paid past bills the best sign you will pay future ones. It tells lenders to look at your overall pattern, not one slip.
  • Rent counts. Your lender has to check how you paid your last 24 months of rent, and any mortgage you have or recently paid off.
  • Credit alone can decide. VA's lender handbook says a poor credit history alone is a reason to turn down a loan. If your credit is borderline, it tells lenders to look at other strengths, like the money you have left each month. Those strengths cannot make up for credit that does not meet VA's standards.

Sources: 38 U.S.C. 3710(b)(3). VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 4 (Topic 1, c; Topic 7, b; Topic 10, c and d). VA-backed purchase loan. 38 CFR 36.4340(e). Retrieved 29 October 2026.

Find Your Situation

How VA treats what is on your credit report

Find what is on your credit report. VA's rules treat each one differently.

01

No credit history

VA's lender handbook says having no credit history is not generally held against you. Your lender judges your credit from other payment records it can check instead.

Not generally held against you
02

Medical bills in collections

Your lender may set aside collection accounts it can tell are medical bills, including ones the creditor wrote off. That holds unless the debt became a judgment or lien.

They do not have to be paid off to get the loan.

Can be set aside
03

Other collections

If the rest of your credit is acceptable, VA does not always require one or two unpaid collections to be paid off before the loan.

Your lender still counts each one as a monthly payment in your debts. It also has to explain why the rest of your credit outweighs them. If you have a history of collections, VA's lender handbook says you should have re-established good credit.

Counted, not always paid off
04

Late payments and past problems

Outside of bankruptcy, VA's rules say good credit is generally re-established after 12 months of on-time payments after your last credit problem. Ask your lender which date it counts from.

Paying off old bills just before you apply, or after a lender questions your credit, does not erase the late record. What re-establishes your credit is the 12 months of on-time payments.

12 months, generally
05

A court judgment

A debt a court turned into a judgment has to be dealt with before the loan. Paying it in full meets VA's rules. If you are on a payment plan instead, ask your lender whether it counts.

Pay it, or ask
06

Money you owe the federal government

If you are behind on a federal debt, like a federal student loan or federal taxes, VA's rules say you are not a satisfactory credit risk. That lasts until you bring it current or set up a payment plan with the agency. VA's lender handbook warns that a plan made only after your lender finds the debt may not be enough.

Your lender also checks every borrower against a federal list of defaults on federal loans and debts to VA. VA's lender handbook says a past default on that list does not rule you out by itself.

Bring it current first

Had a bankruptcy or foreclosure? VA's rules say neither one rules you out by itself. The waiting times are in VA's lender handbook, Chapter 4, Topic 7.

Buying with your spouse? Our spouse guide shows how their credit counts.

Sources: VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 4 (Topic 6, c, d and e; Topic 7, b). 38 CFR 36.4340(g) (1), (2), (4), (5), (6) and (8). Retrieved 29 October 2026.

Before You Apply

Check your credit reports first

Check your reports before a lender does. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says you can get a free credit report from each of the three big credit companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, once a week.

  • Use the site the law set up. The bureau says the free report authorized by law is at AnnualCreditReport.com. It warns that some other sites call a report free and then charge you.
  • Look for the items above. Collections, judgments, late payments and federal debts are what VA's rules ask your lender to look at.

Sources: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How do I get a free copy of my credit reports? Retrieved 29 October 2026.

What To Ask

Questions for your lender

VA sets the rules. Your lender decides on your loan, and it can add its own standards. Ask each lender:

  1. Do you set a minimum credit score for VA loans, and what is it?
  2. Will you set aside my medical collections?
  3. How will you count my unpaid collections in my debts?
  4. If I have little or no credit history, which payment records can I use?
  5. For past late payments, which date do you count my 12 months from?

This page is not legal or financial advice. VA sets the rules, and your lender decides on your loan.

A page can explain how VA looks at credit.An agent who knows how military benefits work can help you plan a purchase around your lender's answer.

Mission Ready Operators know how military life, rank and benefits work, and how orders and moving dates work. Questions about your loan belong with your lender.

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Last reviewed October 2026 · Maintained by My Military HQ

Common Questions

Questions people ask about credit and VA loans

Is there a minimum credit score for a VA loan?

Not from VA. VA's lender handbook says VA does not have a minimum credit score requirement. VA says you must meet both VA's and your lender's standards for credit, so ask each lender whether it sets a score.

Can you get a VA loan with a 500, 580 or 620 credit score?

VA sets no score, so no score number rules you out under VA's rules. Your lender has its own credit standards on top of VA's, so ask each lender what it looks for. VA still checks how you have paid your bills, and VA's lender handbook says a poor credit history alone is a reason to turn down a loan.

Can you get a VA loan with no credit score?

VA does not set a minimum credit score. VA's lender handbook says having no credit history is not generally held against you. Your lender judges your credit from other payment records it can check instead. Your lender may have its own standards, so ask.

Can you get a VA loan with bad credit?

It depends on your history. VA's lender handbook tells lenders to look at your overall pattern of payments, not one slip. Outside of bankruptcy, it says good credit is generally re-established after 12 months of on-time payments after your last credit problem. It also says a poor credit history alone is a reason to turn down a loan.

Do collections have to be paid off for a VA loan?

Not always. VA's lender handbook says a lender may set aside medical collections that have not become a judgment or lien. If the rest of your credit is acceptable, one or two other unpaid collections do not always have to be paid off, but the lender counts them as a monthly payment in your debts. A court judgment is different: ask your lender.

Does a VA streamline refinance (IRRRL) need a credit check?

VA's lender handbook says an Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loan (IRRRL) generally needs no new check of your credit and income unless the loan is behind. An IRRRL on a loan 30 days or more behind goes to VA for approval first. Your lender still checks a federal list of defaults on federal loans and debts to VA. Ask your lender what else it checks.

Sources

Where every fact came from

Every rule on this page comes from VA, federal law or a federal agency. Where they do not say something, we left it out.

  • No minimum credit score, how lenders look at credit, no credit history, collections, judgments, the 12 months, federal debts, bankruptcy and foreclosure, and the IRRRL. VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting, updated August 26, 2026, VA. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  • That you must meet VA's and your lender's standards for credit. VA-backed purchase loan, VA, last updated January 7, 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  • That VA backs a loan only for a satisfactory credit risk. 38 U.S.C. 3710(b)(3), United States Code. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  • VA's credit rule: a poor credit history alone, judgments, federal debts, no credit history and the 12 months. 38 CFR 36.4340, Code of Federal Regulations. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  • Free credit reports. How do I get a free copy of my credit reports?, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, last modified October 15, 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.

What we left out on purpose. We give no minimum score: VA has none, and any minimum a lender uses is its own. We do not cover bankruptcy and foreclosure waiting times, or VA's income tests: VA's lender handbook has them. VA's rule and its lender handbook differ on when the 12 months start and on payment plans for a court judgment, so the page sends both to your lender. This page covers VA home loans only.

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