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Waiting periods by loan type · 220+ lenders
A bankruptcy does not close the door on a mortgage forever. Each loan type has its own waiting period, written in official handbooks and regulations, measured from a discharge, a dismissal, or a stretch of on-time plan payments. We start with your dates, match them to FHA, VA, USDA, or conventional rules, and shop lenders. This is information, not a guarantee of approval.
Illustrative only. Waiting periods come from official agency rules and can involve exceptions. All loans subject to approval. Nothing here is a promise of approval.
People search "mortgage after bankruptcy discharge" because they want a clear timeline. The honest version is a table by loan type, with the official source on each row, and a reminder that lenders can require more.
The table on this page comes from HUD Handbook 4000.1, 38 CFR 36.4340 (VA), 7 CFR 3555.151 (USDA), and Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.3-07. We quote the rule, then explain it.
Chapter 7 is a liquidation and is usually measured from the discharge date. Chapter 13 is a repayment plan and can often be considered after 12 months of satisfactory payments, with court or trustee permission, before the plan is finished.
Agencies want to see that the problems that led to the bankruptcy are not likely to recur, and that you have re-established credit or chosen not to take on new debt. The waiting period is necessary. It is not sufficient.
FHA and VA often have shorter published windows than a Fannie Mae conventional loan. Non-QM lenders may use different overlays. We compare across 220+ wholesale lenders, subject to approval.
These rules are national. If you are buying in Arizona, they combine with Arizona loan limits and, when you are eligible, with Arizona down payment assistance. Jerry Kindig is licensed in Arizona.
We will not use that phrase. A waiting period that has elapsed makes you eligible to be considered. The rest of the file, and the lender's decision, still matter.
Read down your loan type, then read the source. Waiting periods are measured differently (case-number date, application date, or disbursement date). We will apply the right starting date to your documents. All loans are subject to approval. This table is not a promise that a lender will approve a loan when the period has elapsed.
| Topic | FHA | VA | USDA | Fannie Mae (conventional) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 7 waiting period | 2 years from discharge (12 months possible with extenuating circumstances) | Generally not within 12 months. 1 to 2 years only with rebuilt credit and a cause beyond your control | A discharge within 36 months of application is significant derogatory credit under the regulation | 4 years from discharge or dismissal (2 years with documented extenuating circumstances) |
| Chapter 13, plan still in progress | 12 months of satisfactory payout-plan payments, plus written court permission | 12 months of satisfactory payments, plus trustee or judge approval of the new credit | A lender may give favorable consideration after 12 months of consecutive satisfactory payments, with trustee or judge approval | Not a completed Chapter 13. A dismissal is 4 years (2 years with extenuating circumstances) |
| Chapter 13, after discharge | The 12-month rule is about the payout period. Once discharged, FHA still reviews the file and requires documentation | If all payments were made satisfactorily, credit may be considered re-established | The 36-month discharge window in the regulation is about bankruptcies in which debts were discharged | 2 years from the discharge date. No shortening of that 2-year discharge wait |
| Extenuating circumstances | May shorten Chapter 7 to no less than 12 months, with documented cause beyond your control and responsible financial management since | Required, along with rebuilt credit, to consider a Chapter 7 in the one-to-two-year window. Divorce is generally not treated as beyond your control | Lenders may consider temporary or beyond-control factors, and whether the new loan would significantly reduce housing expense | May shorten Chapter 7 or 11 from 4 years to 2, and a Chapter 13 dismissal from 4 years to 2. Cannot shorten the 2-year wait after a Chapter 13 discharge |
| Multiple bankruptcies | Follow the Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 rule that applies to the most recent event, with full documentation | Develop complete facts and circumstances. VA looks at the whole credit history | Treated as significant derogatory credit if a discharge falls in the 36-month window | More than one filing in seven years: 5 years from the most recent discharge or dismissal (3 years with extenuating circumstances) |
| Official source (retrieved November 11, 2026) | HUD Handbook 4000.1, revised August 13, 2025, Bankruptcy (Manual) and Bankruptcy (TOTAL) | 38 CFR 36.4340(g)(2) and (g)(3) | 7 CFR 3555.151(i)(3)(ii) | Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.3-07 (08/07/2019) |
A completed waiting period means you can be considered. It does not mean a yes.
A few reading notes will keep the table from being misused.
FHA measures to the case-number assignment date. Fannie Mae measures a manual underwrite to the disbursement date of the new loan (Desktop Underwriter has its own way of reading the credit report). USDA measures to the date of application. VA talks in terms of the discharge date relative to the credit decision. Bring discharge orders, dismissal orders, and, for Chapter 13, the plan and payment history. If a mortgage was included in the bankruptcy, that paperwork matters too.
If a bankruptcy was discharged within two years of the FHA case number, HUD requires the loan to be downgraded to a manual underwrite. The two-year Chapter 7 rule, and the 12-month Chapter 13 rule, then live in the manual section of Handbook 4000.1. Manual underwrites have their own debt-to-income and compensating-factor rules.
FHA generally uses a three-year wait after a foreclosure or deed-in-lieu, measured to the case-number date. Fannie Mae uses seven years from completion of a foreclosure, or three years with extenuating circumstances (with extra limits). If a mortgage was discharged in a bankruptcy and then later foreclosed, Fannie Mae may let you use the bankruptcy waiting period if you can document that the mortgage was discharged in the bankruptcy; otherwise the longer of the two periods applies. We will not mix those clocks up.
Some Non-QM investors will consider a more recent bankruptcy than Fannie Mae will. Their overlays change and are not a public federal rulebook, so we will not invent a number. If your dates are shorter than the agency waits, we can look at Non-QM, subject to approval. See Self Employed and Non-QM.
If you are also self-employed, or buying in Arizona with FHA or assistance, combine this page with self-employed mortgages, FHA in Arizona, and Arizona down payment assistance. Eligibility for assistance still depends on that program's own credit and income rules.
An illustrative look at working through a mortgage after bankruptcy with us.
Discharge or dismissal order, Chapter 13 plan and payment history, and a current credit report if you have one.
FHA, VA, USDA, conventional, or Non-QM. We will tell you if a wait is still running, and what could shorten it only where the official rule allows it.
On-time housing payments, and any new credit paid as agreed, help the "re-established credit" part of the rule.
When the file is ready, we compare across 220+ wholesale lenders. All loans subject to approval. There is no guaranteed approval.
Illustrative. Waiting periods and documentation vary by agency. All loans subject to approval. This is not a guarantee.
If a document is missing, the conservative reading of the waiting period usually applies. We would rather get the order than guess at a date.
Discharge or dismissal order. For Chapter 13, the plan, payment history, and, if the plan is ongoing, written court or trustee permission.
Agencies want to see that the cause is not likely to recur. Extenuating-circumstance exceptions have to be documented, not just claimed.
On-time payments after the event are part of FHA, VA, and conventional analysis.
The bankruptcy is one part of the file. You still have to qualify on income, debts, and the property. All loans subject to approval.
Close a loan with another lender at a lower combination of interest rate, fees, and monthly mortgage insurance, and we'll send you a $2,000 check.
It depends on the loan type. FHA generally requires two years from the discharge (sometimes as little as 12 months with documented extenuating circumstances). VA generally will not find satisfactory credit within 12 months, and treats the one-to-two-year window as a special case. USDA treats a discharge within 36 months as significant derogatory credit. Fannie Mae conventional loans require four years from discharge or dismissal, or two years with documented extenuating circumstances. All loans are subject to approval.
Often, yes, after 12 months of satisfactory plan payments and permission from the trustee or bankruptcy court, on FHA, VA, and USDA, subject to approval. Fannie Mae does not use a 12-month in-plan rule; it measures two years from a Chapter 13 discharge or four years from a dismissal. We will look at your plan documents before we steer you toward a loan type.
No. Every official source on this page says a bankruptcy, by itself, does not disqualify you. The waiting period, re-established credit, the rest of your file, and the lender's decision still apply. We will not tell you that approval is guaranteed.
They are documented events beyond your control, such as a serious medical event or a job loss, that caused the bankruptcy. FHA, Fannie Mae, VA, and USDA each describe them a little differently. VA says divorce is generally not viewed as beyond the borrower's control. An exception has to be documented. It is not automatic.
Usually, yes, on a Chapter 7: two years for FHA versus four years for Fannie Mae, unless a Fannie Mae extenuating-circumstance exception applies. That is one reason FHA is often the first conversation after a recent bankruptcy. See FHA loan requirements in Arizona if you are buying here.
Foreclosure has its own waiting period (generally three years for FHA, seven years for Fannie Mae, with possible exceptions). If the same mortgage was discharged in a bankruptcy, the agency may let you use one clock or the longer of the two, depending on the rule and the documents. We will not guess. We will read both events.
The agency waiting periods are national. Arizona does not add a shorter or longer bankruptcy clock. Arizona county loan limits, down payment assistance, and licensing still matter for the loan itself. Jerry Kindig is licensed in Arizona (NMLS #2397823).
Written by Jerry L Kindig III, NMLS #2397823, a mortgage loan originator licensed in Arizona. Loan Factory, NMLS #320841. Equal Housing Opportunity. Program rules, income limits, assistance amounts, and loan limits change. Confirm current terms with the program administrator and a licensed loan officer before you make a decision. All loans and assistance are subject to approval and eligibility. Nothing on this page is a promise of approval, a loan offer, or a commitment to lend.
Send a note with your discharge or plan dates, or call or text. We will give you a straight reading of the official rules, not a guaranteed approval. All loans are subject to approval.