- LoanInspection
- Fee library
The Mortgage Fee Library: Every Charge on a Loan Estimate
The Loan Estimate is a three-page form that every lender must use, and page 2 is where the fees live. The form, known to regulators as model form H-24, sorts them into lettered sections. Each section tells you who gets the money, whether you were allowed to shop for it and how much the number can move before closing. This library has a page for each charge, written in plain English. Only Section A, the lender's own charges, is graded by the inspection, because that is the only section the public record reports as a benchmarkable total.
The sections at a glance
| Section | What it holds | Can you shop for it? | How much it can change | In the graded Section A total? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Origination Charges | The lender's own fees and any discount points | No | Cannot increase above the Loan Estimate figure unless a revised estimate is allowed. | Yes, this is the total |
| B. Services You Cannot Shop For | Third-party services the lender requires and picks, such as the appraisal and credit report, plus FHA upfront MIP, the VA funding fee and the USDA guarantee fee | No | Cannot increase | No |
| C. Services You Can Shop For | Title and settlement services the lender lets you choose | Yes | Up to 10 percent in total if you use a provider from the lender's list; no limit if you pick your own | No |
| D. Total Loan Costs | A plus B plus C | A only | ||
| E. Taxes and Other Government Fees | Recording fees and transfer taxes | No | Recording fees up to 10 percent in total; transfer taxes cannot increase | No |
| F. Prepaids | Homeowner's insurance, mortgage insurance, prepaid interest, property taxes due at closing | No shop column. You choose your own insurance carrier. | No limit, as long as the estimate was made in good faith | No |
| G. Initial Escrow Payment at Closing | The first deposit into your escrow account | No | No limit, as long as the estimate was made in good faith | No |
| H. Other | Owner's title insurance, home warranty, HOA charges and other optional items | Yes | No limit | No |
| I. Total Other Costs | E plus F plus G plus H | No | ||
| J. Total Closing Costs | D plus I, less lender credits | No |
Slide the table sideways to see every column.
The change limits come from the good-faith rule in Regulation Z. They apply to the estimate against what you are charged at closing, and the lender can issue a revised estimate when a listed reason occurs. The library pages give the detail for each charge.
Fee pages by section
Pages marked with a link are live. The rest are written in the order below and will link as they publish.
Section A, Origination Charges
- Origination feethe lender's charge for making the loan, under any name the lender uses.
- Discount pointsmoney paid at closing in exchange for a lower rate, reported inside the Section A total.
- Processing feethe lender's charge for moving the file.
- Administration, document prep and commitment feesthe smaller lender-named lines that also belong in Section A.
- Underwriting feethe lender's charge for reviewing the file.
- Rate lock feea charge some lenders make to hold a rate for a set period.
- Lender creditsmoney the lender gives back, shown in Section J and netted against closing costs.
- Application feea charge some lenders collect at or before application.
- Mortgage broker feethe broker's compensation when you borrow through a broker and pay it directly.
Section B, Services You Cannot Shop For
- Section B charges: credit report, flood, MERS and morethe required third-party services the lender selects.
- Closing agent fees: CPL, notary, courier, wirethe small settlement charges that appear in B or C depending on who chose the provider.
- Lender's title insurancethe policy that protects the lender's lien, in B or C depending on whether you could shop.
- Appraisal feethe valuation the lender orders, including any appraisal management company charge.
- Tax service feethe lender's third-party tax monitoring.
- FHA upfront and annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP)the FHA's charges, with the upfront premium in Section B.
- VA funding feethe VA's charge, set by the program and disclosed in Section B.
- USDA guarantee feethe USDA's upfront charge, disclosed in Section B.
Section C, Services You Can Shop For
- Title insurance, lender's versus owner'sthe two policies and who each protects.
- Settlement feethe closing agent's charge, also called a closing or escrow fee.
- Title search feethe examination of the property's record.
- Survey, pest and home inspection feesinspections you order, in C or H depending on whether the lender required them.
Section E, Taxes and Other Government Fees
- Transfer taxes and mortgage recording taxesgovernment charges on the sale or the lien.
- Recording feeswhat the county charges to record the deed and mortgage.
Sections F and G, Prepaids and Initial Escrow
- Prepaid interestinterest from closing day to the end of the month.
- Homeowner's insurance premiumthe first year's policy and the escrow cushion.
- Property taxes at closingprepaid and escrowed taxes.
- Initial escrow depositthe opening balance of your escrow account and the aggregate adjustment.
- Mortgage insurance premiumPMI and MIP at closing and in the monthly payment.
Section H, Other
- Owner's title insurancethe optional policy that protects you rather than the lender.
- HOA fees at closingtransfer, certification and capital contribution charges.
- Home warranty and other Section H chargesoptional items you agreed to.
Find a fee by its other name
Lenders and title companies use their own labels. This list maps the common ones to the page that covers them.
| You see | It is covered on |
|---|---|
| Aggregate adjustment | Initial escrow deposit |
| AMC fee, valuation fee | Appraisal fee |
| Broker admin fee, realtor admin fee | Home warranty and other Section H charges |
| Buydown, mortgage points | Discount points |
| Capital contribution, HOA certification, HOA transfer fee | HOA fees at closing |
| Closing fee, escrow fee, closing attorney fee | Settlement fee |
| Closing protection letter, CPL, courier fee, wire fee, notary fee, disbursement fee | Closing agent fees |
| Commitment fee, doc prep fee | Administration, document prep and commitment fees |
| Credit report fee, flood certification, flood monitoring, MERS fee | Section B charges |
| Doc stamps, intangible tax | Transfer taxes and mortgage recording taxes |
| Endorsements, loan policy | Lender's title insurance |
| Escrow account, escrow waiver | Initial escrow deposit |
| Loan origination fee, origination charge | Origination fee |
| Loan processing fee | Processing fee |
| Owner's policy | Owner's title insurance |
| Pest inspection, home inspection | Survey, pest and home inspection fees |
| PMI | Mortgage insurance premium |
| Prorated taxes | Property taxes at closing |
| Tax certification, tax monitoring | Tax service fee |
| Title commitment, title exam | Title search fee |
| UFMIP | FHA upfront and annual mortgage insurance premium |
| UW fee | Underwriting fee |
Looking for which fees are negotiable?
That question has its own guide, which walks through the form section by section and explains what the shopping rules actually allow. It is at Which mortgage fees are negotiable?. This library explains what each charge is. It does not coach you on what to say to your lender.
What a fee page can and cannot tell you
A fee page tells you what a charge is, which section it belongs in, whether you could shop for it and how much it can change. It does not tell you whether the dollar amount on your form is typical, because no public record reports fees one line at a time. The public record does report the Section A total, and that is what the inspection grades, matched to your program, purpose and loan size. The ranges are on Lender fees by loan type and the method is at /methodology.
Reviewed on October 2026.
Your Section A total, read against the public record
Inspect your Loan EstimateYou pay $29 at checkout.
Sources
- 12 CFR 1026.37(f) and (g) and official comments 37(f)(1)-3 and 37(f)(2)-2 (what belongs in each section): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/37/
- 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(3) (good-faith limits: zero, 10 percent and no limit): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/19/
- CFPB Loan Estimate explainer: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/owning-a-home/loan-estimate/
- 12 CFR 1003.4(a)(18) (HMDA reports Section A as one borrower-paid total): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1003/4/