How Long Does a Mortgage Preapproval Letter Actually Last?
House hunting can stretch on far longer than anyone expects going in, and somewhere around the third or fourth month of open houses and offers that didn’t pan out, a buyer might glance at their preapproval letter and wonder whether it’s still worth the paper it’s printed on.
The quick answer
A mortgage preapproval letter is generally valid for somewhere between 60 and 90 days, though the exact window depends on the lender. Once it expires, the lender typically needs to re-verify income, credit, and other financial details before issuing an updated letter, since all of those can change over just a few months.
Why preapproval has an expiration at all
A preapproval is built on a snapshot of financial information — credit report, income documentation, existing debts — gathered at a specific point in time. Lenders set an expiration because that snapshot doesn’t stay accurate indefinitely: a new credit card, a missed payment, a change in employment, or even a shift in credit utilization can change what a lender is willing to approve. Treating an old preapproval as still accurate risks a buyer making an offer based on numbers that no longer reflect their actual borrowing capacity.
What triggers the need to refresh it
- A house search that runs long. If it takes several months to find and close on a home, the original preapproval may simply expire before an offer is accepted.
- New debt taken on. Financing a car, opening a new credit card, or co-signing a loan during the search can change the debt-to-income calculation a lender relies on.
- A change in income or employment. Even a positive change, like a new job, can require fresh documentation, since lenders generally want to verify income stability with the new employer.
- Interest rate shifts. Rates used in the original preapproval calculation may no longer reflect current market conditions, which can change the estimated loan amount or monthly payment.
Refreshing a preapproval
Updating a preapproval is usually less involved than the initial process, since the lender already has a baseline file — it typically means submitting updated pay stubs, bank statements, and authorizing a new credit pull. That new credit pull is worth being aware of, since how credit is built and verified for a mortgage can matter if multiple lenders are being compared around the same time.
Timing it around an offer
Because sellers and their agents often want to see a current preapproval letter attached to an offer, it’s generally worth checking the letter’s date before submitting one, especially in a search that has dragged on. A stale preapproval attached to an offer can raise questions during negotiation or, in a competitive situation, weaken how seriously the offer is taken compared to one backed by current documentation. This ties closely into the income and debt factors a lender reassesses every time a preapproval is refreshed, along with a fresh look at whether inspection-related costs fit the updated budget.
What to weigh
A preapproval letter isn’t a one-time credential that lasts through an entire house search — it’s a snapshot with a shelf life, generally somewhere around two to three months depending on the lender. Keeping track of that expiration date, and refreshing the letter proactively rather than after a seller asks, keeps an offer grounded in numbers that still reflect current finances.