Reverse Mortgage Counseling: Why It's Required and How a Session Works

Every borrower applying for a federal HECM reverse mortgage must complete a session with a HUD-approved counselor before the lender may process the application or charge any fee (HUD Handbook 4000.1). The session is independent of the lender and lasts at least 60 minutes (HUD Handbook 7610.1). HUD sets no fixed fee; each agency charges its own reasonable fee and must disclose it at intake (HUD Mortgagee Letter 2011-09). The counselor's certificate is a required document in the loan file. The rule exists in federal regulation at 24 CFR Part 206, Subpart B, and is one of the structural consumer protections built into the HECM program.

Last reviewed 2026-10-12

Why is counseling required?

The HECM is the only consumer-mortgage product where an independent, federally-regulated counseling session is a precondition to applying. Congress wrote the requirement into the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 when the HECM was first authorized, and HUD has tightened it since. Most recently, HUD ML 2010-10 set the certificate's validity period at 180 days and extended counseling to HECM for Purchase.

The reasoning is straightforward: the loan is complex, the borrower is generally 62 or older with limited remaining earning power, and the decision is largely irreversible once closed. An independent third party walks the borrower through mechanics and alternatives before the lender may process the application (HUD Handbook 4000.1). Jumbo (proprietary) programs are not covered by 24 CFR Part 206, and the HomeSafe, Longbridge Platinum, and SecureEquity product pages do not say whether counseling is required, so a jumbo borrower should ask the lender. In Texas, every reverse mortgage, jumbo included, requires the borrower and spouse to attest in writing that they received counseling (Tex. Const. art. XVI, §50(k)(8)).

What happens in a counseling session?

A counselor covers a fixed agenda (HUD Handbook 7610.1, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Counseling Handbook). The session walks through:

• The loan's mechanics. Cash-flow direction, what accrues on the balance, the four payout shapes, what triggers maturity. The pillar mechanics covered in how does a reverse mortgage work get rehearsed in the borrower's own numbers.
• The borrower's specific situation. The counselor uses two HUD-mandated tools: FIT (the Financial Interview Tool), which builds a budget picture of income, expenses, and financial fitness, and BCU (the Benefits Check-Up), which screens for federal and state benefits the borrower may not be claiming.
• Alternatives to a reverse mortgage. State-level deferred-payment property-tax programs, single-purpose reverse mortgages where they exist, a forward home-equity line of credit, downsizing, family loans. The counselor walks through alternatives even if the borrower came in committed to the HECM.
• Costs. Estimated origination fees, MIP, third-party closing costs, and ongoing interest accrual against the borrower's specific home value and age.
• Borrower questions. Time at the end for the borrower (and a spouse or family member, if invited; counselors generally encourage that) to ask anything they want.

The session ends with the counselor issuing a HECM Counseling Certificate. The certificate is valid for 180 days, and the borrower gives it to the lender. Without that certificate, no lender may process the application, charge a fee or request the FHA case number (HUD Handbook 4000.1).

Who provides reverse mortgage counseling?

Only counselors employed by HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agencies can issue a HECM counseling certificate (24 CFR Part 214). The full list is published on HUD's HECM Counseling Roster at hud.gov/program_offices/housing/sfh/hcc. The roster includes both in-person and phone-counseling options; the borrower may use any HUD-approved counselor in any state, regardless of where the borrower lives, with one narrow exception: a small set of states require the session to be face-to-face (in person or by video) rather than telephone-only.

Counselors are individually certified by HUD and must complete continuing-education requirements to keep the certification current. The agency is the entity HUD approves; the counselor is the individual delivering the session.

How much does counseling cost?

HUD sets no fixed fee. Each agency sets its own reasonable fee and must disclose its fee structure at intake; in 2011 HUD said agencies may charge more than the $125 it had treated as customary in 2008 (HUD Mortgagee Letter 2011-09). The fee can be:

• Paid at the session, as disclosed at intake.
• Charged at loan closing for a client whose income is below 200% of the federal poverty level. The agency should not collect a fee at the session and may charge it at closing only if it told the client the amount during the session (HUD Mortgagee Letter 2011-09). Costs paid at closing can come out of the loan proceeds (CFPB).

No client may be turned away because of an inability to pay, and an agency may count intake, the information packet, and follow-up when it sets its cost (HUD Mortgagee Letter 2011-09).

How do I find a counselor?

Two paths to a HUD-approved counselor:

1. HUD's HECM Counseling Roster at hud.gov/program_offices/housing/sfh/hcc. Searchable by state. This is the authoritative list.
2. HUD's general housing-counseling locator at hud.gov/findacounselor, which covers all HUD-approved housing counseling (not just HECM).

A borrower can also call HUD's HECM counseling toll-free number (listed on the roster page) for help locating an agency that serves their state. Lenders are permitted to provide a list of at least nine HUD-approved counseling agencies, but not to steer borrowers to a particular agency or a lender-preferred counselor (24 CFR §206.41).

Run the calculator →

FAQ