Do lenders accept financial documents printed off of a bank's website when you apply for a mortgage? I have paperless statements and billing for all my accounts.

By Michael Jensen, Mortgage and Finance Guru

Edited by Harry Jensen, Trusted Mortgage Expert with 45+ Years of Experience

Updated October 20, 2020

For items such as bank, brokerage or investment account statements as well as current credit card and loan statements, you can use documents printed off of a bank or creditor’s website when you apply for a mortgage. For other items such as your W-2s, tax returns and pay stubs you are required to provide copies of the original documents.

Review our Mortgage Document Checklist

Regardless of if you print an online statement or use the hard copy provided by the financial institution, the account statement must include the following information to meet standard mortgage lender guidelines:

The name of the applicant showing them as the account holder

The date of the statement and time period covered

The last four digits of the account number

Current account balance as of the statement date

All deposits and withdrawals for the specified time period (for bank accounts)

All purchases and sales (for investment or brokerage accounts)

The account statements you provide must be no more than 45 days old as of the date you submit your mortgage application, otherwise you are required to provide updated statements. 

Please note that lenders cannot require you to provide personal or financial documents until they provide you a Loan Estimate, which is the document that outlines your mortgage terms including your interest rate and closing costs. Lenders are legally required to provide you a Loan Estimate within three business days of submitting your mortgage application.

Review What is a Mortgage Loan Estimate?

Until you receive the Loan Estimate from the lender, however, you are not required to provide any of the documents outlined above, including your bank statements. For example, a lender cannot demand that you provide any documents to pre-approve you for a mortgage because that step in the process usually happens before you fill out a loan application. If a lender is asking for financial documents before you submit your mortgage application and receive a Loan Estimate then you should consider changing lenders.

Use our free Mortgage Pre-Approval form to get approved for your loan and to compare lender proposals. Our form is easy-to-use, does not affect your credit and requires minimal personal information and no documents.

The good news is that more lenders are offering online mortgage applications that enable you to upload your financial documents, making it faster and easier to apply. Additionally, as more bank and financial account information moves online, your documents should be easier to access.

In closing, we recommend that you confirm the documents that your lender requires at the start of the mortgage process as well as the document formats they accept. Knowing this information upfront enables you to organize your paperwork, which should save you time and hassle in the long run.

Sources

"B3-4.2-01, Verification of Deposits and Assets."  Selling Guide: Fannie Mae Single Family.  Fannie Mae, April 25 2017.  Web.