We do not believe that creditors are required to collect the six items of information that make up an application all at once or in a single online form, as a creditor may collect the six items in the order that best suits its needs. Consequently, we believe that the practice of omitting certain data items from an online application is permissible. However, we do not recommend omitting one of the six items for purposes of delaying completion of an application. 

Under Regulation Z, for closed-end consumer credit transactions secured by real property, a creditor is required to provide a consumer with a loan estimate no later than the third business day after the creditor receives the consumer’s “application.” A creditor receives a consumer’s application once it has received six pieces of information: (1) the consumer’s name, (2) income, (3) social security number, (4) property address, (5) estimated value of the property, and (6) mortgage loan amount sought.

The CFPB has stated that Regulation Z “does not require the receipt of the six items that make up the definition of an application in a particular order” and “permits a creditor to set up systems to collect the six items . . . in the order that best suits the creditor’s needs.” Additionally, when asked during a Consumer Compliance Outlook Live webinar whether a creditor may strategically collect the six pieces of information to better control when they are required to generate a loan estimate, a CFPB representative responded that the rule “does not say that all the information must be collected at once or specify any type of ordering.” However, the same CFPB representative noted that the rule “does not endorse outright refusal of . . . information to delay completion of the application.”

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(1)(i) (“In a closed-end consumer credit transaction secured by real property or a cooperative unit, other than a reverse mortgage subject to § 1026.33, the creditor shall provide the consumer with good faith estimates of the disclosures in § 1026.37.”)

• Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.20(a) (“A refinancing occurs when an existing obligation that was subject to this subpart is satisfied and replaced by a new obligation undertaken by the same consumer. A refinancing is a new transaction requiring new disclosures to the consumer.”)

• Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(1)(iii)(A) (“The creditor shall deliver or place in the mail the disclosures required under paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section not later than the third business day after the creditor receives the consumer’s application, as defined in § 1026.2(a)(3).”)

• Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.2(a)(3)(ii) (“For transactions subject to § 1026.19(e), (f), or (g) of this part, an application consists of the submission of the consumer’s name, the consumer’s income, the consumer’s social security number to obtain a credit report, the property address, an estimate of the value of the property, and the mortgage loan amount sought.”)

• Regulation Z, Official Interpretations, Paragraph 2(a)(3), Comment 1 (“This definition does not prevent a creditor from collecting whatever additional information it deems necessary in connection with the request for the extension of credit. However, once a creditor has received these six pieces of information, it has an application for purposes of the requirements of Regulation Z.”)

• Integrated Mortgage Disclosures Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth In Lending Act (Regulation Z), 78 Fed. Reg. 79730, 79768 (December 31, 2013) (“This final rule does not require the receipt of the six items that make up the definition of an application in a particular order. The final rule permits a creditor to set up systems to collect the six items of information that make up the definition of application in the order that best suits the creditor’s needs. Thus, creditors taking applications on paper form, over the phone, or on a Web page can sequence the information requested from the consumer in any order.”)

• Integrated Mortgage Disclosures Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth In Lending Act (Regulation Z), 78 Fed. Reg. 79730, 79766 (December 31, 2013) (“The final rule permits creditors to sequence the application process to gather additional items of information, including the potential loan product a consumer is considering, which some creditors assert are needed to provide reliable estimates.”)

• Consumer Compliance Outlook Live Webinar, TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures, Part 1 — Overview of the Rule (June 17, 2014), 1:03:55 (“Does a creditor have to collect all six pieces of information at once or can they strategically collect it to better control when they’re required to generate the loan estimate? . . . Yes, the final rule only requires that creditors provide a loan estimate after the sixth piece of information has been provided. So, an obligation is triggered by receiving six pieces of information, but it does not say that all the information must be collected at once or specify any type of ordering.”)

• Consumer Compliance Outlook Live Webinar, FAQs on the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures, Part 2 — Various Topics (August 26, 2014), 13:25 (“I would note, however, that once the sixth element of an application as we’ve defined it has been submitted to the creditor, the creditor is obligated to produce the loan estimate in three business days. While the rule does provide a great deal of flexibility, it does not endorse outright refusal of that information to delay completion of the application, even where the creditor has not obtained other information that it would prefer to have or would require today beyond the six elements.”)