Short answer: under the federal Homeowners Protection Act, for a home loan on a one-family home you live in that closed on or after July 29, 1999, you can ask in writing to cancel private mortgage insurance (PMI) once your principal balance is scheduled to reach, or has actually reached, 80% of the home’s original value, if you meet the payment, value and lien conditions. If you do not ask, it must end when the balance is scheduled to reach 78%, and in any case the month after the midpoint of the loan’s term, if you are current. Unearned premiums must come back to you within 45 days. This page covers federal law only; other rules may apply where you live. It is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Which loans the law covers
The law covers a mortgage on a single-family dwelling that is your principal residence, made to buy, build or refinance it, and consummated on or after July 29, 1999 (12 U.S.C. 4901(14), (15) and (17), Cornell LII, read October 30, 2026). Private mortgage insurance here means mortgage insurance other than insurance under the National Housing Act, title 38 of the U.S. Code, or title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (4901(13)). The CFPB says loans through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have different requirements, that you should contact your servicer about mortgage insurance on those loans, and that different rules apply if your lender pays for your mortgage insurance (CFPB, last reviewed August 28, 2026, read October 30, 2026; this page may be out of date).
The CFPB says PMI protects the lender, not you, if you stop making payments, and that you can still lose your home through foreclosure if you fall behind (CFPB, last reviewed August 28, 2023; this page may be out of date). If you are behind now, see behind on mortgage payments: your options.
What “original value” means
Original value is the lower of the sales price in the contract or the appraised value when the loan closed. For a refinance of your principal residence, it is only the appraised value the lender relied on for the refinance (4901(12)). The percentages below are of that value, not of what the home is worth today.
Three ways PMI ends
| How | When | Section |
|---|---|---|
| You ask to cancel | On the date the balance is first scheduled to reach 80% of original value, or the date your actual payments bring it to 80%, or any later date you meet the conditions below | 4901(2); 4902(a) |
| Automatic termination | On the date the balance is first scheduled to reach 78% of original value, if you are current; if not, on the first day of the first month after you become current | 4901(18); 4902(b) |
| Final termination | The first day of the month after the midpoint of the amortization period, if you are current, even if the balance has not reached 78% | 4901(7); 4902(c) |
The scheduled dates come from the initial amortization schedule for a fixed rate loan, or the schedule then in effect for an adjustable rate loan, regardless of your actual balance (4901(2) and (18), Cornell LII). If you and the lender modify the loan, the dates are recalculated for the new terms (4902(d)). The CFPB says the midpoint for a 30-year loan comes after 15 years (CFPB).
The conditions when you ask
To cancel at 80%, you must (4902(a)):
- Send the servicer a written request.
- Have a good payment history: no payment 60 or more days late in the 12 months that began 24 months before your request or the cancellation date, whichever is later, and no payment 30 or more days late in the 12 months before that date (4901(4)).
- Be current on your payments.
- If the holder requires it, give evidence that the home’s value has not dropped below the original value, of a type the servicer tells you promptly after your request, and certify that there is no second lien on your equity.
The CFPB gives an appraisal as an example of that evidence, and a second mortgage as an example of a junior lien (CFPB). A home equity line counts as a lien too; see HELOC vs personal loan.
Deadlines after PMI ends
- No PMI payments may be required more than 30 days after the later of the date the servicer gets your request or the date you meet the value and lien conditions (4902(e)(1)).
- For automatic or final termination, no payments may be required more than 30 days after that date (4902(e)(2) and (3)).
- The servicer must return all unearned premiums within 45 days after PMI ends (4902(f)(1)).
- Premiums that came due before PMI ended can still be collected (4902(h)).
Higher-risk loans
The 80% and 78% rules do not apply to loans that had high risks when they closed, as set by guidelines of the two secondary-market enterprises the law names, for loans within the conforming loan limit, or by the lender for other loans. For those, PMI ends at the midpoint, and for the lender-defined group it also ends when the balance is first scheduled to reach 77% (4902(g)). The lender must tell you at closing whether this exception applies (4903(a)(1) and (2), Cornell LII).
The notices you should have
At closing on a fixed rate loan, the lender must give you a written initial amortization schedule and notice of the date you may ask to cancel, your right to ask earlier based on actual payments, and the automatic termination date (4903(a)(1)(A)). The servicer must also send a written statement each year with your rights to cancel or end PMI and an address and phone number to ask whether you can cancel (4903(a)(3)). The CFPB says the first date you can ask should appear on your PMI disclosure form, and to contact your servicer if you cannot find it (CFPB). To find the PMI premium on your loan papers, see how to read a loan disclosure.
Finding the dates on a schedule, only for the math
This example is only for the math, and all figures are example figures, not rates or prices from any lender. A home sold for $300,000.00 and appraised at $305,000.00, so the original value is the lower, $300,000.00. The loan is $270,000.00 at a fixed 6.5% for 360 monthly payments of $1,706.58 (principal and interest, rounded to the cent; balances below rounded to the dollar).
| Point | Balance target | Scheduled balance | Reached after |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80% of original value: you may ask | $240,000.00 | $240,187 after payment 94, $239,781 after payment 95 | payment 95 (7 years and 11 months) |
| 78% of original value: ends automatically | $234,000.00 | $234,305 after payment 108, $233,867 after payment 109 | payment 109 (9 years and 1 month) |
| Midpoint of the term | none | $195,911 after payment 180 | payment 180 (15 years) |
In this example the 78% date comes well before the midpoint, so the midpoint rule would matter only if the loan had, for example, an interest-only period or a balloon payment, which the CFPB names as cases where it is more likely to apply (CFPB). Extra principal payments do not move the scheduled dates, but you may ask to cancel once your actual balance reaches $240,000.00 (4901(2)(A)(ii)).
If the servicer does not act
Ask the servicer in writing which condition you have not met. To complain, use consumerfinance.gov/complaint. For your own case, ask a lawyer; you can look for legal aid through the Legal Services Corporation.
Questions to ask your servicer
- What original value and which amortization schedule do you use for my loan?
- On what date may I ask to cancel PMI, and on what date will it end automatically?
- Is my loan in the higher-risk exception?
- What kind of value evidence do you require, and who pays for it?
- When will I get back any unearned premium?
Checklist
- Find your PMI disclosure, the amortization schedule and the original value.
- At 80% (scheduled or actual), ask in writing.
- Keep a good payment history and stay current.
- Be ready to show value and certify there is no second lien.
- At 78% scheduled, or the month after the midpoint, it must end if you are current.
- Unearned premiums: back within 45 days.
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Sources
- Cornell LII: 12 U.S. Code 4901, Definitions (Homeowners Protection Act of 1998)
- Cornell LII: 12 U.S. Code 4902, Termination of private mortgage insurance (Homeowners Protection Act of 1998)
- Cornell LII: 12 U.S. Code 4903, Disclosure requirements (Homeowners Protection Act of 1998)
- CFPB: When can I remove private mortgage insurance (PMI) from my loan? (last reviewed August 28, 2026)
- CFPB: What is private mortgage insurance? (last reviewed August 28, 2023)
- CFPB: Submit a complaint
- Legal Services Corporation: Find legal aid
Disclosure: Modern Lending Solutions is not a lender, loan broker or agent for any lender or loan broker, and does not make credit decisions. Any compensation we receive is paid by participating lenders, only for advertising services. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice.