Written borrower request requiring a mortgage servicer to search for and provide specified servicing information.
A request for information, or RFI, is a written borrower request asking a mortgage servicer for specified information about the borrower’s mortgage loan.
A mortgage statement summarizes the account but may not show the records behind a payment posting, escrow calculation, fee, ownership question, or servicing decision. An RFI gives the borrower a formal way to ask the servicer to search for that information and respond in writing.
The procedure sits under Regulation X. A qualifying request identifies the borrower, gives enough information to identify the mortgage account, and states what information is being requested. A vague demand for “all records” is less useful than a focused request naming the document, transaction, date range, or account issue.
An RFI does not itself accuse the servicer of making a mistake. If the borrower also believes a covered servicing error occurred, the same letter can contain both an RFI and a Notice of Error. The servicer must evaluate the substance of the writing, not just the heading the borrower puts on it.
Borrowers use an RFI after closing, while the mortgage is being serviced. Common subjects include:
A payoff-balance request follows a separate response rule and does not have to be treated as an RFI. Borrowers seeking the amount required to pay the loan in full should request a Payoff Statement through the servicer’s stated process.
| Include | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Borrower name | Connects the request to the person on the account |
| Loan number or other account identifier | Lets the servicer identify the mortgage |
| Specific information requested | Defines what the servicer must search for |
| Relevant date or period | Narrows payment, escrow, or communication records |
| Current contact information | Helps the servicer deliver the acknowledgment and response |
The request should go to the address the servicer designates for information requests. That address may appear on the periodic statement, the servicer’s mortgage-account website, a transfer notice, or another servicing communication. If the servicer has established a designated address, sending the letter only to a general payment address may not activate the formal procedure.
The exact deadline depends on the information requested. The federal timeline generally works as follows:
| Servicer action | General timing |
|---|---|
| Acknowledge receipt | Within 5 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays |
| Identify the loan owner or assignee | Within 10 days on the same excluded-day basis |
| Respond to most other requests | Within 30 days on the same excluded-day basis |
| Extend many 30-day responses | Up to 15 additional days after written notice explaining the extension |
Instead of sending a separate acknowledgment, a servicer can generally satisfy the early-response path by providing the requested information and assistance contact details in writing within the five-day period. Some requests can fall outside the response duties, including certain duplicative, confidential, overbroad, or untimely requests, but the servicer generally must give written notice when it determines an exclusion applies.
| Term | What it answers |
|---|---|
| Mortgage Statement | What does the regular account summary show? |
| Request for Information | What records or account details is the borrower asking the servicer to provide? |
| Notice of Error | Is the borrower alleging a specific servicing mistake? |
| Escrow Analysis | What drove the current escrow amount or change? |
| Mortgage Servicer | Which company must respond to the request? |
| Qualified Written Request | Does the writing meet RESPA’s QWR definition and also function as an RFI, notice of error, or both? |
A borrower receives an annual escrow statement showing a large increase. The borrower sends a written RFI to the servicer’s designated address, identifies the loan number and analysis date, and asks for the tax and insurance amounts, disbursement history, and projected-balance records used in that analysis.
The request is more precise than asking why the payment went up. It identifies the records needed to compare the servicer’s calculation with the Annual Escrow Statement and actual property bills.
Request for information differs from Notice of Error because it asks for information or documents, while a notice of error asks the servicer to investigate and correct a mistake.
It also differs from Mortgage Statement. The statement is a recurring summary, while the request for information asks for a deeper record or explanation.
It also differs from Escrow Analysis. Escrow analysis is the servicer’s review process, while the request for information is the borrower’s demand to see the basis for that review.
It also differs from Qualified Written Request. A QWR is a statutory RESPA category with its own content requirements. A qualifying QWR that asks for servicing information is treated as an RFI, and one writing can also assert a notice of error.
It differs from a Payoff Statement because the payoff statement supplies the amount needed to retire the debt as of a specified date. The RFI procedure is broader, but a payoff-balance request follows its own response rule.