A lender can revise the fees on your Loan Estimate only for specific reasons listed in federal rules, and only for the charges actually affected. The main reasons are a changed circumstance that affects settlement charges or your eligibility, a change you asked for, locking or relocking the rate, and a few others. The lender generally has to send the revised Loan Estimate within three business days of learning about the change (12 CFR 1026.19(e)(3)(iv) and (e)(4)). A revision is not a free reset of every fee.
The Loan Estimate is a good faith estimate. Regulation Z sets tolerances: some fees cannot increase at all, some can increase together by up to 10 percent, and some can change freely. See which fees can change. A valid revision lets the lender compare final costs to the revised figure instead of the original, but only for the fees the event changed.
The revision resets the affected charges only. A rate lock revises the rate and the points or credits. It does not, by itself, justify a higher appraisal fee. A lower appraised value can change the loan amount, the mortgage insurance and the cash to close, but it does not explain a higher origination charge with no new service. If the lender misses the timing, it may not be allowed to use the higher number. A mistake on the original estimate is not a changed circumstance.
Once the Closing Disclosure is out, revisions are made on a corrected Closing Disclosure. Three changes restart the three business day wait before closing: the APR becomes inaccurate beyond the allowed tolerance, the loan product changes, or a prepayment penalty is added. Other changes need a corrected disclosure at or before closing but no new wait.
Fictional example: a buyer in Arlington applies with a planned loan amount. The appraisal comes in below the contract price, so the buyer renegotiates and the loan amount drops. The lender sends a revised Loan Estimate two business days later showing the new amount, the new mortgage insurance and the new cash to close. That is a valid changed circumstance. If the same revised estimate also raised the underwriting fee with no new service, the buyer should ask which event changed that line.
Keep every version of your Loan Estimate. Comparing them line by line is the fastest way to see what moved.
If you received a revised Loan Estimate and want a second set of eyes on what changed and why, send it over. Book a call, or start an application.
Links checked Oct 21, 2026.
About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.
Equal Housing Opportunity.
Last reviewed: Oct 2026