How to Remove PMI

Last updated: October 25, 2026

For eligible conventional borrower-paid PMI, scheduled automatic termination, an original-value cancellation request and a current-value request are different paths. This guide explains how to distinguish them.

Source: CFPB guidance on PMI removal, checked October 25, 2026. The federal rules described apply generally to eligible single-family principal-residence mortgages closed on or after July 29, 1999. FHA and lender-paid insurance follow different rules.

The two thresholds — and the one most people miss

For conventional loans on a primary residence, the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (HPA) sets the baseline. It gives you two separate exit points:

• Borrower-requested cancellation at 80% LTV. You reach 80% loan-to-value and make a written request. This may be the scheduled date or earlier after extra principal payments. Conditions include good payment history, current payments, no junior liens and evidence the property has not declined below original value.
• Automatic termination at 78% LTV. You do nothing. The servicer is required to end it, based on the date your amortization schedule says you will hit 78% — provided you are current on payments.

There is also a backstop: if your loan never reaches 78% on schedule, HPA requires termination at the month after the midpoint of the amortization period — after 15 years of a 30-year loan — as long as you are current. In practice this rarely matters, because almost every amortizing loan passes 78% well before the halfway mark.

The part people miss: HPA's 80% and 78% are measured against the home's original value — the lower of purchase price and the original appraisal — with automatic termination tied to the repayment schedule set at closing. Extra principal can advance an 80% original-value request. Appreciation does not count unless you go through a separate current-value route, and that route has its own conditions.

How long does PMI actually last?

The answer depends almost entirely on two numbers: how much you put down and how long your term is. The table below shows months to reach 78% LTV through scheduled payments alone, at 6.5% interest, using original home value as the fixed denominator. These are fixed examples, independent of calculator inputs.

The gap between 15 years and 30 years is the one that surprises people. On a 15-year loan at 10% down, PMI lasts about three years; on a 30-year loan with the same down payment, about nine. That is not a rounding difference — it is roughly six years of insurance payments, and it is one of the strongest arguments for a shorter term beyond the interest savings.

Extra principal and cancellation requests

Extra payments reduce outstanding principal and may let you request cancellation once the balance reaches 80% of original value. This is a borrower-initiated request with conditions, not a new automatic termination date. Confirm that your servicer applies extra payments to principal.

The PMI calculator estimates scheduled automatic termination only. It does not calculate an extra-payment or current-value cancellation scenario.

Original value and current value

Original value generally means the lower of purchase price and original appraisal; for a refinance it generally means the value at refinancing. Original-value cancellation requires a written request, good payment history, current payments, no junior liens and evidence that value has not declined.

A current-value request is separate. Appreciation or improvements may support a new valuation, but investor and servicer rules determine the required LTV, seasoning and valuation method. Ask for those requirements before paying for an appraisal. A higher home value does not change the original scheduled automatic termination date.

If your servicer refuses

Ask which cancellation route was assessed, who owns the loan, and which written guideline applies. Investor current-value requirements must not take away applicable federal original-value rights. If the explanation does not match your disclosures, contact the servicer in writing and consider the CFPB complaint process.

How to request PMI removal, step by step

1. Confirm your loan type. Conventional, conforming, primary residence. FHA, VA, and lender-paid PMI do not follow this process at all.
2. Calculate your current LTV. Get your payoff balance from the servicer and divide it by the appropriate value — original if you are using the scheduled route, current estimate if you are considering an appraisal.
3. Check current-value requirements. Ask your servicer which seasoning, valuation and LTV requirements apply to your loan before ordering an appraisal.
4. Review your payment history. Late payments in the recent window are the most common legitimate reason for denial.
5. Submit a written request. Use the servicer's designated channel — a phone call is not a request. Keep a dated copy.
6. Ask for the citation if denied. Request the specific investor guideline in writing. This is the step most people skip, and it is the one most likely to change the answer.
7. Escalate if needed. A complaint through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requires a written response on a defined timeline. It feels heavy-handed for a $60 line item, but it is often the only thing that produces a real answer instead of a call-center script. Also check your annual PMI notices — HPA requires specific disclosures, and a missing one is a genuine violation.

Can you get back the PMI you already paid?

No — and it is worth internalizing this before you send a large lump sum to principal.

Premiums already paid are earned premiums. They covered a period when your loan genuinely was in a higher-risk position, and there is no retroactive refund when you prepay or cross the threshold. A borrower who puts $250,000 toward principal does not get back the premiums from the months before that payment.

What you are entitled to is any unearned premium: if you prepaid past the termination date, that amount must be refunded, generally within 45 days of termination. In practice this is a month or two of premium, not your payment history.

FHA loans follow different rules entirely

The duration rules below concern FHA case numbers assigned on or after June 3, 2013. See HUD Mortgagee Letter 2013-04 (2013). Older loans can follow different cancellation rules.

FHA mortgage insurance has no cancellation threshold tied to LTV. There is no 80% request and no 78% automatic stop. Duration is set at origination by your down payment:

• Less than 10% down: annual MIP lasts for the life of the loan. The only exit is refinancing out of FHA.
• 10% down or more: annual MIP lasts 11 years.

This is the trap in the "FHA is cheaper because the down payment is only 3.5%" comparison. The lower entry cost is real, but the insurance does not behave like conventional PMI — it does not stop when you build equity, and on a long hold it can cost tens of thousands more. Price both before assuming the smaller down payment is the better deal. The down payment vs investing calculator models that trade-off directly.

Lender-paid PMI cannot be removed at all

With lender-paid mortgage insurance, there is no separate PMI line on your statement. Instead the insurance is priced into a slightly higher interest rate.

The consequence: there is nothing to cancel. You will pay that higher rate until you sell or refinance, regardless of how much equity you build. LPMI can be the right choice if you expect to move or refinance within a few years, or if you are in a high tax bracket and prefer the deductibility profile. For a long hold, borrower-paid PMI usually wins because it eventually stops.

Refinancing to escape PMI — when the math works

Refinancing ends PMI by replacing the loan. But it replaces it with closing costs, and it replaces your old rate with whatever is available today — which may be higher.

The test is simple: divide the closing costs by the monthly saving (PMI eliminated plus any rate improvement, minus any rate increase). If you are eight months from automatic termination and pay $60 a month, refinancing to save $480 is almost never worth several thousand in closing costs. If you are five years out on a large premium, or you can also drop your rate meaningfully, it often is.

Run the specific numbers with the refinance break-even calculator before contacting a lender. And remember that "no closing cost" refinances are not free — the cost is usually folded into a higher rate.

PMI termination and cancellation rules checked: October 25, 2026 · Guidelines vary by investor and servicer — always request the specific citation for your loan.