Ginnie Mae requires its Issuers to meet the following minimum criteria:

• Issuers must be approved FHA mortgagees in good standing. A mortgagee approved only as an FHA loan correspondent is not eligible to be a Ginnie Mae Issuer.

• Issuers must possess demonstrated experience and management capacity in the underwriting, origination, and servicing of mortgage loans. Issuers may utilize a Ginnie Mae approved sub-servicer; however, the Issuer must have an individual on its staff to oversee the sub-servicer’s performance. This individual must possess at least three years of broad servicing experience.

• Issuers must have fidelity bond and a "mortgagee errors and omissions" policy in effect.

• Issuers must have a quality control plan in place for underwriting, originating, and servicing mortgage loans as well as for secondary marketing.

Net Worth Requirement:  For the Single-Family Program, Issuers must have a minimum net worth of $2,500,000. For the HMBS programs, Issuers must have a minimum net worth of $5,000,000. For the multifamily program, Issuers must have a minimum net worth of $1,000,000. For the manufactured housing program, Issuers must have a minimum net worth of $10,000,000.

Liquidity Requirement:  For the Single-Family, Multifamily, and HMBS programs, Issuers must also have liquid assets totaling 20% of its Ginnie Mae net worth requirement.​

Institution-wide Capital Requirement:  Depository institutions must meet the regulatory definition of well-capitalized. Non-depository institutions, including credit unions, must hold equity capital of 6% of the institutions total assets.

*Each Issuer applicant is evaluated on an individual basis and approval is granted at Ginnie Mae’s sole discretion. Therefore, approval is not guaranteed by simply meeting our minimum eligibility requirements. See Chapter 2 of the Ginnie Mae MBS Guide.

Beginning September 1, 2014, applicants will be required to file applications for Ginnie Mae Issuer approval electronically via Ginnie Mae's new Application Connection portal, which can be accessed here: New Issuer Application.  All applicants will need to submit the information listed in the Ginnie Mae Issuer Application Checklist. Once an applicant has registered on Application Connection, the applicant will have thirty days to complete the application. 

Ginnie Mae also strongly encourages applicants to complete the following two courses through Ginnie Mae Online University: “Ginnie Mae 101” and “Applying to Ginnie Mae” before starting an application for Ginnie Mae MBS Issuer approval. Ginnie Mae's Online University is accessible from Ginnie Mae's website and provides free access to training about Ginnie Mae, the role and responsibilities of a Ginnie Mae Issuer, and how to apply for Ginnie Mae approval.

Please note that Ginnie Mae has revised its minimum net worth requirements for applicants who wish to participate in multiple Ginnie Mae program types (single-family, multifamily, home equity conversion mortgages (HMBS), and/or Title I manufactured home loan-backed securities). Ginnie Mae has revised Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 7 of the Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities Guide 5500.3, Rev.1 (MBS Guide) to address the new application process and eligibility requirements. Please direct any questions you may have about the application and Issuer eligibility for approval to Ginnie Mae's application hotline at (202) 475-7826.

Issuer Application Resources

• Ginnie Mae Issuer Application Checklist
• Ginnie Mae MBS Guide

Issuer Application Courses

• Ginnie Mae 101
• Applying to Ginnie Mae

Issuer responsibilities include the following:

• Acquiring or originating eligible mortgages and forming eligible pools or loan packages.

• Establishing and maintaining proper P&I, escrow custodial, and other pertinent accounts, payments, and funds. Chapter 16 of the Ginnie Mae MBS Guide contains details about the various accounts.

• Obtaining and working with an eligible document custodian. Chapter 13 of the Ginnie Mae MBS Guide contains information about the documents that must be placed with a document custodian.

• Marketing or holding the securities backed by the pool or loan package.

• Servicing the mortgages in the pool or loan package or contracting with a service bureau to service them.

• Administering the outstanding securities:

• Ginnie Mae I MBS Program - For certificated securities, the Issuer must make timely payment of all amounts due to security holders and the guaranty fee due to Ginnie Mae. For book-entry securities, the Issuer must make funds available to the Central Payment and Transfer Agent central P&I account for all amounts due to the security holders and the guaranty fee due to Ginnie Mae.

• Ginnie Mae II MBS Program - The Issuer must make funds available to the Central Payment and Transfer Agent in the central P&I account for all amounts due to security holders and the guaranty fee due to Ginnie Mae.

• Under both programs, the Issuer must use its own resources to cover shortfalls in amounts due to security holders or to Ginnie Mae resulting from insufficient collections on the mortgage collateral.

• Submitting required monthly, quarterly, and other reports and certifications to Ginnie Mae. See Chapter 17 of the Ginnie Mae MBS Guide for more information about the reports and certifications.