Fannie Mae Issues Guidance on Address Confidentiality Programs

August 23, 2022

For years, the title industry has taken efforts to protect Social Security numbers and other personal information of individuals involved in real estate transactions. Recent redaction measures are intended to shield the location and other personal information of individuals with recognized safety concerns from being accessible through documents contained in public records. While there is a need to shield protected classes with recognized privacy concerns, this must be addressed in a way that does not hinder the ability to complete transactions in a timely fashion.

In July, Fannie Mae updated its Seller Guide to include a requirement that sellers and servicers must comply with all applicable statutes in states that offer an Address Confidentiality Program, also called Safe at Home laws. Freddie Mac issued a similar announcement in December 2021 (Bulletin 2021-29).

For a loan in which a borrower is enrolled in a state Address Confidentiality Program, the seller/servicer must:

  • include both a property address and separate mailing address at loan delivery
  • report Special Feature Code (SFC) 877
  • for a loan that it services, complete the post-purchase adjustment process within five days of receiving notification that a borrower has enrolled in, or has unenrolled in, one of these programs
  • provide notice of program enrollment and the borrower mailing address to any transferee servicer upon the transfer of servicing rights.

Sellers/servicers are encouraged to implement these policy changes immediately but must comply by Sept. 1, 2022. Currently, the post-purchase adjustment process for purposes of Address Confidentiality Programs only allows for the addition of the SFC. Until a future update occurs enabling the seller/servicer to include the legal substitute mailing address, you will be contacted by Fannie Mae to obtain the substitute mailing address upon initiating the post-purchase adjustment process.

The Servicing Guide was updated July 13 to reflect the servicing transfer requirements.

ALTA and the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) published several documents to aid members facing redaction legislation statutes in their states.


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or [email protected].