# Mortgage servicer

> A mortgage servicer collects your payments, runs your escrow account and handles loan problems. How it differs from the lender, and what a transfer means.

URL: https://mortgage-math-us.com/glossary/mortgage-servicer/  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-29 · By the MortgageMath US Editorial team

## Quick answer

**A mortgage servicer** is the company that sends your statements, collects your payments, manages any [escrow account](https://mortgage-math-us.com/glossary/escrow-account/) for taxes and insurance, and handles requests for help if you fall behind. It is often not the lender that made the loan, or the investor that owns it.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value | Source | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer notices: before (old servicer) and after (new servicer), within | 15 days | [CFPB, Regulation X 1024.33](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1024/33/) | Oct 29, 2026 |
| Payments sent to the old servicer protected from late fees for | 60 days | [CFPB, Regulation X 1024.33](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1024/33/) | Oct 29, 2026 |
| No foreclosure filing until more than this delinquent | 120 days | [12 CFR 1024.41(f)(1) (Regulation X)](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1024/41/) | Oct 28, 2026 |
| Most an escrow cushion may hold | 2 months | [CFPB, Regulation X 1024.17](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1024/17/) | Oct 28, 2026 |

## When servicing changes hands

Servicing rights are bought and sold, but a transfer can’t change the terms of your loan. The old servicer generally must notify you at least 15 days before the transfer and the new one within 15 days after (the two notices can be combined). For 60 days after the transfer, a payment sent on time to the old servicer can’t be treated as late or charged a late fee. Keep the notices and check that your escrow balance moved over.

## Rules servicers follow

Regulation X sets the main ones. An escrow account’s cushion can’t exceed 2 months of payments. A servicer generally can’t make the first foreclosure notice or filing until your loan is more than 120 days delinquent, and it must evaluate a complete, timely application for help such as [forbearance](https://mortgage-math-us.com/glossary/forbearance/) or a [loan modification](https://mortgage-math-us.com/glossary/loan-modification/). You can send a written notice of error or request for information, and the servicer must respond within set deadlines. It’s also the servicer you ask to cancel PMI — see the [PMI guide](https://mortgage-math-us.com/buying/pmi/) — and to whom you send extra principal, as in [biweekly payments](https://mortgage-math-us.com/blog/biweekly-mortgage-payments/).

## Sources

- [CFPB, Regulation X 1024.33](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1024/33/) — Servicing transfer notice: old servicer at least this long before the transfer, new servicer within this long after; After a servicing transfer, an on-time payment sent to the old servicer cannot be treated as late for (Oct 29, 2026)
- [CFPB, Regulation X 1024.17](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1024/17/) — Most an escrow account may hold as a cushion (one-sixth of annual escrow payments) (Oct 28, 2026)
- [12 CFR 1024.41(f)(1) (Regulation X)](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1024/41/) — Servicer cannot make the first foreclosure notice or filing until a closed-end mortgage is more than this delinquent (Oct 28, 2026)
- [CFPB: What’s the difference between a mortgage lender and a mortgage servicer?](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/whats-the-difference-between-a-mortgage-lender-and-a-mortgage-servicer-en-198/)
- [CFPB: What happens if the company that I send my mortgage payments to changes?](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-happens-if-the-company-that-i-send-my-mortgage-payments-to-changes-en-215/)

_General information, not financial advice._