Credit score questions come up more than almost anything else in VA lending, and the honest answer surprises a lot of veterans: the VA does not set a minimum credit score at all.
The VA sets no floor — lenders do
VA guidelines leave the credit-score decision to the individual lender. What you'll actually run into are lender overlays — a bank or mortgage company's own internal risk policy layered on top of the VA's rules. In practice, those overlays commonly land:
- 580 at the most flexible VA lender partners
- 620 at many conventional-style overlays
There is real variation between lenders, which is exactly why shopping more than one VA lender matters — a veteran turned down at 600 by one lender may be approved at the same score by another.
Why lenders set overlays at all
Even though the VA guarantees a portion of the loan, the lender still carries risk on the rest of the balance and has to be able to sell the loan on the secondary market. Overlays reflect each lender's own risk appetite and investor requirements — not a VA rule you're bound by everywhere you apply.
What matters alongside the score
VA underwriting doesn't stop at a credit score. It weighs:
- Residual income — the VA's own signature test measuring what's left over each month after the mortgage, debts, taxes, insurance, and living costs. See our residual income guide for the regional tables.
- Two years of employment history, documented by an LES for active-duty income.
- Compensating factors — things like low DTI relative to residual income, or a strong payment history on rent or other obligations.
Recovering from bankruptcy or foreclosure
- Chapter 7 bankruptcy: seasoning is typically 2 years from discharge.
- Chapter 13 bankruptcy: may qualify after 12 months of on-time plan payments, with trustee approval.
- Foreclosure or short sale: typically 2 years.
These are seasoning guidelines a lender will apply on top of its own credit-score overlay — a veteran two years removed from a Chapter 7 discharge with a rebuilt credit profile is a very different file than one still inside that window.
The practical takeaway
Don't let a single lender's credit-score quote define what's possible. Because the VA sets no minimum, and because underwriting weighs residual income and compensating factors alongside the score, it pays to get pre-qualified with more than one VA lender partner before assuming you don't qualify.
Sources: VA Lenders Handbook M26-7; va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/.