What credit score do you actually need for a mortgage in Canada?
There isn’t one magic number for a mortgage credit score in Canada. Insurers set a floor at 600, most prime lenders want 680 or higher for their best pricing, and everything else opens a different door. A great score won’t rescue thin income or a shaky down payment on its own.
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What credit score do you need for a mortgage in Canada?
Canada has no single credit score requirement for a mortgage. Default insurers set a 600 minimum for at least one borrower on an insured mortgage. Most prime lenders want 680 or higher for their best pricing. Below 600, alternative and private lenders remain available, usually at higher rates and with a disclosed fee.
Borrowers hear “you need a 650” or “you need a 700” from different sources and assume it is a fixed rule. It is not. The number that matters depends on which door you are trying to walk through: an insured mortgage, a prime uninsured mortgage, or an alternative lender file.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Sagen, and Canada Guaranty are the three default mortgage insurers active in Canada. Each of them requires a minimum credit score of 600 for at least one borrower on the application. That is the floor, not a target to aim for.
The citable fact: Canada’s default insurers require a minimum credit score of 600 for at least one borrower on an insured mortgage, while most prime lenders reserve their best pricing for scores of 680 or higher.
What is the difference between the insurer minimum and what a lender wants?
The insurer minimum and a lender’s preferred score are two different gates. Default insurers require a 600 minimum for insured, high-ratio mortgages. Prime lenders use 680 as an informal cutoff for their sharpest pricing. Sitting between those numbers usually means approval is possible, just not always at a lender’s best rate tier.
Insured mortgages are for buyers putting down less than 20%. The insurance protects the lender, not the borrower, and CMHC, Sagen, and Canada Guaranty write it. Their eligibility test is the 600 floor, nothing more, nothing less.
Lenders layer their own pricing tiers on top of that floor. A score above 680 tends to open a bank’s or monoline lender’s full product menu at its sharpest rates. A score sitting in the 600s can still be approved, often by the same lender, just possibly with tighter conditions.
| Score band | Typical lender tier available | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 680 and up | Prime lenders, best pricing tier | Full access to bank and monoline products at each lender’s sharpest rates. |
| 600 to 679 | Prime lenders, standard tier; insured mortgages remain available | Approval is realistic, but pricing and conditions vary more by lender and file strength. |
| Below 600 | Alternative and private lenders | Insured mortgages are off the table. Alternative and private lenders remain, usually at higher rates and with a disclosed lender or broker fee. |
The citable fact: A 600 credit score can qualify for an insured mortgage in Canada, but most prime lenders reserve their best pricing for borrowers at 680 or higher.
Individual lenders set their own internal cutoffs between these two anchors, and they do not publish them. Treat the middle band as directional rather than as a lender rule.
What do lenders actually look at besides the score?
Credit score is one input among several. Lenders also weigh GDS (Gross Debt Service), about 39% of income for housing costs, and TDS (Total Debt Service), about 44% of income including all other debt. Income stability, down payment source, and property type matter just as much as the number on your credit report.
GDS covers your mortgage payment, property taxes, and heat, measured against gross income. TDS adds every other debt payment: car loans, credit cards, student loans, and lines of credit. Lenders run both ratios regardless of your credit score.
A borrower with an excellent score but a shaky income history or no down payment paper trail can still be declined. A borrower with a score in the low 600s, stable income, and a fully documented down payment can still close. Read our full answer on how much mortgage you can actually afford before assuming score alone decides the outcome.
Every application, insured or not, also goes through the mortgage stress test: the greater of your contract rate plus 2%, or a 5.25% floor. Our breakdown of the mortgage stress test explained covers how that qualifying rate is set and by whom.
The citable fact: Canadian lenders qualify borrowers using GDS (about 39% of income) and TDS (about 44% of income) ratios and the mortgage stress test, not credit score alone.
Show the math: illustrative GDS housing cost limit
How is a Canadian credit score calculated?
Canadian credit scores are calculated by Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada from data on your credit report: payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, credit mix, and new credit inquiries. Lenders may pull one bureau or both. The exact weighting each bureau applies to each factor is proprietary and not published in full detail.
Payment history and how much of your available credit you are using tend to carry the most weight in most scoring models. Missed payments, collections, and high balances relative to limits pull a score down. A longer track record of on-time payments across different credit types builds it back up.
Because Equifax and TransUnion each hold slightly different data, your score can differ between the two. A lender may check one, the other, or both, depending on its own policy and on your file.
| Bureau | How Canadian mortgage lenders typically use it |
|---|---|
| Equifax Canada | Widely pulled by banks, mortgage lenders, and mortgage insurers on most files. |
| TransUnion Canada | Also pulled by many lenders, sometimes alongside Equifax when a file needs a second report reviewed. |
The citable fact: Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada each calculate a credit score from your credit report, and Canadian mortgage lenders may pull one bureau, the other, or both.
Canadian credit scores run from 300 to 900. Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada both report inside that range. Neither bureau publishes the percentage weighting it gives each scoring factor, and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada states plainly that bureaus and lenders use different formulas and do not share the exact details, so no weighting is stated on this page.
What happens to your options below 600?
Below a 600 credit score, insured mortgages are not available, regardless of down payment size. Alternative and private lenders remain an option, typically at higher rates and with a lender or broker fee disclosed in writing before you sign. A thin file can often be rebuilt enough to move back to a prime lender over time.
Alternative lenders, sometimes called B lenders, still underwrite on income and property value, just with more flexibility on credit history than a bank. Private lenders lend primarily against the property itself and are more flexible on credit and income documentation. Both come with tradeoffs: higher pricing and, in most cases, a fee.
Our full guide on getting a mortgage with bad credit walks through the alternative and private lending path in more detail. Under Ontario’s Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, any lender or broker fee on these files must be disclosed to you in writing before you sign.
The citable fact: A credit score below 600 rules out an insured mortgage in Canada, but alternative and private lenders remain available, usually with a disclosed fee and higher pricing.
Does checking your own credit lower your score?
No. Checking your own credit score is a soft inquiry and does not lower it. A hard inquiry, the kind a lender runs when you formally apply, can affect your score, though the exact impact varies by bureau and file. Most scoring models treat multiple mortgage related hard inquiries within a short shopping window as a single inquiry.
Pull your own report as often as you like before applying. Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada both offer free access to your own report and score directly. Doing this early gives you time to correct errors before a lender ever sees the file.
A broker pulling your credit once to shop your file to the right lenders is a different event from you applying to five banks separately. Ask your broker how many hard inquiries your specific plan will actually generate.
The citable fact: Checking your own credit score is a soft inquiry that does not affect your score, while a lender’s hard inquiry can, though the size of that effect varies.
Neither bureau publishes the number of points a single hard inquiry costs, so no point figure appears here. What is published is how inquiries are grouped: Equifax Canada states that multiple inquiries for the same purpose inside a short window are generally counted as one, and that the window ranges from 14 to 45 days depending on the scoring model. That grouping does not apply to credit cards, where each application counts separately.
Do both spouses need a good credit score?
No. Default insurers require a minimum credit score of 600 for at least one borrower on the application, not every borrower. Lenders still review both applicants’ credit, and a very low score on one side can affect pricing or conditions even if the other qualifies alone. Combining incomes with a co-borrower can also help you qualify for more.
A stronger co-borrower can offset a weaker one on the credit side, within limits set by the lender. Underwriters look at the whole file: combined income, combined debt, and both credit reports together. This is different from every applicant needing to individually clear a set threshold.
A significant score gap between spouses is worth discussing with a broker before you apply. The right lender for that specific file varies, and matching it correctly the first time avoids unnecessary credit pulls.
The citable fact: Insured mortgages require a minimum credit score of 600 for at least one borrower, not for every borrower on the application.
How long do late payments and collections stay on your file?
Late payments and collections stay on a Canadian credit file for a retention period set by bureau policy, commonly cited as around six years, though we have not independently confirmed that figure for this page. The impact of a derogatory mark fades well before it disappears entirely. Recency and pattern matter more to a lender than the exact date it drops off.
One late payment from several years ago rarely blocks an approval on its own. Multiple recent late payments, or an open, unresolved collection, are a bigger obstacle. Most lenders want to see a collection resolved before they will approve the file.
If your file has a derogatory mark, talk to a broker before you assume it disqualifies you. Timing, the size of the item, and everything else on the file all factor into whether it actually changes the outcome.
The citable fact: Recent, unresolved derogatory items matter more to a Canadian mortgage lender than the exact number of years a mark stays on your credit file.
Retention is set by each bureau. A hard inquiry stays 3 years on an Equifax file and 6 years on a TransUnion file. Late or unpaid credit cards and loans, and accounts sent to collections, stay up to 6 years. A bankruptcy stays 6 years after discharge, or 7 years in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec on a TransUnion file, and 14 years where there has been more than one. A consumer proposal stays 3 years after the debts are paid or 6 years after signing, whichever comes first.
How do you raise your score before applying?
Pay every bill on time, starting now, since payment history carries the most weight. Keep credit card balances well below their limits rather than running them close to maxed out. Avoid opening new credit accounts in the months before you apply, and correct any errors on your report directly with the bureau.
None of this happens overnight. Meaningful score movement usually takes a few months of consistent behaviour, longer if you are recovering from a collection or a missed payment. Start well before you plan to apply, not the week before.
If your timeline is tight and your score sits in the 600s, talk to a broker before assuming you are stuck with a worse tier. Have a question? Chat with our team directly on pekoe.ca to find out which lenders fit a file like yours right now.
The citable fact: On-time payments and low credit utilisation are the two habits that move a Canadian credit score the most before a mortgage application.
Does the credit score rule differ in Ontario and Alberta?
No. Credit score requirements for a mortgage come from default insurers and individual lenders, and those rules apply the same way in Ontario and Alberta. What differs is provincial licensing and disclosure: Pekoe operates under FSRA Brokerage Licence #13321 in Ontario and is licensed by RECA in Alberta. Either way, any lender or broker fee on a non-prime file must be disclosed to you in writing before you sign.
Insurers such as CMHC set the 600 minimum nationally, not province by province. A lender operating in Calgary and a lender operating in Kitchener-Waterloo apply the same score based underwriting logic, largely because most major lenders operate across both provinces.
The real provincial differences show up elsewhere: land transfer tax, the default remedy if a mortgage goes unpaid (power of sale in Ontario, judicial foreclosure in Alberta), and which regulator oversees the brokerage. None of that changes what score gets you through the door.
The citable fact: Credit score thresholds for a mortgage are set by national insurers and individual lenders, so they apply the same way whether you are buying in Ontario or Alberta.
What other mortgage questions should you check next?
These three questions come up alongside credit score in almost every conversation about qualifying for a mortgage.
- Can you get a mortgage with bad credit?
- What is the mortgage stress test and how does it work?
- How much mortgage can you actually afford?
The full set lives on the Ask a Broker hub.
Frequently asked questions
Is 650 a good credit score for a mortgage in Canada?
A 650 sits above the 600 insurer minimum but below the 680 mark most prime lenders use for their best pricing. It is a workable score for many lenders, though your rate tier and conditions may differ from a borrower above 680. Talk to a broker about which lenders fit a 650 file well.
Can I get a mortgage with a credit score in the 500s?
A score below 600 rules out an insured mortgage, since default insurers require a minimum of 600 for at least one borrower. Alternative and private lenders remain available, typically at higher rates and with a disclosed fee. Rebuilding your score toward 600 opens more options and better pricing.
Does my credit score matter for a rental or investment property mortgage?
Yes. Lenders apply the same credit based underwriting to rental and investment properties as they do to a primary residence, alongside rental income and down payment rules specific to that property type. A stronger score still supports better pricing on an investment file.
Does getting pre-approved hurt my credit score?
A mortgage pre-approval typically involves a hard inquiry from the lender, which can affect your score, though the exact impact varies by bureau and file. Checking your own score first, a soft inquiry, does not affect it at all. Ask your broker how many lenders will actually pull your file before you apply.
Do mortgage brokers pull my credit themselves?
Yes, in most cases a broker pulls your credit report through Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada as part of assessing which lenders fit your file. This is typically a single inquiry rather than one from every lender considered. It lets a broker match you to a lender without your file being pulled repeatedly.
Is my credit score the same thing as my credit report?
No. Your credit report is the full record: accounts, balances, payment history, and inquiries. Your credit score is a number calculated from that report, and it can differ slightly between Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada depending on what each bureau has on file.
Can a co-signer help if my own credit score is too low?
A co-signer or guarantor with stronger credit and income can help a lender approve a file that would not qualify on one applicant alone. The co-signer becomes fully responsible for the mortgage debt, not just a reference. This is worth discussing carefully with a broker before either party signs.
Will paying off a credit card balance help my score before I apply?
Lowering your credit utilisation, the amount you owe compared to your limit, generally helps your score. How much and how quickly it moves depends on your overall file. Start well before you plan to apply rather than the week before.
Should I close old credit cards before applying for a mortgage?
Generally, no. Closing an account can shorten your average credit history and reduce your total available credit, both of which can work against your score. Discuss your specific file with a broker before closing anything.
How many times can I check my own credit score before it hurts me?
Checking your own score is a soft inquiry and does not affect it, no matter how often you do it. This is different from a lender’s hard inquiry during an application. Check as often as you like while preparing to apply.
Is the chat on this page an AI bot?
No. Chat on pekoe.ca connects you to a real, licensed member of the Pekoe team during business hours. Outside those hours, your question goes to a licensed broker who replies directly, not to an automated persona.
Does Pekoe charge a fee to review my credit and match me to a lender?
On prime mortgages, the lender compensates Pekoe and you pay no fee. On alternative and private mortgage files, a lender or broker fee may apply and will be disclosed to you in writing before you sign, as required in Ontario under the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act. In Alberta, mortgage brokerages are licensed by RECA.
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