Short, dated notes on reverse mortgages (HECMs) — policy, program, and local items as they land, each with a primary source. This is a bulletin, not advice. For anything specific, the linked source controls.
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HUD-approved counseling is still required before a HECM application
Before anyone can apply for a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), they must complete counseling with a HUD-approved reverse mortgage counseling agency. The counselor is independent from the lender and walks through the loan, its costs, the ongoing obligations, and the alternatives.
Nothing about that requirement has changed. For a referral partner, it means the first step you can offer a client is not a product pitch — it is pointing them toward independent counseling and a real conversation about whether a HECM fits at all.
Source: CFPB -
The controlling HECM policy is FHA Handbook 4000.1, Update 17
The rules for a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) come from the FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1. The current edition is Update 17, revised November 26, 2025. When something on this site and the Handbook disagree, the Handbook controls.
For borrowers and referral partners, the practical point is simple: HECM eligibility, costs, and obligations are set by federal FHA policy, not by any one lender. If you want to confirm a specific rule, the source above is the primary document.
Source: HUD