A physician home loan is a mortgage built for doctors and other licensed medical professionals that allows up to 100% financing with no mortgage insurance. Loan amounts run to $2 million. Credit score minimums start at 680, and 100% financing at the full $2 million requires a 720. Residents, fellows, and interns qualify. So do dentists, pharmacists, veterinarians, podiatrists, and certain nurse anesthetists. The program covers primary residences only, on purchases and rate-and-term refinances. If you are buying before your new job starts, an executed employment contract can be used as your qualifying income.
Most articles about physician loans are written by banks describing their own product. This page describes the actual guideline rules, including the ones that will disqualify you.
Every file is different. Your degree, your start date, your student loan status, and how much you plan to put down all change the answer. Send the file and we will tell you what it actually qualifies for.
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What Is a Physician Home Loan?
A physician home loan is a portfolio mortgage that treats medical professionals differently from every other borrower. Conventional financing above 80% of the home’s value requires mortgage insurance. This program does not. It allows financing up to 100% of the purchase price with no mortgage insurance at any level.
The second difference is how income is counted. A doctor who signed an employment contract three months ago but has not started work yet has no pay stubs. Standard guidelines struggle with that. This program accepts a fully executed contract or offer letter as the income source, as long as the start date falls within 150 days of the note date.
The third difference is student debt. Residents and fellows carrying six figures of medical school debt can have those payments excluded from the debt ratio entirely under specific conditions.
Physician Home Loan Core Facts
No mortgage insurance at any loan-to-value
Mortgage insurance is not required on this program. Not at 95%. Not at 100%. That removes a monthly cost that conventional financing would charge on the same file.
Loan amounts to $2 million
Maximum loan amount is $2 million. Minimum is $100,000 on fixed-rate terms and $350,000 on adjustable-rate terms.
The entire down payment can be gifted
If you are not using 100% financing, the full down payment may come from a gift. Gifts from parties with an interest in the sale are not allowed unless the gift is a gift of equity. As of the August 2026 guideline update, gift funds may not be used to pay off debt on this program. Paying down a car loan or a credit card to fix your debt ratio has to come from your own funds here, even though other loan types allow a gift or a seller to do it.
Residents, fellows, and interns are eligible
You do not need to be an attending. Medical residents, fellows, and interns holding one of the qualifying degrees are eligible borrowers on the same program.
Fixed and adjustable terms
15, 20, 25, and 30-year fixed are available, along with 5/6, 7/6, and 10/6 SOFR adjustable-rate options. There is no prepayment penalty on any term.
A real underwriter reads the file
This program is not run through an automated approval engine. A person reads your employment contract, your degree, and your credit. That matters when your file has something in it that a computer would not know what to do with.
How the Physician Home Loan Works
Confirm the degree
At least one borrower whose income is used to qualify must hold a qualifying medical degree and be in active practice, residency, fellowship, or an internship. This is the first gate, and it is not flexible.
Document the income
If you are already working, standard pay stubs and W-2s apply. If you start soon, a fully executed employment contract or offer letter covers it, provided the start date is no more than 150 days after the note date and compensation is stated for at least a 12-month period.
Settle the student loans
If you are in or entering residency or a clinical fellowship and you qualify on that residency income, deferred, forbearance, and $0 income-based payments can be excluded from the debt ratio. Outside those conditions, a payment must be counted.
Set the structure
Loan amount, down payment, and credit score decide which tier of the program you land in. The tiers are not interchangeable, and the down payment you had in mind may move you into or out of eligibility entirely.
Underwrite and close
A full appraisal is required on every file. Appraisal waivers are not permitted. Loans above $2 million require two full appraisals.
Physician Home Loan Requirements
The rule most people miss: minimum financing on this program is 90.01%. There is no version of this loan at 80% or 85%. If you are planning to put 20% down, this is not your program, and that is a good problem to have — it usually means a different structure serves you better.
The 15-year fixed and all adjustable-rate terms cap the debt ratio at 45% regardless of which tier you fall into. Non-permanent resident aliens are capped at 95% financing.
Credit requirements
Credit history must cover at least 24 months with a minimum of one active trade line. Non-traditional trade lines are acceptable. Mortgage and rental payment history must be clean for the last 12 months. Bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sale, deed in lieu, and notice of default all require four years of seasoning, and multiple derogatory events are not allowed unless they are more than ten years old.
Medical collections are treated differently from other collections. They may remain outstanding if the total is under $10,000. Tax liens, judgments, charge-offs, and past-due accounts must be cleared before or at closing.
Reserve requirements
At 95% financing or below, loans up to $1.5 million require no reserves. Between $1.5 million and $2 million, three months are required. Above 95% financing, those numbers move to three months and six months respectively.
If you are qualifying on a future start date, add one month of full housing payment reserves for every month between closing and the day you start work. That is on top of the base requirement, and it is the number that surprises people.
Who Qualifies
At least one borrower whose income is used to qualify must hold one of these credentials:
U.S. citizens, permanent resident aliens, and non-permanent resident aliens are all eligible. A valid Social Security number is required in every case. Permanent resident aliens must show 24 months of U.S. employment.
The nurse anesthetist rule is narrower than it looks. A CRNA qualifies only when holding a DNAP or DNP. A CRNA whose highest credential is a master’s degree does not meet the requirement. Nurse practitioners work the opposite way. PRMG added NPs as an eligible profession on August 20, 2026, and an NP qualifies with either an MSN or a DNP, so a master’s degree does count there. Two nursing credentials, two different rules, and the distinction decides the file. Read the full breakdown on which medical professions qualify for a physician loan. Full detail for nurse practitioners: nurse practitioner home loans.
What This Loan Will Not Do
This is the section most physician loan pages leave out. The restrictions below are hard guideline limits, not preferences.
Geographically, properties in New York are not eligible. Texas allows purchases only — no rate-and-term refinance, no cash-out. Hawaii lava zones 1 and 2 are excluded. We are lending in 49 states. New York excluded.
If one of those restrictions just knocked you out, there is almost always another structure that works. That is the part a rate sheet cannot tell you.
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Physician Loan vs Conventional Loan
The full side-by-side is on physician loan vs conventional loan. If you have VA eligibility, run physician loan vs VA loan before you decide — the answer is not automatic.
Misunderstood Rules
Myth: a bigger down payment always helps.
Reality: on this program it can disqualify you. Minimum financing is 90.01%. Put 20% down and the file no longer fits the product.
Myth: all medical professionals qualify.
Reality: the eligible list is a specific set of doctorate-level credentials. Chiropractors are named as ineligible. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners are not on the list at all.
Myth: student loans are ignored for any doctor.
Reality: the exclusion applies only to borrowers in or entering residency or a clinical fellowship who qualify on that training income. An attending with deferred loans counts a payment.
Myth: no money down means no money needed.
Reality: above 95% financing, reserves are required. And if you are closing before your start date, you need a full housing payment in reserve for every month in between.
Myth: a physician loan can buy any house you want.
Reality: $2 million is the ceiling. Above that, you are in jumbo territory and a different set of guidelines applies.
Physician Home Loan FAQ
What is a physician loan?
A physician loan is a mortgage for licensed medical professionals that allows up to 100% financing with no mortgage insurance, on loan amounts up to $2 million. It also accepts an executed employment contract as qualifying income and can exclude student loan payments for borrowers in residency or fellowship.
What credit score is typically required for a doctor’s home loan?
680 is the floor for 95% financing up to $2 million and for 100% financing up to $1.5 million. To reach 100% financing at the full $2 million, you need a 720. Credit history must cover at least 24 months.
Can medical residents qualify for a zero down payment mortgage?
Yes. Residents, fellows, and interns holding a qualifying degree are eligible for the same 100% financing tiers as attendings, subject to the same credit score and debt ratio limits. A housing allowance paid in cash directly to you can also be counted as income even with less than 12 months of history.
What is the maximum loan amount available for attending physicians?
$2 million. That ceiling applies to attendings and residents alike. Loan amounts above $2 million fall outside this program entirely.
What documents do I need to apply for a physician mortgage?
Proof of your degree and active practice status, income documentation, and asset statements covering 60 days on a purchase or 30 days on a refinance. If you are qualifying on future income, we need the fully executed employment contract or offer letter showing title, start date, and compensation for at least 12 months.
Can I use a physician loan for a condominium purchase?
Yes, if the project is Fannie Mae warrantable. Non-warrantable condos, condotels, and tenants-in-common projects are not eligible. Larger attached projects require a full condo review before approval.
Do physician loans require private mortgage insurance?
No. Mortgage insurance is not required on this program at any financing level, including 100%. That is one of the two largest differences between this and a conventional loan on the same property.
How do physician loans differ from conventional mortgages?
No mortgage insurance, higher maximum financing, contract-based income for future employment, and student loan exclusions during training. In exchange, the program is narrower: primary residence only, one unit, no cash-out, no subordinate financing, and a 90.01% minimum financing floor.
Are dentists and veterinarians eligible for doctor mortgage programs?
Yes. Dentists holding a DDS or DMD and veterinarians holding a DVM or VMD are both on the eligible list, along with pharmacists holding a PharmD and podiatrists holding a DPM.
Related Reading
100% financing physician loan
The two tiers that allow zero down, and what reserves are actually required.
Physician loans and student loan debt
When medical school debt is excluded from your debt ratio, and when it is not.
Getting a mortgage before your job starts
How an employment contract becomes qualifying income, and the 150-day rule.
Jumbo loans above $2 million
Where to go when the physician program’s ceiling is lower than your purchase price.
Written by J.D. Peck — Area Manager and Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS #314883. 25+ years in mortgage lending and 3,100+ closed loans. Scotsman Guide Top Originator 2026.
Last updated August 19, 2026. Guidelines are subject to change.
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