Mortgage lenders use a tri-merge credit report that combines the credit information of Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three national credit bureaus.

Because scores can differ slightly between bureaus, lenders pull from all three to get a complete picture of the applicant’s credit profile.

Mortgage lenders will then choose the middle or “median” credit score (not the average) of the three scores to use as the credit score for lending qualification purposes.

For example, if you have a 721, 765 and 715, mortgage lenders will use the 721 as your credit score for the loan.

The same method applies when there is more than one borrower on the loan, such as spouses. In this instance, the lowest middle score of the two applicants would be used for lending qualification purposes.