We are proposing changes to Regulation C to help industry comply and are looking for your feedback

Updated October 6, 2026. This 2017 proposal has since been finalized. The outcome, with dates taken from the Federal Register, is under What did the final rule change? at the end of this post. The original announcement follows unchanged.

Today we released a proposal to amend Regulation C to provide certain clarifications that would help companies comply with their data reporting requirements.  

Regulation C implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requires many financial institutions to maintain, report, and publicly disclose information about mortgages. HMDA was originally enacted by Congress in 1975. These public data are important because they help show whether lenders are serving the housing needs of their communities; they give public officials information that helps them make decisions and policies; and they shed light on lending patterns that could be discriminatory. 

In October 2015, the Bureau issued the 2015 HMDA Final Rule, after a multi-year policy development process, which implemented Dodd-Frank amendments to HMDA. The 2015 HMDA Final Rule changes the types of institutions and transactions subject to the regulation, the types of data that institutions are required to collect, and the processes for reporting and disclosing the required data.

Through outreach, we have learned that there are parts of the 2015 HMDA Final Rule that we could clarify, which would help financial institutions comply and would improve the data. Today we released a proposal to amend Regulation C to provide such clarifications. The CFPB is committed to well-tailored and effective regulations and has sought to carefully calibrate its efforts to ensure consistency with respect to consumer financial protections across the financial services marketplace.

Comments on the proposal will be due 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register.

Visit Owning a Home: Tools and resources for homebuyers.

What did the final rule change?

This proposal became final in a rule the CFPB published in the Federal Register on September 13, 2017 (82 FR 43088), which also adopted a July 2017 proposal on open-end lines of credit. The rule took effect on January 1, 2018, except for some amendments effective January 1, 2019 and January 1, 2020. Among the clarifications to the 2015 HMDA Final Rule, it clarified key terms such as multifamily dwelling, temporary financing and automated underwriting system, added transition rules for certain purchased loans, and created a new reporting exception for certain New York consolidation, extension and modification agreements. It also corrected the ULI check digit calculation.