Chapter 4: Credit File Ancillaries, etc.
IN THIS LESSON
Since MLA-covered borrower status checks are required, the more efficiently you can fulfill them, the better. For lenders, performing these status checks internally can take time and drain resources, as it involves stopping your origination process and manually entering the individual applicant information on the Department of Defense’s website in order to get the results.
Equifax can provide you with an easier option for requesting the covered borrower status. You can request the status check in the same request as an applicant’s consumer credit report or as a standalone request without a consumer credit report. Minimum input of Last Name, DOB, and SSN are required to receive a result returned in the form of a straightforward status indicator:
“Y” indicates the applicant is an active duty service member or an 18+ year old dependent
“N” indicates the applicant is not an active duty service member or an 18+ year old dependent
Program lapses can quickly occur when regulations change, as businesses are sometimes challenged with incorporating new compliance requirements into their existing processes. However, for most Equifax customers, adding our MLA Covered Borrower Status to your current origination protocol requires minimal coding to update the input and accept the new MLA output segment response.