Three business days before you are scheduled to sign, federal rules generally require your lender to deliver a Closing Disclosure (CD)—a standardized form that restates your loan terms, cash to close, and fees. This guide is a reading checklist, not a full mortgage-shopping playbook. Use it to catch changes from your Loan Estimate (LE) and to ask clear questions before you wire money.
If you are still choosing points or comparing lenders, start with How to compare mortgage points and APR vs interest rate. Down-payment cash planning lives in Saving for a home down payment.
What the Closing Disclosure is for
| Document | When you usually see it | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Loan Estimate | After you apply | Early snapshot of rate, fees, cash to close |
| Closing Disclosure | At least 3 business days before consummation (typical purchase/refi rules) | Near-final terms and dollars you must bring or receive |
| Note / mortgage / deed of trust | At signing | Legal contracts; CD does not replace them |
Lenders such as Rocket Mortgage, Chase, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and local credit unions all use the same CFPB-designed CD layout. Branding differs; the page structure does not.
Page 1: loan terms and projected payments
Confirm these line items against your LE and rate-lock confirmation:
- Loan amount, interest rate, and whether the rate can rise after closing
- Monthly principal & interest, estimated escrow, and estimated total payment
- Prepayment penalty and balloon payment yes/no boxes
- Projected payments table (years 1–7 and 8–30 style bands on many fixed loans)
A rate that matches your lock but an escrow estimate that jumped often means taxes or insurance quotes changed—not a bait-and-switch on the note rate. Escrow mechanics after closing: How escrow works for homeowners.
Page 2–3: closing cost details and cash to close
Work top to bottom:
- Origination charges — underwriting, application, points. Cross-check with Understanding loan origination fees.
- Services you shopped for — title, pest, survey. Compare to quotes you actually ordered.
- Services you could not shop — appraisal, credit report, flood cert.
- Taxes and other government fees — recording, transfer taxes (state/local).
- Prepaids and initial escrow deposit — months of insurance/taxes collected up front.
- Cash to close — down payment + closing costs − credits − earnest money already paid.
Worked example
Sam’s LE showed $18,400 cash to close on a $360,000 purchase with 5% down. The CD shows $21,150. The delta:
| Line | LE | CD | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lender credits | −$1,200 | $0 | Lock changed; credit removed |
| Owners title policy | $1,450 | $1,890 | Upgraded coverage / county rate table |
| Initial escrow | $1,800 | $2,560 | Higher tax estimate from assessor |
| Discount points | $0 | $1,800 | Sam bought 0.5 point after lock |
Sam does not re-shop the whole loan three days out. Sam asks the loan officer for a written explanation of each increase, confirms which fees are lender-paid vs buyer-paid under the contract, and verifies the wire instructions with the title company by phone using a number from the title commitment—not from an email alone.
Tolerance and “did my fees illegally jump?”
CFPB closing-cost tolerances group fees into zero-tolerance, 10% cumulative, and unlimited categories (details depend on who chose the provider). You do not need to memorize the regulation. You need a side-by-side LE vs CD and a question list:
- Which fee increases are within tolerance, and which will the lender cure with a credit?
- Did I change loan terms, lock, or property facts after the LE?
- Are seller credits still on page 3?
Treat unexplained cash-to-close jumps the same way you would a last-minute dealer add-on: Comparing financing offers discipline still applies.
Wire and fraud red flags at closing
- Title companies and lenders rarely change wire instructions by last-minute email.
- Call the title officer on a verified number before sending six figures.
- Match beneficiary name and account to the written closing instructions in the package.
Checklist
- Download the CD PDF the day it arrives; print or annotate page 1 and the cash-to-close table.
- Diff every fee against the last Loan Estimate.
- Confirm rate, lock expiration, and loan amount match the lock confirmation.
- Reconcile down payment, earnest money, and seller credits to your purchase contract.
- Ask for cures or explanations in writing for unexplained increases.
- Verify wire instructions by phone before funding.
Before you wire cash to close, voice-verify instructions - last-minute “updated” account emails are a known fraud pattern: Fake escrow wire instruction scams.
Years after closing, your loan’s servicer can change even if the rate does not - notices, payment routing, and escrow continuity: Mortgage servicing transfers.
Educational only. Not mortgage, legal, or tax advice, and not an offer of credit. Closing Disclosure timing and tolerance rules have exceptions; rely on your lender’s disclosures, title company, and a housing counselor or attorney when dollars or deadlines feel wrong.