Uniform Instruments Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Freddie Mac recently revised the Uniform Instrument website to provide all Uniform Instruments in word processing format. Users must use Microsoft Word 6.0/95 or higher (or compatible word processing software) in order to view, manipulate or print the Uniform Instruments provided on this website.

No, since the Uniform Instruments are available in an electronic medium, and originators are able to manipulate and print the forms in word processing format, there is no longer a need for Freddie Mac to produce stocks of printed forms.

The Uniform Instruments may be reproduced from the electronic version provided on the website, with the permissible authorized changes, so long as the Agency tagline, located in the footer of the form remains intact on each page.

The format (font, type size, page size, and margins) of the Uniform Instruments may be adjusted as necessary, to make the document easier to read and complete or to reduce the number of pages. In doing so, the Agency tagline must remain intact on each page.

Alterations to the text of any of the Uniform Instruments can only be made under the following conditions:

1. Pursuant to a change authorized by Freddie Mac, in writing;
2. Pursuant to the requirements of applicable law and/or state and local recording requirements after discussion with Freddie Mac; and,
3. Pursuant to the authorized changes provided on the Authorized Change pages available on this website and in Exhibit 5A of the Single-Family Guide.

The Agency tagline must be present on each page on all Uniform Instruments used to originate Single-Family residential mortgage loans for sale to Freddie Mac. Under no circumstances should the Agency tagline be removed or altered in any way.

Absence of the Agency tagline or the insertion of additional notations in the tagline such as the term "modified" categorizes a form as "nonstandard." Mortgages presented on nonstandard forms are not eligible for sale to Freddie Mac unless there is language present in the Purchase Documents, allowing a Seller to originate a specific type of loan on a "nonstandard" form.

In addition to the changes permitted on the Authorized Change pages and in Exhibit 5A of the Single-Family Guide, Freddie Mac does allow the placement of company information and/or the insertion of a customized tagline in the footer of the form, below the Agency tagline.

No, Freddie Mac does not require the Borrower Social Security Numbers on Security Instruments. Accordingly, Freddie Mac has removed the Social Security Lines from the Security Instruments provided on the Uniform Instrument website.

Freddie Mac provides the first few pages of the Security Instruments and the New York Consolidation, Extension, and Modification Agreement with the MERS language inserted in the appropriate location. To view these documents, please visit the MERS area of the Uniform Instrument website.

If you require full versions of MERS instruments, you can either create a MERS version by following the instructions provided on the Authorized Change pages for MERS available on this website and in Exhibit 5A of the Freddie Mac Single-Family Guide, or you can contact a mortgage forms vendor in your area to order copies.

Yes. Multifamily Uniform Instruments can be downloaded from the Multifamily Legal Documents document.

Freddie Mac does not provide a form for assignments. Freddie Mac allows a lender to use its own form of assignment so long as all of the required information is contained on the form, and the form of assignment has been reviewed and approved by Seller's legal counsel.

The Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Second Mortgage Notes and Security Instruments were discontinued in the 1980s, therefore we no longer provide updated versions of those forms on the Uniform Instrument website. Originators may obtain Subordinate Lien Documents from most state and local housing finance agencies and from the Freddie Mac Standardized Subordinate Lien website.

Freddie Mac's Multistate Loan Modification Agreement to a Fixed Interest Rate, Form 5161, can be used with fixed-rate fully amortizing Notes, fixed-rate balloon Notes without a reset option, and nonconvertible adjustable rate Notes to modify the terms of a Mortgage prior to sale to Freddie Mac for the purpose of changing the interest rate to a fixed rate of interest or for extending the maturity date of Mortgages. FORM 5161 IS NOT TO BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH ANY MORTGAGE PREVIOUSLY SOLD TO FREDDIE MAC.

Information relating to assignments, releases, discharges, etc., is provided in the following location in the Document Custodial Services area of the Freddiemac.com website.

A Document Execution Request Form is provided at the bottom of that web page.

If you are experiencing difficulties opening the Single-Family Uniform Instruments and other documents provided on this website, you may need to follow the following instructions:

1. The Single-Family Uniform Instrument website is designed for use with Internet Explorer. If you are using another web browser, please try using Internet Explorer.
2. If your Internet Options are not set properly, you may not be able to open the documents provided on this website. Please enable Java Scripting in the Internet Options menu in Internet Explorer.
3. You can no longer use Adobe Acrobat to open the Single-Family Uniform Instruments. The instruments are provided in word processing format (specifically, Microsoft Word 6.0). You must use Microsoft Word 6.0/95 or higher, or a compatible word processing software program (i.e. a compatible version of WordPerfect, etc) to open and view the forms.
4. If you have firewall protection which has an "Ad Blocking" feature, the forms will not open. You must disable all ad blocking features installed on your computer in order for the forms to open in certain operating system environments.

If you continue to experience difficulties opening the forms, you must contact the technical support department for your computer system, software and/or operating system manufacturer. Freddie Mac is not equipped to troubleshoot computer and/or software problems beyond providing the suggestions listed above.

Freddie Mac encourages originators to use the Uniform Instruments whenever possible even when the Mortgages are not eligible for sale to Freddie Mac and even if there are terms in the Uniform Instruments that are identified by a Freddie Mac servicemark. Freddie Mac automatically grants any loan originator a license to use a loan instrument with such a servicemarked term, whether the loan is sold to Freddie Mac or not, so long as the loan instrument is not altered and the servicemark is not altered or removed. As always, Freddie Mac will not purchase Mortgages originated on a Uniform Instrument that do not comply with Freddie Mac's eligibility requirements. Originators should review the Authorized Changes for Uniform Instruments in this Website for required and permissible wording changes.

Some notaries in Puerto Rico have expressed their opinion that unilateral mortgages securing order negotiable instruments must be formally accepted by the lenders in order to avoid unilateral cancellation by the mortgagors. The Acceptance of First Mortgage may be used if acceptance of the loan documents by a notary or lender is subject to execution by the lender of a deed formally accepting a unilateral mortgage, followed by presentation of such deed in the Registry of Property.

Freddie Mac offers Spanish translations of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Uniform Instruments to help lenders and others in the residential mortgage industry better serve Spanish-language dominant consumers in becoming homeowners. These documents can be provided to consumers as supplemental education material when originating single-family residential mortgage loans. However, the translated documents are meant for reference only and are not executable.

Periodically we make revisions to the Uniform Instruments, typically to comply with changes to applicable laws. When we revise the documents, we include a notation in the date in the tagline at the bottom of the form to indicate the revision date, and we also include the revision date in the List of Uniform Instruments on our website and in Exhibit 4A of the Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide. Loan originators may begin using revised Uniform Instruments immediately and must begin using the revised version when required by applicable law. In other situations, unless we state otherwise, we require the use of revised documents by no later than six months after the revision date, unless we specify an earlier effective date.

The mortgage (Form 3020) and the assignment (Form 3749) must be recorded separately in the correct order, with the mortgage recorded prior to the assignment. The assignment should be recorded as soon as possible after the mortgage is recorded, but no later than 3 business days after the mortgage has been recorded.

Example 1. Where the mortgage is physically recorded at the registry, the person recording the mortgage will need to first record the mortgage, wait for the clerk to return the recording information, insert the book and page number by hand on the assignment, and then record the assignment. Alternatively, the assignment may be recorded no later than 3 business days after the mortgage has been recorded.

Example 2. If the mortgage and assignment are being recorded electronically, the mortgage would be recorded in an initial document upload and then the assignment would be uploaded separately after the recording information for the mortgage becomes available and can be filled by hand or typed in on the assignment.