Updated

Why HELOCs get denied, by stateWhat 601,027 denials in 2025 show

Lenders denied 601,027 home equity line of credit (HELOC) applications in 2025, according to federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. Nationally, debt-to-income ratio was the reason cited most often. State by state the picture changes: in 8 states, credit history was cited more often, and collateral, the home itself, ranged from 13.1% of denials in Virginia to 27.4% in Wyoming.

of HELOC denials cited debt-to-income ratio
47.3%
cited credit history, and 18.4% collateral
34.8%

What the 2025 denials show

  • Debt-to-income ratio was the most common denial reason in 37 states and the District of Columbia: it was cited in 47.3% of the 600,948 HELOC denials with a reason given. Credit history came second at 34.8% and collateral, the home that secures the line, third at 18.4%.
  • In 8 states, credit history outranked debt-to-income ratio: Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia. Mississippi had the highest share in the country: credit history was cited in 53.3% of its HELOC denials, against 34.8% nationally. In Iowa the two were close to even (43.6% to 43.5%).
  • Debt-to-income denials were most common in Idaho (61.4%), Massachusetts (60.9%) and Utah (60.5%). Lenders cited it least in West Virginia (30.5%), Alabama (33.6%) and Texas (36.3%).
  • Credit history mattered least in Hawaii (21.0%), California (22.7%) and Idaho (25.2%). In those three, debt-to-income ratio was cited in 59.8%, 52.2% and 61.4% of denials, against 47.3% nationally.
  • Collateral was cited most in Wyoming (27.4%), Hawaii (26.4%) and Alaska (26.4%), and least in Virginia (13.1%), North Carolina (13.6%) and Georgia (14.1%). A collateral denial means the home did not support the line, for example its value or the equity left in it.
  • Texas denied the largest share of HELOC applications, 48.9%, yet debt-to-income ratio was cited in only 36.3% of its denials, the third lowest share of any state. Lenders there cited "other" in 19.3% of denials, the second highest share, against 11.9% nationally.

Shares are of HELOC denials with at least one reason reported, and one denial can cite up to four reasons. Public HMDA data has no credit scores, so nothing here is broken out by score. How we counted.

Denial reasons by state

The table shows how often each of the three main reasons, debt-to-income ratio (DTI), credit history and collateral, was cited in a state's HELOC denials, next to the state's denial rate. The bold figure in each row is the reason cited most there. Nationally, 32.9% of HELOC applications were denied.

2025 HELOC denial reasons, by state name
State Denial rate DTI Credit history Collateral HELOC denials
United States32.9%47.3%34.8%18.4%601,027
Alabama 30.7%33.6%47.9%19.5%8,386
Alaska 35.9%36.8%26.1%26.4%595
Arkansas 33.0%39.0%45.2%20.2%4,013
California 33.8%52.2%22.7%16.3%57,425
Colorado 30.0%54.8%30.8%21.8%13,668
Delaware 33.5%45.4%37.1%20.7%2,458
District of Columbia 44.2%39.9%31.2%21.9%993
Florida 40.4%50.0%32.1%17.2%52,979
Georgia 39.3%44.2%34.7%14.1%22,437
Hawaii 41.8%59.8%21.0%26.4%3,446
Idaho 27.4%61.4%25.2%23.5%4,515
Illinois 34.5%46.6%39.2%20.1%21,180
Iowa 19.1%43.5%43.6%25.8%3,118
Kansas 29.1%38.4%45.4%15.5%3,686
Kentucky 27.8%38.9%45.7%16.3%7,824
Louisiana 37.2%39.4%38.4%20.7%3,548
Maine 26.0%49.5%30.5%18.2%2,306
Maryland 39.0%42.5%42.4%15.8%15,725
Massachusetts 31.4%60.9%29.9%22.2%15,221
Michigan 29.6%44.6%38.7%18.8%20,929
Minnesota 26.7%50.6%33.5%23.6%7,027
Mississippi 34.6%37.2%53.3%18.2%4,358
Missouri 31.4%40.6%40.3%17.4%8,561
Montana 27.6%48.8%26.0%24.7%1,241
Nebraska 25.3%46.1%42.2%23.0%2,043
Nevada 40.7%49.2%34.9%21.3%5,882
New Hampshire 28.3%56.2%26.6%20.6%3,612
New Jersey 34.2%53.5%32.3%15.4%20,950
New Mexico 33.8%39.2%36.4%16.7%1,776
North Carolina 34.1%46.5%38.9%13.6%28,879
North Dakota 20.0%46.2%35.0%22.9%420
Oklahoma 31.1%40.6%44.7%15.8%3,659
Oregon 27.3%48.2%25.8%25.4%8,006
Pennsylvania 29.8%45.3%39.0%17.9%29,537
Rhode Island 32.6%58.0%28.7%19.1%4,002
South Carolina 35.1%41.9%36.0%14.7%9,124
South Dakota 25.8%45.9%33.5%21.2%632
Tennessee 31.4%44.3%39.0%18.7%13,367
Texas 48.9%36.3%35.4%18.0%27,098
Utah 26.9%60.5%25.5%24.0%8,312
Vermont 25.3%57.0%26.7%22.3%989
Virginia 31.2%43.2%33.6%13.1%16,438
Washington 31.8%48.6%30.1%23.7%17,205
West Virginia 38.5%30.5%51.7%19.0%2,261
Wisconsin 21.3%47.4%37.0%16.7%11,375
Wyoming 28.6%44.0%26.3%27.4%636

Select a column heading to sort. Denial rate is the share of HELOC applications with a decision that were denied. Reason columns are the share of HELOC denials citing that reason. The United States row counts every state and territory. Linked state names open that state's HELOC guide. Download the full table with every reason (CSV).

Where credit history drives denials

Credit history was cited in 34.8% of HELOC denials nationally. The share ran from 53.3% in Mississippi down to 21.0% in Hawaii. The five highest were Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky and Kansas; the five lowest were Hawaii, California, Idaho, Utah and Oregon.

Share of HELOC denials citing credit history, by state, 2025Horizontal bars from 53.3% in Mississippi to 21.0% in Hawaii, with a line at the national share of 34.8%. The table above lists every state.U.S. 34.8%Mississippi: 53.3%Mississippi53.3%West Virginia: 51.7%West Virginia51.7%Alabama: 47.9%Alabama47.9%Kentucky: 45.7%Kentucky45.7%Kansas: 45.4%Kansas45.4%Arkansas: 45.2%Arkansas45.2%Oklahoma: 44.7%Oklahoma44.7%Iowa: 43.6%Iowa43.6%Maryland: 42.4%Maryland42.4%Nebraska: 42.2%Nebraska42.2%Missouri: 40.3%Missouri40.3%Illinois: 39.2%Illinois39.2%Pennsylvania: 39.0%Pennsylvania39.0%Tennessee: 39.0%Tennessee39.0%North Carolina: 38.9%North Carolina38.9%Michigan: 38.7%Michigan38.7%Louisiana: 38.4%Louisiana38.4%Delaware: 37.1%Delaware37.1%Wisconsin: 37.0%Wisconsin37.0%New Mexico: 36.4%New Mexico36.4%South Carolina: 36.0%South Carolina36.0%Texas: 35.4%Texas35.4%North Dakota: 35.0%North Dakota35.0%Nevada: 34.9%Nevada34.9%Georgia: 34.7%Georgia34.7%Virginia: 33.6%Virginia33.6%South Dakota: 33.5%South Dakota33.5%Minnesota: 33.5%Minnesota33.5%New Jersey: 32.3%New Jersey32.3%Florida: 32.1%Florida32.1%District of Columbia: 31.2%D.C.31.2%Colorado: 30.8%Colorado30.8%Maine: 30.5%Maine30.5%Washington: 30.1%Washington30.1%Massachusetts: 29.9%Massachusetts29.9%Rhode Island: 28.7%Rhode Island28.7%Vermont: 26.7%Vermont26.7%New Hampshire: 26.6%New Hampshire26.6%Wyoming: 26.3%Wyoming26.3%Alaska: 26.1%Alaska26.1%Montana: 26.0%Montana26.0%Oregon: 25.8%Oregon25.8%Utah: 25.5%Utah25.5%Idaho: 25.2%Idaho25.2%California: 22.7%California22.7%Hawaii: 21.0%Hawaii21.0%Share of HELOC denials citing credit history, by state, 2025Horizontal bars from 53.3% in Mississippi to 21.0% in Hawaii, with a line at the national share of 34.8%. The table above lists every state.U.S. 34.8%Mississippi: 53.3%Mississippi53.3%West Virginia: 51.7%West Virginia51.7%Alabama: 47.9%Alabama47.9%Kentucky: 45.7%Kentucky45.7%Kansas: 45.4%Kansas45.4%Arkansas: 45.2%Arkansas45.2%Oklahoma: 44.7%Oklahoma44.7%Iowa: 43.6%Iowa43.6%Maryland: 42.4%Maryland42.4%Nebraska: 42.2%Nebraska42.2%Missouri: 40.3%Missouri40.3%Illinois: 39.2%Illinois39.2%Pennsylvania: 39.0%Pennsylvania39.0%Tennessee: 39.0%Tennessee39.0%North Carolina: 38.9%North Carolina38.9%Michigan: 38.7%Michigan38.7%Louisiana: 38.4%Louisiana38.4%Delaware: 37.1%Delaware37.1%Wisconsin: 37.0%Wisconsin37.0%New Mexico: 36.4%New Mexico36.4%South Carolina: 36.0%South Carolina36.0%Texas: 35.4%Texas35.4%North Dakota: 35.0%North Dakota35.0%Nevada: 34.9%Nevada34.9%Georgia: 34.7%Georgia34.7%Virginia: 33.6%Virginia33.6%South Dakota: 33.5%South Dakota33.5%Minnesota: 33.5%Minnesota33.5%New Jersey: 32.3%New Jersey32.3%Florida: 32.1%Florida32.1%District of Columbia: 31.2%District of Columbia31.2%Colorado: 30.8%Colorado30.8%Maine: 30.5%Maine30.5%Washington: 30.1%Washington30.1%Massachusetts: 29.9%Massachusetts29.9%Rhode Island: 28.7%Rhode Island28.7%Vermont: 26.7%Vermont26.7%New Hampshire: 26.6%New Hampshire26.6%Wyoming: 26.3%Wyoming26.3%Alaska: 26.1%Alaska26.1%Montana: 26.0%Montana26.0%Oregon: 25.8%Oregon25.8%Utah: 25.5%Utah25.5%Idaho: 25.2%Idaho25.2%California: 22.7%California22.7%Hawaii: 21.0%Hawaii21.0%

Share of HELOC denials with at least one reported reason that cite credit history. The scale runs to 70%. Source: LenderMatch analysis of 2025 HMDA data, FFIEC.

HMDA records whether credit history was a reason for a denial, but not the applicant's credit score. So this data cannot say what score a lender approves in any state.

Where debt-to-income ratio drives denials

Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is your monthly debt payments, including the new line, divided by your gross monthly income. It was cited in 47.3% of HELOC denials nationally, from 61.4% in Idaho to 30.5% in West Virginia.

Share of HELOC denials citing debt-to-income ratio, by state, 2025Horizontal bars from 61.4% in Idaho to 30.5% in West Virginia, with a line at the national share of 47.3%. The table above lists every state.U.S. 47.3%Idaho: 61.4%Idaho61.4%Massachusetts: 60.9%Massachusetts60.9%Utah: 60.5%Utah60.5%Hawaii: 59.8%Hawaii59.8%Rhode Island: 58.0%Rhode Island58.0%Vermont: 57.0%Vermont57.0%New Hampshire: 56.2%New Hampshire56.2%Colorado: 54.8%Colorado54.8%New Jersey: 53.5%New Jersey53.5%California: 52.2%California52.2%Minnesota: 50.6%Minnesota50.6%Florida: 50.0%Florida50.0%Maine: 49.5%Maine49.5%Nevada: 49.2%Nevada49.2%Montana: 48.8%Montana48.8%Washington: 48.6%Washington48.6%Oregon: 48.2%Oregon48.2%Wisconsin: 47.4%Wisconsin47.4%Illinois: 46.6%Illinois46.6%North Carolina: 46.5%North Carolina46.5%North Dakota: 46.2%North Dakota46.2%Nebraska: 46.1%Nebraska46.1%South Dakota: 45.9%South Dakota45.9%Delaware: 45.4%Delaware45.4%Pennsylvania: 45.3%Pennsylvania45.3%Michigan: 44.6%Michigan44.6%Tennessee: 44.3%Tennessee44.3%Georgia: 44.2%Georgia44.2%Wyoming: 44.0%Wyoming44.0%Iowa: 43.5%Iowa43.5%Virginia: 43.2%Virginia43.2%Maryland: 42.5%Maryland42.5%South Carolina: 41.9%South Carolina41.9%Missouri: 40.6%Missouri40.6%Oklahoma: 40.6%Oklahoma40.6%District of Columbia: 39.9%D.C.39.9%Louisiana: 39.4%Louisiana39.4%New Mexico: 39.2%New Mexico39.2%Arkansas: 39.0%Arkansas39.0%Kentucky: 38.9%Kentucky38.9%Kansas: 38.4%Kansas38.4%Mississippi: 37.2%Mississippi37.2%Alaska: 36.8%Alaska36.8%Texas: 36.3%Texas36.3%Alabama: 33.6%Alabama33.6%West Virginia: 30.5%West Virginia30.5%Share of HELOC denials citing debt-to-income ratio, by state, 2025Horizontal bars from 61.4% in Idaho to 30.5% in West Virginia, with a line at the national share of 47.3%. The table above lists every state.U.S. 47.3%Idaho: 61.4%Idaho61.4%Massachusetts: 60.9%Massachusetts60.9%Utah: 60.5%Utah60.5%Hawaii: 59.8%Hawaii59.8%Rhode Island: 58.0%Rhode Island58.0%Vermont: 57.0%Vermont57.0%New Hampshire: 56.2%New Hampshire56.2%Colorado: 54.8%Colorado54.8%New Jersey: 53.5%New Jersey53.5%California: 52.2%California52.2%Minnesota: 50.6%Minnesota50.6%Florida: 50.0%Florida50.0%Maine: 49.5%Maine49.5%Nevada: 49.2%Nevada49.2%Montana: 48.8%Montana48.8%Washington: 48.6%Washington48.6%Oregon: 48.2%Oregon48.2%Wisconsin: 47.4%Wisconsin47.4%Illinois: 46.6%Illinois46.6%North Carolina: 46.5%North Carolina46.5%North Dakota: 46.2%North Dakota46.2%Nebraska: 46.1%Nebraska46.1%South Dakota: 45.9%South Dakota45.9%Delaware: 45.4%Delaware45.4%Pennsylvania: 45.3%Pennsylvania45.3%Michigan: 44.6%Michigan44.6%Tennessee: 44.3%Tennessee44.3%Georgia: 44.2%Georgia44.2%Wyoming: 44.0%Wyoming44.0%Iowa: 43.5%Iowa43.5%Virginia: 43.2%Virginia43.2%Maryland: 42.5%Maryland42.5%South Carolina: 41.9%South Carolina41.9%Missouri: 40.6%Missouri40.6%Oklahoma: 40.6%Oklahoma40.6%District of Columbia: 39.9%District of Columbia39.9%Louisiana: 39.4%Louisiana39.4%New Mexico: 39.2%New Mexico39.2%Arkansas: 39.0%Arkansas39.0%Kentucky: 38.9%Kentucky38.9%Kansas: 38.4%Kansas38.4%Mississippi: 37.2%Mississippi37.2%Alaska: 36.8%Alaska36.8%Texas: 36.3%Texas36.3%Alabama: 33.6%Alabama33.6%West Virginia: 30.5%West Virginia30.5%

Share of HELOC denials with at least one reported reason that cite debt-to-income ratio. The scale runs to 70%. Source: LenderMatch analysis of 2025 HMDA data, FFIEC.

Collateral, the home that secures the line, was the third reason nationally at 18.4%. To see where it came up most, sort the state table by collateral.

Every denial reason, nationally

Of 600,948 HELOC denials with a reason given in 2025, 23.5% listed more than one. Incomplete applications were cited in 9.6% of HELOC denials, against 21.4% for closed-end home equity loans.

Share of HELOC denials citing each reason, 2025Debt-to-income ratio 47.3%, credit history 34.8%, collateral 18.4%. The table lists every reason.Debt-to-income ratio: cited in 284,467 denials (47.3%)Debt-to-income ratio47.3%Credit history: cited in 209,178 denials (34.8%)Credit history34.8%Collateral: cited in 110,365 denials (18.4%)Collateral18.4%Other: cited in 71,488 denials (11.9%)Other11.9%Incomplete application: cited in 57,867 denials (9.6%)Incomplete application9.6%Unverifiable information: cited in 25,750 denials (4.3%)Unverifiable information4.3%Employment history: cited in 7,705 denials (1.3%)Employment history1.3%Insufficient cash for closing costs: cited in 2,581 denials (0.4%)Insufficient cash for closing costs0.4%Share of HELOC denials citing each reason, 2025Debt-to-income ratio 47.3%, credit history 34.8%, collateral 18.4%. The table lists every reason.Debt-to-income ratio: cited in 284,467 denials (47.3%)Debt-to-income ratio47.3%Credit history: cited in 209,178 denials (34.8%)Credit history34.8%Collateral: cited in 110,365 denials (18.4%)Collateral18.4%Other: cited in 71,488 denials (11.9%)Other11.9%Incomplete application: cited in 57,867 denials (9.6%)Incomplete application9.6%Unverifiable information: cited in 25,750 denials (4.3%)Unverifiable information4.3%Employment history: cited in 7,705 denials (1.3%)Employment history1.3%Insufficient cash for closing costs: cited in 2,581 denials (0.4%)Insufficient cash for closing costs0.4%
Show the numbers
Denial reasons for HELOCs and home equity loans, 2025
ReasonHELOC denials citing itShareHome equity loan share
Debt-to-income ratio284,46747.3%34.6%
Credit history209,17834.8%28.0%
Collateral110,36518.4%17.1%
Other71,48811.9%12.6%
Incomplete application57,8679.6%21.4%
Unverifiable information25,7504.3%4.2%
Employment history7,7051.3%1.3%
Insufficient cash for closing costs2,5810.4%0.6%
Mortgage insurance denied320.0%0.0%

Share of denials with at least one reported reason that cite each reason. The scale runs to 60%. Source: LenderMatch analysis of 2025 HMDA data.

Home equity loans by state

A home equity loan pays out one lump sum instead of a line you draw from as needed. Lenders denied 34.0% of home equity loan applications in 2025. Debt-to-income ratio was the top reason (34.6% of denials), then credit history (28.0%).

Show the state table
Home equity loan denial reasons by state, 2025
StateDenial rateDTICredit historyCollateralDenials
United States34.0%34.6%28.0%17.1%246,817
Alabama37.2%23.7%33.4%19.3%3,427
Alaska32.1%28.2%24.6%24.2%451
Arkansas35.5%24.8%31.0%22.4%2,001
California34.9%34.7%18.2%13.3%28,645
Colorado34.5%34.4%20.3%15.7%4,953
Delaware35.1%33.7%29.5%15.0%1,247
District of Columbia41.1%34.8%25.6%17.3%313
Florida42.6%38.5%26.6%16.9%23,515
Georgia35.3%32.5%26.1%15.5%9,533
Hawaii42.0%37.1%16.4%18.6%555
Idaho28.8%37.4%19.9%21.4%1,684
Illinois38.3%32.7%32.4%18.6%8,123
Iowa25.7%36.6%36.7%24.2%1,729
Kansas30.1%30.9%29.8%16.7%1,672
Kentucky33.0%28.7%34.6%21.8%2,546
Louisiana42.4%25.4%29.6%24.3%2,225
Maine28.9%37.8%26.8%17.0%1,258
Maryland30.7%36.4%27.0%15.3%4,905
Massachusetts29.5%39.7%31.1%13.5%3,888
Michigan27.3%32.3%31.9%18.4%7,301
Minnesota26.5%37.6%31.3%22.9%4,097
Mississippi38.8%24.0%40.5%21.3%1,500
Missouri33.6%31.0%30.5%20.7%4,188
Montana30.0%33.0%20.4%25.2%763
Nebraska27.5%32.7%35.6%21.4%1,090
Nevada32.2%37.5%29.4%15.2%3,362
New Hampshire29.7%38.3%24.8%15.1%1,327
New Jersey35.0%38.9%30.0%12.7%8,675
New Mexico28.2%32.8%23.4%17.8%1,463
North Carolina35.6%33.6%28.1%15.6%7,028
North Dakota21.2%41.7%32.5%28.1%391
Oklahoma32.4%30.9%33.8%19.1%2,388
Oregon30.4%31.2%18.0%20.2%2,949
Pennsylvania31.5%39.1%38.4%16.5%11,326
Rhode Island35.2%38.0%27.6%12.4%1,061
South Carolina31.3%29.7%25.8%16.0%3,930
South Dakota23.3%42.6%31.7%16.0%420
Tennessee35.0%29.5%32.2%18.0%4,943
Texas45.0%30.7%26.8%18.2%20,248
Utah29.7%52.9%25.7%18.0%4,539
Vermont23.9%38.0%27.9%20.9%358
Virginia30.5%34.5%26.2%14.9%7,571
Washington32.0%36.5%18.6%17.2%6,015
West Virginia32.4%22.8%35.6%28.7%893
Wisconsin23.7%32.9%30.9%14.7%3,636
Wyoming28.6%29.3%27.0%25.4%433

Closed-end loans in second lien position on an owner-occupied home. The bold figure is the reason cited most in that state.

How we counted

A denial counts once. Lenders can report up to four reasons for it, and we count a reason if it appears in any of the four fields. Each share is the number of denials citing that reason divided by the number of denials with at least one reason reported. Because one denial can carry several reasons, the shares add up to more than 100%.

Denials citing the reason ÷Denials with a reason =Share of denials

National totals, 2025
HELOCsHome equity loans
Decided applications1,829,336725,556
Denied601,027246,817
Denied, with a reason600,948246,702
Denial rate32.9%34.0%

Methodology

Data
HMDA 2025 Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset, via the FFIEC HMDA Data Browser, covering applications acted on in 2025. Retrieved October 22, 2026. This is the same download used for the HELOC approval rate study, and the national denial count and reason shares match it.
HELOC
An open-end line of credit (HMDA open-end line of credit flag = 1), secured by a one-to-four unit home that is the applicant's principal residence, for a consumer (not business) purpose. Reverse mortgages and home purchase lines are excluded.
Home equity loan
A closed-end loan in second (subordinate) lien position, with the same home, occupancy and purpose filters.
Denial
HMDA action taken 3 (application denied). Denial rate uses decided applications: action taken 1 (originated), 2 (approved but not accepted) and 3 (denied).
Denial reasons
HMDA denial reason fields 1 to 4, codes 1 to 9. Code 10 (not applicable) and exempt entries do not count as a reason. 79 HELOC denials had no reason reported and are left out of the shares.
Most-cited reason
The reason cited in the most denials in that state. No state had a tie.
Minimum sample
A state needs at least 300 HELOC denials with a reason to be ranked. Every state listed here cleared it; the smallest had 420. The same rule applies to the home equity loan table, where the smallest had 313. Shares from a few hundred denials can move a few points by chance, so small differences between small states are not meaningful.
States
The state where the property is. This study lists 45 states and DC. The national figures include every state, DC and the territories.

Queries

Every figure comes from the FFIEC HMDA Data Browser API. The loan-level rows were filtered and counted by LenderMatch.

  • Loan-level rows, all states (the study data)https://ffiec.cfpb.gov/v2/data-browser-api/view/nationwide/csv?years=2025&actions_taken=1,2,3&loan_purposes=2,31,32,4,5

Checks

A second script, written separately, recounted every national and state figure on this page from the raw rows and matched them all. It also matched the national denial count, the national reason shares and each state's denial count against the HELOC approval rate study.

Limitations

  • HMDA public data has no credit scores, so nothing here shows denials by score.
  • A denial reason is what the lender reported. Lenders weigh credit, income and equity together, and the reasons they list may not capture every factor.
  • "Other" is a catch-all the lender chooses; HMDA does not say what it covers.
  • Lenders that originated fewer than 200 open-end lines of credit in each of the two prior years do not have to report them, so the smallest HELOC lenders are missing.
  • Some lenders with partial exemptions report denial reasons as exempt; those denials are left out of the shares.
  • The 2025 data is the snapshot release. FFIEC can publish revised one-year and three-year files later, and figures may shift slightly.

How to cite this study

You are welcome to use these figures. Please credit LenderMatch and link to this page.

LenderMatch. “Why HELOCs get denied, by state, 2025.” Analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data (FFIEC). Published October 23, 2026. https://lendermatch.io/data/heloc-denial-reasons/

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common reason a HELOC is denied?

Debt-to-income ratio. Lenders cited it in 47.3% of 2025 HELOC denials, followed by credit history (34.8%) and collateral (18.4%), according to HMDA data. A lender can give up to four reasons for one denial, so the shares add up to more than 100%.

In which states is credit history the top HELOC denial reason?

In 2025, credit history was cited more often than debt-to-income ratio in Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The highest shares of HELOC denials citing credit history were in Mississippi (53.3%), West Virginia (51.7%) and Alabama (47.9%).

Where is debt-to-income ratio cited most in HELOC denials?

Idaho (61.4%), Massachusetts (60.9%) and Utah (60.5%) had the highest shares in 2025. West Virginia (30.5%), Alabama (33.6%) and Texas (36.3%) had the lowest.

What does a collateral denial mean?

The home that would secure the line did not support it, for example because its value came in too low or too little equity was left after the mortgage. Collateral was cited in 18.4% of HELOC denials nationally, and in Wyoming (27.4%), Hawaii (26.4%) and Alaska (26.4%) more than anywhere else.

Does this data show HELOC denials by credit score?

No. Public HMDA data does not include credit scores. It records when a lender cited credit history as a reason for a denial, which happened in 34.8% of 2025 HELOC denials, but not the score behind it.

Why are home equity loans denied?

For closed-end home equity loans, debt-to-income ratio was also the top reason in 2025 (34.6% of denials), followed by credit history (28.0%) and incomplete applications (21.4%). Lenders denied 34.0% of home equity loan applications, against 32.9% for HELOCs.

Keep reading

Enter your home value and what you owe to see your borrowing room at common limits.

See how much you could borrow

See what HELOC lenders could offer you.

One short form, about 2 minutes. Lenders in your state reach out with their rates and terms, and LenderMatch never pulls your credit.

You're never obligated to take an offer.

Pick one to start the form.

Buying a home? The purchase form opens soon.

Sources

  • Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, 2025 snapshot national loan-level dataset, via the HMDA Data Browser (retrieved October 22, 2026).
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, public HMDA LAR data fields: action taken, open-end line of credit and denial reason definitions (accessed October 23, 2026).

Last reviewed October 23, 2026. These figures describe past applications reported under HMDA. They are not a prediction or an offer from LenderMatch or any lender. LenderMatch is not a lender and does not make loans or credit decisions.