50 U.S.C. § 3953: SCRA Foreclosure Protection, One Year After Service

What § 3953 does to your money

If you owned the property and took the mortgage before entering service, this section stands between the lender and a non-judicial foreclosure. A sale, foreclosure or seizure for breach of that obligation is not valid if made during service or within one year after, unless a court ordered it first (with a return the court approves) or you signed a valid § 3918 waiver agreement during or after service.

In a suit to enforce the mortgage filed during service or within the year after, the court may act on its own and must act on your request when service materially affects your ability to pay: stay the case as long as justice and equity require, or adjust the obligation to preserve everyone’s interests. That adjustment power is the opening for a modification ordered by a judge rather than offered by a servicer.

The tail after service was 90 days until 2008, nine months from 2008, and one year from 2012 (Pub. L. 112-154). A 2018 law, Pub. L. 115-174, repealed the provision that would have sent it back to nine months, so one year is now permanent. A mortgage you took out while already serving is outside this section, the same pre-service limit the 6% cap in § 3937 has.

Guides on this site that apply § 3953

• SCRA and Your Mortgage: 6% Cap, 1-Year Tail, VA Loans

  The 6% cap on a pre-service mortgage, why it runs a full year past active duty, the no-foreclosure shield, VA loans, and the refinance trap that kills it.

• Carrington Mortgage SCRA: Servicemembers Connection 888-267-5474

  Carrington routes SCRA requests to its Military Liaison: (888) 267-5474, 8 to 8 ET, or ServicemembersConnection@carringtonms.com. No rate printed; 6% applies.

• Citizens Bank SCRA: Email the Military Assistance Team, 30-Day Answer

  Citizens takes SCRA requests by email, fax, or mail and promises a written answer within 30 days. What to send, what 6% refunds you, and the letter to file.

• Does the SCRA Cover Veterans? What Survives Separation

  The SCRA is active-duty law, so most protections end when you separate. But five post-service windows keep paying. What survives, what dies, and the deadlines.

• Fifth Third SCRA: 6% Cap, All Fees Waived, One Specialist Line

  Fifth Third caps pre-service loans and cards at 6% and waives all fees during active duty. Which desk to use, what to send, and your refund estimate.

• Freedom Mortgage SCRA Benefits: Where to Send Your Orders

  Freedom Mortgage has no SCRA page or PDF, just one FAQ answer telling you to mail your orders. What to send with them, the 6% mortgage math, and a letter.

• How to Apply for SCRA Benefits (and How Long It Actually Takes)

  No SCRA application exists. You notify each creditor in writing with your orders, up to 180 days after service. What to send, where, and how long it takes.

• How to Use the SCRA With Any Mortgage Servicer

  Rocket, Mr. Cooper, PennyMac, Freedom, Newrez, loanDepot: one SCRA process. The 6% cap, the 1-year foreclosure tail, and exactly how to file.

• HUD SCRA Notice (Form HUD-92070): 45 Days, Rev. 4/2024, Expires 2028

  Form HUD-92070 (rev. 4/2024, expires 03/31/2028) goes to any home-loan borrower within 45 days of a missed payment, 12 U.S.C. § 1701x(c)(5). Both sides read.

• Huntington SCRA: 6% Cap With Fees Waived, Fax 877-674-6738

  Huntington caps pre-service loans at 6% and says the cap includes a fee waiver. It accepts orders, a DD214, or a CO letter. Refund estimate and letter here.

• Mr. Cooper SCRA: 6% Cap, Email Filing, and the Rocket Merger

  Mr. Cooper applies the 6% SCRA mortgage cap for service plus 12 months. How to file, what the Rocket deal changes, and what the cap saves on your loan.

• Newrez SCRA (Shellpoint): 6% Cap, PO Box 10826, a 9-Month Error

  Newrez and Shellpoint publish no SCRA page. A Newrez blog states the 6% cap; its letters say 12 months of foreclosure cover. Mail orders to PO Box 10826.

2 of the site’s state pages also cite § 3953 when they compare a state law to the federal rule.

Enforcement record: 6 Justice Department cases

Cases in the site’s DOJ enforcement ledger about the conduct § 3953 governs, newest first, each transcribed from the Justice Department’s own record.

• PHH Mortgage Corp. (2019)

  Settlement (February 6, 2019): $750,000 in damages, $125,000 per servicemember, plus ongoing monitoring for SCRA compliance.

• Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. (2017 to 2018)

  Settlement (September 26, 2018): up to $750,000 to the aggrieved servicemembers. Northwest Trustee had gone out of business and was in state receivership when the agreement was reached.

• Westlake Services, LLC and Wilshire Commercial Capital (2017)

  Settlement (September 27, 2017): $700,000 in compensation to the affected servicemembers, credit repair for all of them, a $60,788 civil penalty, and new SCRA policies and procedures. A 2022 addendum addressed separate rate-cap violations (listed in this ledger as its own entry).

• JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, GMAC Mortgage (Ally), and Bank of America (National Mortgage Settlement SCRA review) (2015)

  By September 30, 2015, a total of 2,413 servicemembers and their co-borrowers were eligible for over $311 million. Under the NMS terms, identified servicemembers received $125,000 each, plus any lost equity in the property with interest.

• BAC Home Loans Servicing LP (Countrywide), a Bank of America subsidiary (2011 to 2013)

  $20 million settlement (May 2011), which the DOJ’s April 2013 update grew to over $36.8 million for 297 servicemembers as the 2009 to 2010 review concluded: a minimum of $116,785 per servicemember plus compensation for lost equity with interest.

• Saxon Mortgage Services, Inc., a Morgan Stanley subsidiary (2011 to 2013)

  $2.35 million settlement (May 2011); per the DOJ’s April 2013 update, Saxon was paying out over $2.5 million to 19 servicemembers, a minimum of $130,555.56 each plus compensation for lost equity with interest.

The full text of 50 U.S.C. § 3953

From the United States Code, 2024 Edition, current through January 6, 2025, as published by the U.S. Government Publishing Office on GovInfo (retrieved October 10, 2026). No amendment enacted after the edition cutoff was found on Cornell LII or in GovInfo’s compiled SCRA (amended through Pub. L. 118-159, Dec. 23, 2024). House style: the Code’s em dashes before a list are shown as colons, and en dashes as hyphens or “to”; no word of the text is changed.

Enacted and amended by: (Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, title III, §303, as added Pub. L. 108-189, §1, Dec. 19, 2003, 117 Stat. 2847; amended Pub. L. 110-289, div. B, title II, §2203(a), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2849; Pub. L. 111-275, title III, §303(b)(4), Oct. 13, 2010, 124 Stat. 2878; Pub. L. 112-154, title VII, §710(a), (b), (d)(3), Aug. 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 1208; Pub. L. 115-174, title III, §313, May 24, 2018, 132 Stat. 1356.)

What changed, and when

The Office of the Law Revision Counsel’s amendment notes for § 3953, newest first.

• 2018: Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 115-174 repealed Pub. L. 112-154, §710(d)(1), (3). See 2012 Amendment notes below.
• 2012: Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 112-154, §710(d)(3), as amended, which would have revived the provisions of subsecs. (b) and (c) as in effect on July 29, 2008, was repealed by Pub. L. 115-174, §313. Pub. L. 112-154, §710(a), (b), substituted "within one year" for "within 9 months" in introductory provisions.
• 2010: Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 111-275 amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) related to penalties.
• 2008: Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 110-289 substituted "9 months" for "90 days" in introductory provisions.