If you have private mortgage insurance, you’re probably looking forward to the day when it ends, sweetly reducing your mortgage payment.
Although you pay for PMI, the coverage protects the lender, not you, against the risk that you'll stop making your mortgage payments. About 20% of mortgages originated in the U.S. from 2022 to 2024 were conventional loans with PMI, according to a 2025 Urban Institute Housing Finance Policy Center report.
In many cases, you can ask your mortgage servicer to remove PMI once you've paid off enough of your loan that you owe 80% or less of your home's original value.
If you don't request it, your servicer is generally required to remove PMI automatically when your loan balance reaches 78% of the home's original value.
Here’s a closer look at four ways to get rid of PMI. These apply only to private mortgage insurance for conventional loans. If you have government-backed mortgages, such as FHA loans, different rules apply.
1. Wait for automatic cancellation
Eventually, your mortgage insurance will fall away automatically. For most conventional loans, your mortgage servicer must cancel PMI once your loan balance reaches 78% of your home's original value, as long as you're current on your payments.
Though automatic, it's still a good idea to keep track of your progress.Request a written copy of your PMI cancellation schedule and your lender’s requirements, so you’ll know when your payments are supposed to stop.
» MORE: Calculate your PMI costs
2. Request PMI removal sooner
Once your mortgage balance reaches 80% of the original home value, you can ask the mortgage servicer to cancel PMI.
Did you know...
Lenders don't always use the price you paid for the home when calculating PMI removal. Instead, they typically use whichever was lower when you got the mortgage: the home's purchase price or its appraised value.The percentage represents your loan-to-value ratio (LTV). To find the LTV, divide the loan balance by the original purchase price or use NerdWallet’s loan-to-value calculator. Check your PMI schedule, which is based on your home’s original value, to track your progress. Make a written request to your mortgage servicer several months before the mortgage is scheduled to hit 80% LTV and get the process moving.
Alternatively, use a mortgage amortization calculator to figure when you'll hit 80% LTV. You’ll reach the threshold earlier than scheduled if you make extra payments to reduce the principal balance.
To make the case for cancellation you’ll need:
- A good payment history. The rule is no payments 30 days late in the past 12 months and no 60-day late payments in the previous 24 months. Timely payments count when it comes to getting rid of PMI. Late payments can put you in a high-risk category, making canceling harder.
- No other liens. Your mortgage must be the home’s only debt, including second mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit.
- Proof of value. A home appraisal, at your expense, to prove the home’s value hasn’t fallen. Certain lenders accept a broker price opinion or free, automated valuation instead.
» MORE: What is mortgage amortization?
3. Get a new appraisal to remove PMI
Rising property values might also pave the way for early PMI removal. You can request early PMI cancellation based on the home's current value if, like most conventional loans, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac backs your mortgage. Fannie and Freddie are the government-sponsored enterprises that purchase mortgages from lenders.
But before spending $300 to $500 on an appraisal, check your lender’s rules. Some lenders require borrowers to use certain appraisers. Others accept a broker price opinion — a quicker, less expensive process.
Here’s a caveat:
To cancel based on current value, you must have owned the home for at least two years and have 75% LTV. If you've owned the home for at least five years, you can cancel at 80% LTV.
However, lenders may waive the two-year requirement if the increased value is due to improvements you've made to the property. Maybe you renovated the kitchen and bathrooms or added a bedroom. In that case, the LTV ratio must be 80% or less.
4. Refinance to get rid of PMI
If interest rates have dropped since you took out the mortgage, you might want to consider refinancing. Besides saving money from getting a lower rate, refinancing might also let you get rid of PMI if the new loan balance is less than 80% of the home’s value.
Keep in mind though, refinancing will require paying closing costs, which can include myriad fees. You’ll want to make sure refinancing won’t cost you more than you’ll save. Use our refinance calculator to help decide whether it’s time to refinance.
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Occasionally, borrowers and lenders knock heads over canceling PMI. If you run into insurmountable obstacles when trying to cancel, escalate it to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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