Seasoning period
Also known as: employment seasoning, income seasoning
The minimum time a borrower must have held a job, self-employment, or other income source before a lender will count it toward qualifying income. Typically 24 months for self-employment and tipped income; 90 to 180 days for new W-2 employment in the same field.
Full definition
Seasoning period is underwriter shorthand for 'how long the income source must exist before we trust it.' Standard seasoning rules: W-2 employment in the same field, 30 to 90 days; W-2 employment in a new field, 90 to 180 days; self-employment, 24 months minimum; bank-statement-based deposit averaging, 12 to 24 months; rental income, 24 months of Schedule E history. Seasoning rules differ between lenders and product types, and some are explicit in published underwriting guides (Fannie Mae's seller guide, for example, sets seasoning rules that conventional mortgages follow). Personal-loan lenders have less standardisation; the practical seasoning floor for marketplace lending is usually 90 days of W-2 employment or 24 months of self-employment.
- Written by
- Get Advance Loan Editorial Team
- Reviewed by
- Compliance Review
- Published
- January 15, 2026
- Last reviewed
- May 22, 2026
- Pre-qualificationA preliminary check that estimates the loan terms you might qualify for, based on a soft credit inquiry that does not affect your score.
- Pre-approvalA stronger lending check than pre-qualification, often involving a hard credit inquiry and a conditional commitment from the lender.
- UnderwritingThe lender's process of evaluating credit, income, identity, and risk before approving and pricing a loan.
- Co-signerA second person who agrees to repay your loan if you don't. A strong-credit co-signer can help you qualify or lower your APR.
- Co-applicantA second borrower who shares both the obligation to repay and access to the funds. Different from a co-signer.
- Promissory noteThe signed legal document in which a borrower promises to repay a loan according to specified terms. The promissory note is the loan's enforceable contract.
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