Can I get a personal loan while on maternity leave?
Yes, if you're returning to the same job. Submit the employer letter confirming your return date and pre-leave salary; lenders treat that as continuous employment. Paid leave income (if FMLA is paid through your employer or short-term disability) also counts. Unpaid leave with no confirmed return triggers most declines.
Context
Federal Regulation B prohibits discrimination against borrowers on parental leave. Lenders may not deny a loan because the applicant is currently on FMLA, maternity, or paternity leave, provided the employment situation will return to normal. The standard documentation is a letter from the employer confirming the leave dates, the return date, and the pre-leave salary, plus the most recent paystubs from before leave began.
If the leave is paid (through accrued PTO, employer-paid maternity, or short-term disability insurance), the paid portion counts as current income on the application. Unpaid FMLA leave is the harder case: lenders typically require the return-date letter as the bridge between current zero income and future restored income, and they may underwrite to the post-leave salary as the qualifying figure.
Applications during leave for parents who do not intend to return to the same employer face the same underwriting as anyone between jobs: limited approval options, usually requiring co-signers or secured collateral.
- Reviewed by
- Compliance Review
- Last reviewed
- June 15, 2026
Ready to compare real personal-loan offers?
Two minutes. Soft credit check only.
Begin a request