How to Verify Your Closing Disclosure Before Signing

You have three business days to review your Closing Disclosure before signing. That's not a lot of time to catch errors, verify the math, and compare every fee against your Loan Estimate. Yet this is the single most important document review in your home purchase or refinance. Errors on the Closing Disclosure can cost you thousands — either in overpaid fees at closing or in tax consequences that unfold over decades. Here's exactly what to check, in order of priority.

Step 1: Verify Your Identity and Property Details

Before diving into numbers, confirm the basics. Check that your name is spelled correctly and matches your government ID exactly. A missing middle initial or a misspelled surname can cause the deed to be rejected by the county recorder. Verify the property address, including unit number and zip code. Confirm the closing date is correct. If any of these are wrong, stop and get them corrected before reviewing anything else. Everything else depends on the legal documents matching reality.

Step 2: Check the Loan Terms on Page 1

Page 1 of your CD displays the loan amount, interest rate, monthly principal and interest payment, and whether there is a prepayment penalty or balloon payment. Compare every number against your Loan Estimate and your loan commitment letter. If the interest rate changed between the LE and the CD, confirm that you agreed to the change — rate locks expire, and if your lock expired, the lender should have disclosed the new rate in writing.

Pay particular attention to the "Can this amount increase after closing?" column in the Projected Payments table. If any field says "Yes," understand why. Adjustable-rate mortgages will show future adjustments here. Escrow amounts may change as taxes and insurance premiums change. That's normal. But if your principal and interest payment shows it can increase, you may have an ARM when you thought you were getting a fixed-rate loan.

Step 3: Compare Every Fee Against the Loan Estimate

Page 2 of your CD has a comparison table on the far right labeled "Did this change?" with three columns: Loan Estimate, Final, and a checkmark column. Go through every line and confirm that:

• Section A fees (origination, points, underwriting) have not increased by even a dollar. Zero tolerance means exactly that.
• Section B fees (appraisal, credit report, flood cert) have not increased by more than 10% in aggregate. Add up all Section B charges on both the LE and CD and compare.
• Section C fees (title, settlement) match the quotes you received from the title company you chose. If you didn't shop, these numbers may have changed legitimately, but you should still verify them.
• New fees that weren't on the LE should have an explanation. Lenders cannot invent new zero-tolerance fees at closing.

Step 4: Verify the Cash-to-Close Calculation

The Calculating Cash to Close table on Page 1 walks through: Total amount you will owe at closing, minus any deposits already paid (earnest money), minus any seller credits or lender credits, minus any adjustments. The final number should match what your loan officer quoted and what you have available in your bank account. If the cash-to-close figure is higher than you expected, trace backwards through the calculation to find which line item changed. Common culprits include prepaid interest that was underestimated on the LE, escrow reserves higher than expected, or a last-minute change in the property tax proration.

Do the math yourself. Take the sale price, subtract your down payment and any credits, add the total closing costs from Page 2, and subtract any deposits you already made. If your number doesn't match the CD, find the discrepancy before closing.

Step 5: Review the Loan Disclosures on Page 3

Page 3 contains the legal disclosures: whether the loan is assumable, whether the lender intends to service the loan or transfer it, whether there is a demand feature, and a summary of late payment and foreclosure terms. The most important item here for most borrowers is the "Servicing" disclosure. If the box says the loan will be transferred, expect to receive a notice within 30 days of closing with the new servicer's contact information. Missing this notice and sending payments to the wrong address is a common — and costly — mistake.

Step 6: Check That All Credits and Adjustments Are Present

If your purchase contract included seller concessions (the seller agreed to pay a portion of your closing costs), those credits must appear on the Closing Disclosure. If you paid an earnest money deposit, confirm it appears as a credit in the cash-to-close calculation. If your lender offered a lender credit in exchange for a slightly higher rate, verify it appears on Page 2. Any missing credit is money you are effectively paying twice.