U.S. Mortgage Index

Referral fee

Definition

A referral fee, in the RESPA sense, is a fee, kickback, or other thing of value given or accepted for referring settlement-service business on a federally related mortgage. It is not a general closing-cost line item.

In plain English

Settlement services are the work needed to close a home loan and transfer the property. Federal RESPA rules restrict paying someone merely for sending that business. This page names the prohibited referral-fee idea. It does not give compliance advice or treat every exception as an entitlement.

Technical definition

12 CFR 1024.14 is the official Regulation X text that prohibits referral fees and kickbacks for settlement-service business. CFPB’s RESPA resource page is supporting identity for the statute and regulation.

Why it matters

Closing-cost reviews and broker-compensation questions often use this term. It is a RESPA concept, not a generic fee synonym.

Sources reviewed

Important note

This page describes the prohibition. It is not a list of permitted arrangements.