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DictionaryThe buying process

Rate lock: what it means

A rate lock (or lock-in) means your interest rate will not change between the offer and closing, as long as you close within the agreed time frame and your application does not change. Rates can change daily; if yours is not locked, it can change at any time.

In Spanish it is

Bloqueo de tasa

Also written as: lock-in · interest rate lock

The full explanation

Even when locked, it can change if your loan amount, credit score, verified income or appraisal changes. Extending a lock can cost money, and if rates fall you may be stuck with the higher rate. The first page of the Loan Estimate says whether your rate is locked and until when.

An example

Camila's closing was delayed a week. Before her rate lock expires, she asks the lender what an extension would cost and what happens if she does not extend it.

You will see it in…

  • The Loan Estimate, page 1 (“Rate Lock”)
  • The lender's rate lock agreement
  • Lender emails about the lock expiration date

Words that go with it

You will rarely see this word alone. These are the ones that show up with it on the same papers.

More guides that use “rate lock”

More words on this topic: The buying process

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Still confused by a paper?

A HUD-approved housing counselor can walk you through it. Agencies usually charge little or nothing, many work in Spanish, and they do not sell you anything.

What a housing counselor does See free help

Official sources

We sum up what these official sources say, in plain words. We add no rules they do not state; when a rule changes, the definition and its date change.

  1. 1. CFPB · What's a lock-in or a rate lock on a mortgage? · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
  2. 2. CFPB · 12 CFR § 1026.37(a)(13): rate lock (Regulation Z) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026