Resources > Glossary > Lock Period

Glossary of Notary Public, Mortgage, Signing Agent, and Loan Signing Terms.

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Common Terms 1   Common Terms 2

Lock Period

Function: noun

Definition 1:
An amount of time that a lender will guarantee a loan's interest rate. Once you've locked in the interest rate on a loan, the lender will guarantee that rate for a certain period of time which typically is for 30, 45 or 60 days. The biggest danger in the notary profession is to either make a mistake notarizing the loan documents, or allow a mistake to happen while the borrowers are signing the loan documents, or to not get the documents returned to the correct address on time. Such mistakes can cause a borrower to lose their lock. If the lock period expires before the paperwork is submitted to the final party in completed form, the borrower can lose their lock. If the interest rate goes up in the mean time, the lender will be very upset with the notary, and the notary might even be held for liability.