The Submission Summary Report (SSR) is what UCDP sends back when a lender submits your appraisal. It sorts findings into three groups, system, UAD compliance and GSE proprietary, and gives each one a severity. The report is "Successful" only when no fatal finding fires, and the only way to clear a fatal finding is to change the data in the report and resubmit.
Who sees the SSR?
The lender, or its agent, submits the report to UCDP and receives the SSR. Independent fee appraisers cannot register for UCDP, so you usually see an SSR when your client forwards it with a revision request.
What are the three groups of findings?
| Group | Message IDs start with | What it checks |
|---|---|---|
| System | SYS | Whether the submitted UAD 3.6 ZIP file is complete and valid. The same for both GSEs. |
| UAD compliance | UAD | Whether the XML follows the UAD 3.6 specification. The same for both GSEs. |
| GSE proprietary | FNM or FRE | Fannie Mae's or Freddie Mac's own appraisal requirements. Only the GSE the report went to shows its findings. |
What do fatal, severe and warning mean?
| Severity | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fatal | Sets the status to Not Successful. The data has to change and a corrected file has to be resubmitted. |
| Severe | Affects the collateral rep and warrant relief decision. Read it and act if needed. The status does not change. |
| Warning | Flags something to review. It may need action. The status does not change. |
| Informational | For information only. Fannie Mae calls it Informational; Freddie Mac calls it Notification. |
System findings only ever come back as Fatal or Warning.
What does Successful mean?
If no fatal finding fires, the status is Successful. If any fatal finding fires, it is Not Successful. A loan needs an appraisal with a Successful status in UCDP before it can be delivered to the GSEs, which is why a fatal finding comes back to you fast.
A Successful SSR can still carry findings. The GSEs' guide says not every finding can be cleared, but every finding should be reviewed and considered.
How do I work through an SSR?
- Read the status first: Successful or Not Successful.
- Go to the fatal findings. The message ID tells you the group: SYS is the file, UAD is your data checked against the specification, and FNM or FRE is that GSE's own rule.
- Change the data the finding points to in your report software, then rebuild the file. A fatal finding does not clear any other way.
- Send the corrected report to your client to resubmit.
- Then read the severe findings and the warnings, and decide which need a correction or an explanation in the report.
Can I catch findings before I deliver?
Often, yes, if your report software runs the GSEs' UAD Compliance API. Fannie Mae describes it as "a source of validation to ensure appraisal reports are UAD compliant." It checks that the file is well formed, passes UAD 3.6 schema validation, and has the required fields, data types and formats, with the full rules published as Appendix H-1 for the URAR.
Ask your software vendor whether it runs this check and when, and run it before every delivery.
Questions appraisers ask
Can a lender override a fatal finding?
No. The GSEs' SSR guide says the only way to clear a fatal finding is to change the underlying data and resubmit a corrected file.
Do I get the SSR directly?
No. Independent fee appraisers cannot register for UCDP. The lender or its agent submits the report and receives the SSR, and usually forwards it to you with a revision request.
What do the letters at the start of a message ID mean?
SYS is a system finding about the file itself. UAD is a UAD compliance finding about the data. FNM or FRE is a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac proprietary finding.
Is a report with warnings still Successful?
Yes. Only fatal findings make a report Not Successful. Every finding should still be read and considered.