Citizens will cancel PMI ahead of schedule, but it makes a point most servicers leave unsaid: whether you can request early cancellation depends partly on your property type. Knowing that before you call saves a wasted round trip.
Servicer policies, fees, forms, and phone numbers change over time. Use this as a general guide and confirm the current requirements directly with Citizens before you act.
Step 1: Confirm You Have the Equity
Start with your loan-to-value ratio — your current principal balance divided by your home's value. Citizens terminates PMI automatically on the date your loan is scheduled to reach 78% of the original value, provided you meet the conditions. You can ask sooner.
The 80% line
PMI can be requested below 80% LTV.
Below 80%
You can request PMI cancelation in writing.
At 78% (scheduled)
By law, your servicer must remove PMI.
Step 2: Property Type Changes the Answer
Citizens states that whether you can request early cancellation — and on what terms — depends on your property type and on meeting certain requirements. In practice this is the standard investor split:
- Single-family primary residence — the most straightforward case, and the one the standard thresholds are written for.
- Second homes and condos — often held to tighter requirements.
- Investment or multi-unit property — frequently subject to a lower LTV bar before a request will be considered.
Ask which bracket your loan sits in before you spend anything. If a rental property needs 70% LTV rather than 80%, that's the number to plan around — and finding out afterwards means having paid for a valuation aimed at the wrong target.
Step 3: Call to Confirm Your Eligibility
Citizens asks homeowners to call to find out whether they're eligible:
Citizens Mortgage Customer Service Phone: 800.234.6002 Hours: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. ET
Then put the request in writing. Ask on the call where written requests should go. Include your full name as it appears on the loan, your loan number, the property address, and a clear statement that you're requesting PMI cancellation based on current value. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it.
Three questions worth asking on that call, with the answers written down: what LTV does my property type require, which valuation types do you accept, and what does each cost? Those answers tell you whether to proceed now or wait.
Step 4: The Valuation — BPO or Appraisal
Citizens says a property valuation — a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) or an appraisal — may be required before PMI can be cancelled, and is explicit that you'll be responsible for the cost.
That BPO option is worth pushing on. A full appraisal commonly runs $350 to $550; a BPO is typically a fraction of that. If Citizens will accept a BPO on your loan, take it — the cancellation is identical either way, and the only thing that changes is what you paid to prove your number.
Don't order either one independently. Servicers use their own approved vendors, so a report you commission yourself generally won't count.
Step 5: Follow Through to Written Confirmation
Once the valuation lands, the request goes to review. If it supports your LTV, PMI comes off and your payment drops. Chase it if it goes quiet, keep a note of every call and who you spoke to, and get the removal confirmed in writing before you treat it as settled.
Never stop paying PMI on your own. It stops when the servicer removes it — paying short creates a delinquency, and a delinquency disqualifies you from the cancellation you're asking for.
Typical removal timeline
Most cases close in 30–60 days.
- 1
Day 1
Intake
You answer 5 questions
- 2
Week 1
Comps reviewed
We confirm eligibility
- 3
Weeks 2–4
Appraisal
Licensed valuation ordered & completed
- 4
Weeks 4–8
Lender filing
Formal cancelation submitted to servicer
- ✓
Week 8
PMI gone
Your next statement drops by the full PMI amount
The Bottom Line
With Citizens, the work happens before the request: establish what your property type requires, and find out whether a BPO will do. Homeowners who skip those two questions are the ones who pay for a full appraisal aimed at the wrong LTV.
PMI Ninja manages Citizens cancellations from start to finish — confirming the requirement that applies to your property, making the request in writing, steering toward the lowest-cost valuation Citizens will accept, and following up until removal is confirmed.
Want us to handle your Citizens PMI removal? Start the free check below — we'll tell you whether your equity supports cancellation before you spend a dime on a valuation.
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