Every loan in Sonar carries a status — a single label that tells you and the rest of the team where the file lives today.
Tip: If you're just looking for the how of requesting a status change, see Changing the Status of a Loan Application. This article covers the what and the why.
How a loan moves through the pipeline
Most loans take the same path: Onboarding → Lead → Active → Closed. The rest of the diagram exists for the cases that don't go cleanly.
Here's where a loan can move from each status:
From Onboarding → Lead, Active (if you skip straight to taking the application), or Inactive
From Lead → Active, or Inactive
From Active → Incomplete Warning, Incomplete, Withdrawn, Adverse, Closed, Suspended, Approved Not Accepted, or back to Lead (if it turns out the file isn't ready for application yet)
From Suspended → Active, Incomplete Warning, Incomplete, Withdrawn, or Adverse
From Incomplete Warning → Active (borrower came through), Incomplete or Withdrawn
From Incomplete, Withdrawn, Adverse, or Approved Not Accepted → You can revive the file back to Active, or move it sideways into any of the other three terminal states if the reason for closing it out has changed
From Inactive → Lead
From Closed → Active (reopen only — used rarely, for example to correct a closed loan)
The eleven statuses
Status | What it means |
Onboarding | The borrower has started the intake flow but hasn't been claimed as a real lead yet. No application has been taken. |
Lead | A loan officer (or the system) has confirmed this is a real prospect worth working. No URLA yet. |
Active | A 1003/URLA has been submitted. The file is in your live pipeline — disclosures, processing, underwriting, and CTC all happen here. |
Suspended | The lender or LO has paused the file (rate-shopping holds, borrower-needs-time situations). The clock is paused. |
IncompleteWarning | The file is nearing the regulatory window for being closed as incomplete. The borrower still has time to provide what's missing. |
Incomplete | The file has been closed for incompleteness. The borrower didn't return signed disclosures or required info in time. |
Withdrawn | The borrower asked to stop, or the file was withdrawn for another business reason (e.g., duplicate application, switched lenders). |
Adverse | The application was denied. A reason code is required (credit, income, collateral, etc.). |
ApprovedNotAccepted | We approved the loan, but the borrower walked away or chose a different lender. |
Closed | The loan funded successfully. This is the happy-path terminal state. |
Inactive | An Onboarding or Lead file that's been parked or abandoned. It can come back as a Lead later. |
Important Information
A loan can only reach Closed from Active. You can't shortcut a funded loan past the application step. This is by design — it guarantees there's a real URLA and Application Date on file before funding can be recorded.
Inactive is a one-way exit for early-stage files only. Once a loan has gone Active, you can't move it to Inactive — you'd instead use Withdrawn, Incomplete, or Adverse, which capture the regulatory reason for the file ending.
Going "backward" is allowed in two places: Active → Lead (you took the application too soon) and any of the closed-out states → Active (you're reopening). Everything else moves forward.
Each status change requires a reason. Every transition prompts you to pick a reason — the available options depend on the destination status. These reasons feed compliance reporting, so pick the most accurate one.
Destination | Available reasons |
Onboarding | Borrower Requested |
Lead | Borrower Requested |
Active | Borrower Requested, New Information |
Suspended | Lender Requested |
Incomplete Warning | I2P Not Signed, Incomplete Application |
Incomplete | I2P Not Signed, Incomplete Application |
Withdrawn | Duplicate Application, Borrower Requested, Lender Changed, Lender Withdrawn |
Adverse | Denied by Lender; No Credit File; Insufficient Credit; Limited Credit Experience; Credit File Locked; Garnishment, Attachment, Foreclosure, Repossession or Collection; Excessive Obligations; Insufficient Income for Total Obligations; Unacceptable Payment Record on Previous Mortgage; Delinquent Credit Obligations; Bankruptcy; Unacceptable Type of Credit References Provided; Poor Credit Performance; Number of Recent Inquiries on Credit Bureau Report; Unable to Verify Employment; Length of Employment; Temporary or Irregular Employment; Income Insufficient for Amount of Credit Requested; Unable to Verify Income; Temporary Residence; Length of Residence; Unable to Verify Residence; Credit Application Incomplete; Inadequate Collateral; Unacceptable Property; Unacceptable Appraisal; Unacceptable Leasehold Estate; Value or Type of Collateral Is Not Sufficient; We Do Not Grant Credit to Any Applicant on the Terms and Conditions You Have Requested; No Options Available; Co-Borrower Does Not Qualify |
Approved Not Accepted | Not Accepted |
Inactive | Abandoned, Requested |
Closed | Loan Funded |
Non-admins can request, admins approve. For sensitive transitions (Withdrawn, Adverse, ApprovedNotAccepted), non-admin users send a request and an administrator resolves it. Admins can change status directly. The Changing the Status of a Loan Application article walks through the click path.
Status drives downstream actions automatically. Moving a loan to Withdrawn or Adverse generates the appropriate borrower letter. Moving it to Active sets the Application Date. Moving it to Closed records the funded date. You don't need to do those things manually — the status change does them for you.