Mortgage lenders have a powerful new tool to help them assess whether they can get all the way to the closing table without printing out any documents, with the launch of an exchange that tracks the readiness of a wide range of industry players to conduct electronic closings.

The “e-Eligibility Exchange” — the product of a partnership between digital closing platform Snapdocs, and the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) — launched Tuesday with industry heavyweights including Freddie Mac and First American Corp. on board as data contributors.

Backers say the exchange is needed because there are so many players in the closing process that it can be difficult to figure out ahead of time just how paperless closings can be. States and county recorders have differing regulations and technological capabilities, and title insurers, settlement agents and investors often have their own requirements.

The eEligibility Exchange, which is free to use for MISMO members and exchange data contributors, will serve as a sort of data clearinghouse. By providing centralized access to acceptance criteria, the exchange will help lenders determine how digital they can get with each loan they’re processing, and whether they’ll be able to use paperless processes like electronic promissory notes (eNotes) or remote online notarization (RON).

At launch, other contributors to the exchange include the ALTA Registry from the American Land Title Association (ALTA), Deutsche Bank, Freedom Mortgage, Mr. Cooper, the National Notary Association (NNA), the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA), and Stewart Title.

While most lenders have the capability to conduct digital closings, they haven’t fully scaled up their capabilities because of the difficulty of assessing how far each loan can go in the paperless realm.