What Is a Cosigner? Definition, Alternatives

What Is a Cosigner?

By Kristi Waterworth – Updated Aug 7, 2025 at 6:40 PM EST

Key Points

Cosigners assure lenders by guaranteeing loans when primary borrowers lack credit.
If a principal borrower fails to pay, the cosigner must cover missed payments.
Alternatives like larger down payments can replace the need for a cosigner.

If you've ever needed to borrow money and been turned down, you've been in a position where a cosigner might have been helpful. Read on to learn more about cosigners and the role they play in financial life.

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In the case of a mortgage, for example, co-borrowers are almost always also co-owners. Unlike a cosigner, a co-borrower promises to pay the debt each and every month, not just in the case that you don't. They've agreed to help you pay the debt all the way to the end. And, much like with a cosigner, if you don't pay your half, the co-borrower is on the hook for all of it.

The main difference between a cosigner and a co-borrower is that the co-borrower has the right to use the property secured by the loan, whereas a cosigner does not. When it's a student loan or something similar, this obviously doesn't apply since they can't use your degree as they see fit, although they may still benefit from it.

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About the Author

Kristi Waterworth has been a contributing real estate and financial expert at The Motley Fool, covering real estate, investing, and personal finance topics, since 2020. Kristi has been interviewed by various TV media outlets and podcasts for her real estate investing expertise – from residential real estate to digital real estate and everything in between. Kristi’s journalist career spans over 25 years, and she has written about real estate investing, homeownership, and home construction specifically for the last decade. She was also previously a licensed Realtor and general building contractor before the Great Recession and housing market collapse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Columbia College in Missouri.

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