ICE Mortgage Technology will not be charging for access for software developer kit to Encompass after the Dec. 31 sunset date, providing some relief for those who have not made the switch, the company confirmed.

A copy of an email sent to clients who signed up for transitional access to Encompass SDK was posted on LinkedIn noting the decision not to require the previously disclosed fee.

Back in September 2024, ICE announced it was dropping SDKs for another form of connectivity with their loan origination system, application programming interfaces, or API for short.

SDK users were supposed to move to products which are Encompass API compliant or are native to the loan origination system.

In addition, legacy system users were supposed to shift ordering appraisal, closing fees, documents, flood, fraud, mortgage insurance, pricing, tax service, title and verifications to Encompass Partner Connect, EPC for short.

The switch was supposed to be completed by Oct. 31, 2025.

But in August, news broke on LinkedIn and confirmed by the company, that a delay was being put in place until the end of 2026 as some users needed more time.

"For those needing transitional SDK access after December 2026, special access will be required and monthly fees applied," a resource page from ICE said at the time.

As this new date approaches, however, some users are still behind in making the transition, and ICE changed course regarding the fee charge.

"We recognize migrations of this complexity take time and that the path forward looks different for every organization," the notice announcing the decision not to charge for transitional access said. "With that in mind, we want to ensure cost is never a barrier to completing your transition."

ICE Mortgage Technology added it will communicate any future updates, including a hard sunset date for the use of SDKs, with "appropriate advance notice."