Eligibility certificate, teudat zakaut (תעודת זכאות), for a mashkanta: who qualifies, how much, how to get it and whether it pays off

An eligibility certificate (תעודת זכאות) is a document from the Ministry of Construction and Housing. It lets people without a home take part of their mashkanta on terms set by the state. You request it at a branch of a bank that gives mashkantaot, registration costs 60 ₪, and it is valid for a year. The amount depends on points: a basic loan of 54,240 ₪ to 161,665 ₪, and for new-immigrant families at least 107,090 ₪. The rate is below the average on a fixed maslul linked to the madad (consumer price index), but the debt grows when the madad rises, so it is not always the cheapest: compare before you take it.

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Below: who can get it, what is special for new immigrants, how points are counted, the steps at the bank, and when the eligibility loan pays off and when less so. The numbers come from the ministries' sites, with dates at the end of the page.

How much: the amount by points

Points	Basic loan
599 to 999	54,240 ₪‏
1,000 to 1,399	62,400 ₪‏
1,400 to 1,499	74,350 ₪‏
1,500 to 1,599	85,250 ₪‏
1,600 to 1,699	96,190 ₪‏
1,700 to 1,799	107,090 ₪‏
1,800 to 1,899	117,985 ₪‏
1,900 to 1,999	128,930 ₪‏
2,000 to 2,099	139,825 ₪‏
2,100 to 2,199	150,720 ₪‏
2,200 and above	161,665 ₪‏

This is the state loan only, without the bank's mashkanta and without the additions below. Those who do not reach the first group get no loan by points, only additions in certain localities. As a rule, the whole mashkanta, together with the bank's loan, does not exceed 75% of the home's price.

Who can get it

People without a home: the main condition is counting as «without a home» (חסרי דירה). In the ten years before the request you had no rights in a home or part of one, including by inheritance or gift. Also: you have never received state housing aid as a loan, grant or home. There are exceptions, for example single parents who owned up to half of a home sold after a divorce.
Couples: married, common-law, and couples registered to marry. Points grow with years of marriage, children, and brothers and sisters.
Single people: from age 30 nationwide. From age 21 in national priority areas A and B (עדיפות לאומית), for those who served in the army or national service (sherut leumi). The ceiling for single people is 1,690 points.
Single parents: a long-settled family headed by a single parent gets a fixed amount by 2,200 points, that is 161,665 ₪.
New immigrants: 15 years from receiving new-immigrant status, under their own rules. Details in the next section.
People with disabilities: from age 21 nationwide, with 200 extra points and a higher minimum. A disability of 75% or more is shown by a certificate from National Insurance, the Health Ministry or the Defense Ministry.

New immigrants: what you get and what is checked

How long: eligibility lasts 15 years from receiving new-immigrant status.
New-immigrant family: a couple of new immigrants, an immigrant parent with a child, or immigrants married to someone already living here with a child born abroad before aliyah (there are further conditions). Those counted are the people listed on one oleh certificate. The points are years in the country, plus children, plus a fixed 730 points, and in any case at least 1,700 points in the first year and 1,800 from the second year.
Single new immigrants: from age 21: years in the country plus 600 points, and over age 45 years in the country plus 400 points. The ceiling is 1,690 points.
After five years in the country: families get an addition by seniority: 19,630 ₪ after 5 or 6 full years, 28,370 ₪ after 7, and 43,630 ₪ from 8 years. The addition is at 3% for 28 years.
You can choose: new immigrants may also take the aid under the rules for people already living here, if that works out better. Calculate both ways before choosing.
Where to ask: the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, phone 2994* (from abroad: 97239733333+), gives free guidance in every language, including on the mashkanta and the reduced purchase tax for new immigrants.

How points are counted

Couples living here add up three numbers: years of marriage, children (a pregnancy from week 24 counts as a child), and brothers and sisters who are citizens and residents, separately for each partner. For new immigrants, years in the country replace years of marriage, with the same values, and brothers and sisters do not count. The ministry has a calculator, and the deciding number is the one on the certificate.

How much	Years of marriage	Children	Brothers and sisters
0	30	0	0
1	250	350	50
2	300	500	100
3	350	650	150
4	400	800	400
5	450	900	600
6	500	1,000	650
Each additional	50	100	50

Four examples

A couple, two years after the wedding, one child, two and three siblings: 300 plus 350 plus 100 plus 150 is 900 points, that is 54,240 ₪. If they served 60 months of compulsory service together, 32,520 ₪ is added, 86,760 ₪ in total.
A new-immigrant family in the first year, one child: 30 plus 350 plus 730 is 1,110 points, but the minimum is 1,700, that is 107,090 ₪.
A new-immigrant family, 8 years in the country, two children: 600 plus 500 plus 730 is 1,830 points, that is 117,985 ₪, plus the seniority addition of 43,630 ₪: 161,615 ₪ in total.
A long-settled single parent: a fixed amount of 161,665 ₪, whatever the number of children.

Additions to the basic amount

To whom	How much	On the terms of
Compulsory, national (sherut leumi) or civilian service	1% of the basic loan for each month (civilian service: up to 12 months)	the eligibility rate
Active reserve duty	From 2% to 10% of the basic loan, for those with at least six years of active reserve duty, as the ministry defines it	the eligibility rate
The 10 Plus program	132,000 ₪. Among the conditions: a couple or single parent with at least two children, ten years in the country and as a family, and income up to 11,105 ₪ a month (2025 average)	the eligibility rate
Negev localities	48,000 ₪ to 84,000 ₪, depending on the locality	the eligibility rate
National priority area A	100,000 ₪ in most localities. Families also get a basic loan as for at least 1,500 points	4.5% for 20 years
National priority area B	70,000 ₪ in most localities, in apartment buildings	4.5% for 20 years
A protected room (ממ"ד) in border localities	A grant of 9,100 ₪ or 10,400 ₪, depending on the type of home	A grant, not a loan

How to get the certificate, step by step

Step one, registration: go to a branch of one of the banks that give mashkantaot with the documents and pay 60 ₪. At Leumi you can also apply online. You can do this before you have a home and before choosing a bank.
Step two, the check: the ministry checks the request against government databases, for example property tax.
Step three, the certificate: the ministry issues the certificate and sends it to the bank where you registered. It states the amount, the terms and the limits. The ministry does not commit to a time, so apply early, before signing a contract.
Step four, the loan: take it at any bank that gives mashkantaot, not necessarily the one that issued the certificate. The money goes straight to the seller or contractor.

What to bring to the bank

Identity card with its appendix (ספח).
Copies of all brothers' and sisters' identity cards, or a declaration with their details.
Couples: a marriage certificate, proof of registering to marry, or a common-law declaration.
New immigrants: the oleh certificate.
Service: a service record from the IDF site, a reserve certificate (hotline 6535*), or a national service (sherut leumi) certificate.
Pregnancy: a certificate from a medical institution.
Disability: the relevant certificate.
Divorced: a divorce certificate and agreement. Widowed: a death certificate.

Does the eligibility loan pay off

The rate is fixed and linked to the madad. It is half a percent below the Bank of Israel average for linked loans, no more than 3%, and if the bank's usual rate is lower, then that. The rate is not negotiated. The term is up to 30 years, and can be shortened to 5 to 10, 15, 20 or 25 years.

An example on 100,000 ₪ for 25 years. The rates of the two bank maslulim are the averages the Bank of Israel published for 09/2026, not an offer. In total payments we assumed a madad of 2% a year on all linked maslulim, because what is really paid depends on it.

Maslul	Rate	First payment	Total payments
Eligibility loan	2.84%	466 ₪‏	172,592 ₪‏
Fixed linked, average	3.34%	492 ₪‏	181,371 ₪‏
Fixed unlinked, average	4.51%	556 ₪‏	166,920 ₪‏

Against fixed linked: the eligibility loan is cheaper, by about 8,779 ₪ in the example. Here it nearly always wins, unless the bank offers you an especially low rate.
Against fixed unlinked: the first payment is lower, but in the example the total paid is higher. The rate gap is 1.67 percentage points: if the madad rises on average by more than that a year, fixed unlinked comes out cheaper, and if by less, the eligibility loan does.
What the table does not show: the eligibility loan has no early repayment fee (עמלת פירעון מוקדם), and you can repay it at any time without a penalty. And people with an eligibility loan get a larger discount on the early repayment fee on the bank's loan.
What to check in priority areas: the addition there is at 4.5%, above the average on fixed linked and about the same as fixed unlinked. You need not take it just because it is offered.

Getting the certificate is almost always worth it: it costs 60 ₪, does not oblige you to take the loan, and the amount is written on it.
Taking the full amount: suits people who want a low first payment and freedom to repay early, and accept that the debt will rise with the madad.
Taking less, or giving it up: you can give it up. That makes sense when the mortgage mix (תמהיל) already has many linked maslulim, or when the bank has a better offer. Ask the bank to show both options, and check the offer you received.

Before any step, check with your bank. The payoff balance, the early repayment fee and the rate on a new offer are set by the bank, and its figure is the one that counts.

Where people slip

You signed and the time passed: on a second-hand home the loan is given only up to a year from signing, on a new home from a contractor up to 36 months, and in both cases only if the price has not been paid in full, and not above the debt left to the seller.

The certificate expired: it is valid for a year from the day of the request. Extend it at the branch, and check it is valid before signing.

You relied on a certificate not yet issued: according to the ministry, a contract signed that way is at your own risk.

You thought it was guaranteed: the bank still checks your own funds, ability to repay, and the appraisal. The certificate does not replace the bank's approval.

You got a refusal or a low amount: you can appeal to the ministry's committees through the branch, with a letter and documents.

Other benefits not to confuse with this

Discounted housing (דירה בהנחה): a separate lottery program, with its own confirmation and different rules. The eligibility certificate gives no right to it, and vice versa.

Discharged soldiers' personal deposit: money that can be used to buy a home. This is not the eligibility loan.

Holocaust survivors: they have separate loans, under different rules.

Senior citizens aged 70 and over, living on an income-supplement allowance or a similar one, who took a mashkanta by 04/11/2007: the ministry may share in the monthly payments (there are further conditions), hotline 8583* (extension 3).

Sources and dates

The sites of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, and the definition of «without a home» (חסרי דירה) on Kol Zchut: read on 07/11/2026, to be rechecked by 07/02/2027. The rates in the example: Bank of Israel averages for 09/2026. Published 07/11/2026. The binding wording is that of the ministry and of your certificate.

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