Thousands of homeowners participating in the Obama administration's foreclosure-prevention plan could miss a government deadline for completing necessary paperwork, putting them at risk of disqualification.

The program, a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's housing-rescue effort, was launched in February and has been bedeviled by paperwork problems from the start. Many companies have given borrowers modified mortgage terms on a trial basis, based on verbal information, and have struggled to get the documents required to finalize mortgage modifications.

According to data released by the Treasury Department Friday, more than 900,000 borrowers have begun trial modifications under the program, but just 7% of them have received permanent changes so far.

Wall Street Journal