Credit Report

What is a credit report?

A credit report is a detailed record of how you've borrowed and repaid money, including your accounts, balances, and payment history. It's compiled by credit bureaus and used by lenders, landlords, and others to decide whether to approve you. Your credit score is calculated from the information in this report.

Key takeaways

• The three nationwide credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, and each keeps its own report on you.
• A credit report lists accounts, balances, payment history, and inquiries, but it does not include your income or your score.
• You can get free copies of your reports from all three bureaus at annualcreditreport.com, the official site for free reports.
• You have the right to dispute information that's wrong or incomplete.

How a credit report works

Lenders and card issuers send information about your accounts to the credit bureaus, usually once a month. The bureaus store it in your file. Because not every lender reports to all three bureaus, your three reports may not be identical.

A typical report includes:

• Personal information: name, current and past addresses, and similar identifying details.
• Accounts: credit cards, loans, and lines of credit, with balances, limits, and open dates.
• Payment history: whether each payment was on time or late.
• Public records and collections: such as bankruptcies or debts sent to collections.
• Inquiries: a list of who has pulled your report. Hard inquiries come from credit applications. Soft inquiries, like checking your own report, don't affect your score.

Most negative items, such as late payments, can stay on your report for up to seven years. Some bankruptcies can stay for up to ten.

Hypothetical example: You're planning to apply for a mortgage in six months. You pull all three reports and find a credit card listed as 30 days late on one of them, even though you paid on time. You file a dispute with that bureau and include your bank record of the payment. If the bureau confirms the error and corrects it, your score may improve before you apply, which could help you qualify for a better interest rate.

How often you can get free reports can change, so check annualcreditreport.com for the current schedule. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains how to dispute errors at consumerfinance.gov.

Why it matters for your Money Type

Priceless Tay groups money habits into 4 Money Types. A credit report matters most for the Strategist, the type who already has a working plan and wants to optimize it. Strategists tend to be the ones applying for a mortgage, refinancing, or financing a business, where the difference between good and excellent credit shows up as real dollars. Reviewing all three reports a few months before a big application gives time to fix mistakes before they cost anything.

A Saver who avoids debt may find their report is thin, with few or no active accounts, which can make it harder to get a score at all.

Common questions

Is a credit report the same as a credit score?

No. The report is the full record of your accounts and payment history. The score is a number calculated from that record. Getting your free report doesn't automatically give you your score.

Does checking my own credit report lower my score?

No. Pulling your own report counts as a soft inquiry and has no effect on your score. Only hard inquiries, which happen when you apply for credit, can lower it.

How do I fix an error on my credit report?

File a dispute with the bureau that shows the error, and include any documents that support your case. You can also contact the company that reported the information. The bureau is required to investigate and correct information it can't verify.

Why are my three credit reports different?

Not every lender reports to every bureau, and they may report on different days. That means one bureau can show an account or balance the others don't. It's why reviewing all three is worth the time.