How to read your credit report

1. Personal information

Names you have used, current and former addresses, date of birth, and employers that lenders reported. Errors here are common and mostly harmless, but an address or name you have never used can mean a mixed file (someone else's account on your report) or identity theft. Check this section first.

2. Accounts (tradelines)

Every credit card, loan, mortgage and line of credit reported to the bureau, open or closed, usually for the last 7 to 10 years. For each account you will see:

• Creditor and account type: revolving (cards, lines of credit), installment (car, student, personal), mortgage, or open (some utilities and charge cards).
• Date opened, credit limit or original amount, current balance as of the last statement the lender reported.
• Status: open, closed, paid, charged off, in collection, transferred.
• Payment history grid: one code per month, going back up to 7 years.
• Ownership: individual, joint, or authorized user. Authorized-user accounts count for you, positively or negatively.

Payment history codes

Bureaus use short codes for each month. "OK", "C" or "0" mean paid as agreed. "30", "60", "90", "120" mean that many days late. "CO" is charge-off, "CLS" closed, "ND" or "-" no data for that month. One 30-day mark in an otherwise clean row is what most people are looking for when their score dropped.

3. Inquiries

Two lists. Hard inquiries come from applications for credit and stay for two years; only the last twelve months affect the score. Soft inquiries (your own checks, prequalifications, employer or landlord checks, account reviews by your existing lenders) are visible only to you and do not affect the score. A hard inquiry from a lender you never applied to is a red flag for fraud.

4. Collections

Debts sold or assigned to a collection agency. The entry shows the original creditor, the agency, the amount, and the date of first delinquency, which starts the 7-year clock. Since 2023 the bureaus no longer report medical collections under $500, and paid medical collections are removed. Before paying an old collection, ask the agency in writing for "pay for delete" or at least "paid in full" reporting.

5. Public records

Today this means bankruptcies. Civil judgments and tax liens were removed from credit reports in 2017 and 2018. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays 10 years from filing, Chapter 13 stays 7; the discharge date is what lenders look at.

What to check, in order

1. Personal information: any name or address that is not yours.
2. Accounts you do not recognize, or accounts listed as open that you closed years ago.
3. Late payments you believe were on time, and any 30-day mark on an account with autopay.
4. Balances and limits that look stale: a card reported with an old high balance drags utilization.
5. Collections older than 7 years from the first delinquency: they should be gone.
6. Hard inquiries you did not authorize.

Disputing an error is free

Each bureau has an online dispute form: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act they must investigate within 30 days (45 if you send more documents) and correct or delete what they cannot verify. Dispute with the bureau that shows the error, attach proof if you have it, and keep a copy. You can also dispute directly with the lender. Nobody can remove accurate negative information, and a company that promises to is breaking the law; anything a paid "credit repair" service does, you can do yourself with the same forms.