Understanding Your Credit Report and Credit Score

This publication provides key information on how to obtain and understand your credit report and score, as well as what to do if you find errors on your credit report.

Table of Contents

Your credit history

Understanding your credit report

• What is a credit report?
• Who can see your credit report?
• What kind of information does your credit report contain?
• How does the credit-reporting agency describe the history of your credit payments?
• What does a credit report look like?
  
  • TransUnion's Credit Report
  • Equifax's Credit Report

Understanding your credit score

• What is a credit score?
• What factors influence your credit score?
• How long do these factors affect your credit score?
• What does a credit score look like?
  
  • TransUnion's Credit Score
  • Equifax's Credit Score

Checking your credit report and your credit score

• How can you check your credit report and score?
• How can you get errors corrected?
• How can you improve your credit score?

Building a credit history

• How can a credit card help?
• How can you maintain a good credit history? (Do's & Don'ts)

Interactive tools related to Credit Reports and Credit Scores:

• Credit Reports and Credit Scores Quiz