How to read a credit report: A step by step guide

A credit report is a detailed record of your past financial behavior, and is used by creditors and lenders to evaluate interest rates, loan conditions, credit card applications, insurance premiums, and assess your future financial risk. A credit report can mean the difference between being accepted or denied for a loan, mortgage, apartment, or even a job.

What does a full credit report look like? 

A full credit report is divided into sections that reflect how you manage debt, giving lenders an overall picture of your creditworthiness. Personal information is typically listed first, followed by sections summarizing your credit history, account history, collections history, and any potentially negative items. Some reports also include charts or graphs about your debt history, along with active fraud alerts.

What is included in a credit report can vary depending on whether it’s compiled by Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion, the three main credit bureaus that comprise the Nationwide Credit Reporting Agencies (NCRAs). In the U.S., there’s also a lesser-known credit bureau named Innovis.

What is included in a credit report?

Most credit reports include information in four specific areas: personal information, credit history, credit inquiries, and public records. Understanding your credit report also means knowing that credit reporting agencies focus on financial responsibility — not how much money you have.
Credit scores don’t appear on your credit report, but your credit reports influence your credit scores. Learn the difference between a credit score and a credit report, and how credit scores work in general.

Below, we’ll walk you through how to read a credit report step by step:

Personal information

Personal information is used to verify your identity. Here’s the personal information that might appear on your credit report:

• Any names or aliases associated with your credit.
• Any addresses associated with your credit.
•  Any phone numbers associated with your credit.
• Your birth date.
• Your spouse’s name.
• Any Social Security numbers associated with your credit. SSNs are partially obscured for security.

To protect your credit score, you need to protect your personal information. Your phone number, Social Security number, and even your address can be used to scam you. And learn how to lock your Social Security number if you suspect your identity is under attack.

Payment history

Payment history is one of the most important areas of a credit report, and is a primary factor in determining your overall credit score, too. Payment history can be included as part of the lender and account information, or it may have its own section in a credit report.

Payment history records include:

• On-time payments.
• Accounts paid off.
• Accounts settled.
• Current balances.
• Late payments, including how many days they’re overdue.
• Missed payments.
• Accounts referred to collection agencies.
• Charge-offs (when a creditor declares a debt unlikely to be collected).
• Bankruptcies.

Knowing how to read the payment history on a credit report requires an  understanding of the numeric codes used to describe each payment, sometimes called Manner of Payment (MOP) codes, but not every report uses the same codes.

Here’s how to read the most common MOP codes on a credit report:

• 00: Unrated, too new to rate, or approved but unused.
• 1: Paid as agreed.
• 2: Paid in 30–59 days from the due date.
• 3: Paid in 60–89 days from the due date.
• 4: Paid in over 90–119 days from the due date.
• 5: Payment is 120+ days overdue, but not yet rated 9 (bad debt).
• 7: Making regular payments under a consolidation order or similar arrangement.
• 8: Involuntary repossession or foreclosure.
• 8A: Voluntary repossession.
• 8P: Currently paying a number 8 account.
• 9: Bad debt, placed for collection.
• 9B: Collection account.
• 9P: Currently paying a number 9 or 9B account.

Open and closed accounts

Your credit report organizes accounts by type, and uses codes to show each account's status and activity. A credit report may be divided into sections, such as accounts in good standing, accounts with adverse information, and satisfactory accounts. Your credit report also includes the dates that accounts were open or closed.

Without understanding the codes, you can’t fully read your credit report. Here’s a key to help you interpret your account information for your specific credit mix:

Credit account types

• I (Installment): Fixed number of payments over a set period. Typically for mortgages or car loans.
• R (Revolving): Can borrow and repay repeatedly up to a certain limit. Typically for credit cards.
• O (Open): Full balance is paid each month in an ongoing manner. Typically for utility or phone bills.

Common credit type codes

• C: Line of credit.
• M: Mortgage.
• AUT: Auto loan.
• CRC: Credit card.
• EDU: Educational loan.
• H/I: Home improvement loan.
• M/H: Manufactured home loan.
• R/C: Conventional real estate mortgage.
• UTI: Utility company account.

Other codes referring to credit account activity

• ND or dash: No data.
• OK: Terms met.
• 30 to 180: Days past due.
• CLS: Closed.
• BK: Bankruptcy.
• C: Collection.
• CO: Charge off.
• D: Defaulted.
• F: Foreclosed.
• FS: Foreclosure proceedings started.
• G: Claim filed with the government.
• IC: Insurance claim.
• PBC: Paid by creditor.
• R: Repossession.
• VS: Voluntary surrender.

Collections

After a period of nonpayment, unpaid debts can be referred to third-party collection agencies. After that point, they appear on your credit report in the Collections section. This section usually lists the collection agency’s name, the original creditor, the amount of debt, the balance owed, and when the account was opened. 

• Medical debts are usually referred to collection agencies after 30–90 days of non-payment.
• Utility bills are usually referred after 60–120 days of non-payment.
• Credit cards and personal loans are usually referred after 120–180 days of non-payment.

Collections can appear on credit reports for up to 7 years, starting from the day the debt was turned over to the collection agency.

Credit inquiries

Credit inquiries, also called  credit checks or credit pulls, happen when someone accesses your credit report (and sometimes your credit score). They fall into two categories: hard and soft credit checks. Hard inquiries show up on your official credit report and are typically run by lenders and creditors. Soft inquiries usually only appear on your version of the report.

• Hard inquiries (hard pulls): These are used when you apply for new credit, such as a credit card, loan, or mortgage and the lender reviews your credit report to determine your creditworthiness. They usually require your permission, and can temporarily lower your credit score, since it may indicate you are having trouble handling your current debt. Unless you remove hard inquiries, they stay on your credit report for up to 2 years.
• Soft inquiries (soft pulls): Soft pulls can happen without your permission and are used for routine reviewing and pre-screening — such as pre-approval for a line of credit, an employee background check, or when you check your own credit score. Soft inquiries don’t affect your credit score because they aren’t tied to an active request for new credit, and don’t indicate increased risk.

Personal statements

Personal statements are brief explanations you can add to your credit report to provide context for negative items, noting any steps you’ve taken to resolve them. This might include job loss, medical hardship, identity theft, or other extenuating circumstances. These help lenders to understand what quantitative data alone does not show, and can help influence their decisions.
You can add a personal statement to a credit report for free by contacting each credit bureau directly.

Lender and account information

The lender and account information section is key to understanding your credit risk profile, and can be one of the most detailed parts of a credit report.
Here’s what can be included in your lender account history:

• Lender names: The companies that have granted you credit.
• Account types: Types of credit you have, such as credit cards, auto loans, student loans, or mortgages.
• Credit limits: The maximum credit line on revolving accounts (like credit cards).
• Loan amounts: The original amount borrowed and (sometimes) the current balance.
• Account status: If an account is in good standing, past due, or in collections, plus the amount currently owed.
• Payment history: A record of on-time and late payments.
• Open and closed history: When the account was opened and closed, if applicable.

Employment history

Employment history can include the names and addresses of current and previous employers. Employers listed on your credit report shouldn’t affect your creditworthiness, but can be helpful in verifying your identity and preventing fraud. Details such as job performance or reasons for leaving a job are not included.

Public records

The only public records that currently appear on credit reports are bankruptcies. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act bankruptcies can remain on your credit report for about 10 years.

Most individual consumers need only worry about Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. Chapter 7 typically involves liquidation of non-exempt assets and can remain on your report for up to 10 years. Chapter 13 sets a repayment plan and is often removed after 7 years, although it can remain longer.

Bankruptcy severely impacts your overall creditworthiness in the eyes of lenders, and your credit score. If a bankruptcy is inaccurate or doesn’t belong to you, dispute it immediately and have it removed from your credit report.

But, accurate bankruptcy information generally can’t be removed early. Only entries that are inaccurate, incomplete, or misreported can be disputed or corrected. Be wary of any credit repair company that promises to remove legitimate filings or asks you to submit false information.

What information isn’t in your credit report?

A credit report mainly contains information about your credit accounts and repayment history, as the purpose of a credit report is to demonstrate your ability to manage debt, not to display your wealth. Your income and net worth are not included, and your credit score typically isn’t either.
Information that some people think is included on a credit report, but usually isn’t:

• Income information.
• Bank account balances.
• Savings accounts.
• Investment accounts, including stocks, bonds, and 401(k)s.
• Net worth.
• Spending habits.
• Bills paid on time, such as utility, rent, or cell phone bills.
• Credit score.

Information that isn’t included on a credit report due to privacy, civil rights, and anti-discrimination laws:

• Race and ethnicity.
• Political affiliation.
• Religious beliefs.
• Disabilities.
• Sexual orientation and gender identity.
•  National origin.

Information that usually isn’t included on credit reports due to not being relevant, or because of possible discrimination concerns:

• Criminal record.
• Education.
• Driving record.
• Marital status.

Information that’s excluded (or limited) due to policy and industry changes:

• Mortgage liens.
• Tax liens.
• Auto loan liens.
•  Mechanic’s liens.
• Judgement liens.
• Civil judgements.
• Medical debts less than a year old.
• Medical debts under $500.
• Repaid medical debts.
• Chapter 7 bankruptcies more than 10 years old.
• Chapter 13 bankruptcies more than 7 years old.
• Late or missed payments more than 10 years old.
• Collections more than 7 years old.

We’ve included “Medical debts” in the list above with the understanding that certain medical information may still show up on your credit report depending on where you live. As of 2025, about 15 states prohibit or strongly limit medical debt information from appearing on credit reports: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

In January 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule that would have barred most medical debt information from appearing on credit reports and from being used in consumer credit decisions, due to findings that medical debt poorly predicts a consumer’s creditworthiness. But in July 2025, a federal court decision vacated the CFPB ruling, and the broader federal protections didn’t take effect.

How to dispute credit report errors

You can dispute credit errors that might be affecting your credit. Common errors in credit reports are incorrect personal details, closed accounts showing as open, paid debts showing as unpaid, duplicate accounts, or files getting mixed up with someone who has a similar name. Items reported past the legal time limit should also be corrected or disputed.

You can also freeze your credit if you suspect identity theft or see unauthorized new credit. Red flags for identity theft in credit reports include accounts that aren’t yours, and hard inquiries you didn’t authorize.

You can dispute your credit report by contacting each agency that shows the mistake. Make sure you’ve collected the appropriate documents proving the errors in question, and send copies, not originals. Disputes can be filed online, by phone, or by mail. If you dispute by post, make sure you send your letter by certified mail and keep copies of everything you submit.

How to get your credit report

You can get a credit report from each respective bureau by signing up on their websites, or by using a free service like Annual Credit Report. Wait until your credit report updates before requesting a new one.

• TransUnion: https://www.transunion.com/free-credit-report
• Equifax: https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/free-credit-reports/
• Experian: https://www.experian.com/credit/credit-report/

LifeLock Total also offers credit report and score access (daily from 1 credit bureau, plus an annual 3-bureau report). You also get data breach notifications, bank account alerts in case of unauthorized charges, and continuous monitoring at all 3 credit bureaus to alert you of any new changes or inquiries.

Monitor your credit reports for signs of fraud

Lifelock Total delivers powerful, three-bureau credit monitoring that helps you catch reporting errors and fraud attempts early. You’ll also get daily access to your credit report and score from Equifax, giving you a near-real-time overview of your credit health and safety. Leave your credit in expert hands and secure your financial future with LifeLock Total.