1. Personal information
Your name and past names, addresses, date of birth, Social Security number and sometimes employers help match the file to you. A misspelled address alone may not affect a score, but an unfamiliar identity or account could signal a mixed file or identity theft. Review the identifying information on each bureau's report.
2. Credit account history
Each reported account, sometimes called a tradeline, may list the creditor, opening date, account type, credit limit or original loan amount, current balance, payment status and history. Both open and closed accounts may appear. Check that balances and late-payment marks match your records. Reporting dates differ from billing dates, so a current balance may not equal the amount you paid yesterday.
3. Collection accounts
If an account was sent to a collector, a separate collection entry may show the collector, original creditor, amount and relevant dates. A collection does not automatically disappear when paid; accurate negative information may generally remain for up to seven years under reporting rules. Check for an account that is not yours, duplicate reporting or an incorrect amount or date.
4. Public records
Bankruptcy information may appear in a dedicated public-record section. Civil judgments and tax liens have generally been removed from the nationwide bureaus' consumer credit reports under industry reporting changes, so do not assume every court record will appear. A report is not a complete public-record search.
5. Credit inquiries
A hard inquiry generally comes from an application for credit and may affect a score. Soft inquiries, such as your own report check or some prescreening, do not affect it. An unfamiliar hard inquiry merits a closer look.
What is missing from the report?
Your income, bank account balances and a universal credit score are not ordinarily part of the standard report. Lenders may use different scoring models based on the underlying data. Get reports from AnnualCreditReport.com, inspect all three, and save copies of evidence for any error.
What if something is wrong?
- Identify the exact item and why it is inaccurate.
- Gather statements, payment confirmations or identity records supporting the correction.
- Dispute with each bureau displaying the error and contact the company that supplied it.
- Keep confirmation numbers and review the investigation result and updated report.
You can dispute errors yourself for free. See our step-by-step dispute guide.
Sources
Keep learning about your credit
Explore free guides, credit report tips and monitoring information at RaiseCreditScoreFast.com.
Visit RaiseCreditScoreFast.com →