Credit Report Glossary: 60+ Terms Explained in Plain English

Report structure

Credit report

A file maintained by a consumer reporting agency that describes your credit history: identifying information, credit accounts, public records where applicable, and inquiries. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act it is a "consumer report" when used for credit, insurance, employment, or other permissible purposes. How to read a credit report →

Consumer reporting agency (CRA)

A company that assembles or evaluates consumer credit information and furnishes consumer reports to third parties. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the three nationwide CRAs, and many specialty agencies also exist.

Nationwide credit bureau

One of the three consumer reporting agencies that compile credit files on a national basis: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each maintains its own separate file, so the same account can appear differently on each report. Bureau contact information →

Specialty consumer reporting agency

A reporting agency that collects information on a specific area such as checking-account history, tenant history, insurance claims, or medical information. You have dispute and disclosure rights with these agencies as well.

Furnisher

Any entity that supplies information about you to a consumer reporting agency — typically a lender, card issuer, collection agency, or servicer. Furnishers have their own accuracy and investigation duties under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2.

Tradeline

A single account entry on a credit report. A tradeline usually shows the creditor name, account type, open date, balance, credit limit or original amount, payment status, and payment history.

Personal information section

The part of a report listing names, addresses, partial Social Security number, date of birth, and sometimes employers. Errors here can indicate that another consumer's data was matched to your file. Mixed credit file guide →

Mixed credit file

A file that contains information belonging to another consumer because the two identities were matched incorrectly, often due to similar names, similar Social Security digits, or a shared address. It is a data-matching error rather than fraud. Mixed credit file guide →

Consumer statement

A brief statement you can add to your file describing a dispute that was not resolved to your satisfaction. It appears on the report but does not change the underlying data or how scoring models treat it.

Credit freeze (security freeze)

A restriction you place with each bureau that blocks most new creditors from accessing your report, making it harder for a new account to be opened in your name. Placing and lifting a freeze is free under federal law.

Fraud alert

A notice on your file asking creditors to take extra steps to verify identity before extending credit. Alerts are free, and requesting one at a single nationwide bureau requires that bureau to notify the others.

Credit file disclosure

The consumer-facing version of your file that a reporting agency must provide on request under 15 U.S.C. § 1681g. It includes the information in your file and, in most cases, a list of who accessed it.

Accounts and status

Revolving account

An account with a credit limit you can borrow against repeatedly, such as a credit card or line of credit. Balances and limits on revolving accounts are what utilization calculations are based on.

Installment account

A loan repaid in scheduled payments over a fixed term — auto loans, student loans, mortgages, and personal loans. The report typically shows the original amount and current balance rather than a credit limit.

Open account

An account expected to be paid in full each cycle, such as some charge cards. On reports it also loosely describes any account that remains active rather than closed.

Authorized user

Someone permitted to use another person's credit card account without being contractually liable for the debt. Authorized-user accounts may appear on that person's report depending on the issuer's reporting practices.

Joint account

An account for which two or more people share contractual liability. It generally appears in full on each account holder's credit report.

Cosigner

A person who agrees to be legally responsible for a debt if the primary borrower does not pay. The account and its payment history usually appear on the cosigner's report as well.

Credit limit

The maximum balance a revolving account allows. A missing or incorrectly reported limit can distort utilization calculations, which is why the field is worth checking for accuracy.

High balance / high credit

The highest balance recorded on an account. Some scoring models use it as a stand-in for the credit limit when the limit is not reported.

Date of first delinquency (DOFD)

The date an account first became late and was never brought current before it was charged off or placed for collection. It anchors when most negative information must be removed from a report under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c.

Date opened

The date the account was established. It contributes to length-of-credit-history calculations, so an inaccurate date is worth reviewing.

Date of last activity

The most recent date a payment, charge, or other activity was recorded on the account. It is not the same as the date of first delinquency and does not restart federal reporting periods on its own.

Payment history

The month-by-month record of whether an account was paid on time or reported 30, 60, 90, 120 or more days past due. It is the most heavily weighted category in mainstream scoring models. Late payments on a credit report →

Delinquency

A missed payment reported at a severity tier, commonly 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, or 180 days past due. Severity and recency both matter to scoring models.

Charge-off

An accounting action in which a creditor writes an unpaid debt off as a loss, typically after roughly 120–180 days of nonpayment. The debt is still owed and can still be collected or sold; the report entry remains a negative item. What is a charge-off? Full guide →

Collection account

An entry reported by a debt collector that has been assigned or sold a debt. A collection may appear alongside the original account, and both entries should accurately reflect the same underlying debt. Collections accounts explained →

Original creditor

The company that first extended the credit, as distinguished from a collection agency or debt buyer that later acquired the account.

Debt buyer

A company that purchases charged-off debt, often for a fraction of the balance, and then collects on it in its own name. Sales can create duplicate-looking entries that are worth checking for accuracy.

Repossession

A creditor's recovery of collateral, typically a vehicle, after default. It appears as a negative status on the related tradeline and may be followed by a deficiency balance.

Foreclosure

A lender's legal process to take possession of mortgaged property after default. It is reported on the mortgage tradeline and is subject to federal reporting time limits.

Deficiency balance

The amount still owed after collateral is sold for less than the outstanding debt, common after a repossession or foreclosure. It may be reported separately or pursued in collection.

Settled / settled for less than full balance

A status indicating the creditor accepted less than the full amount owed to resolve the account. The status is factual reporting of what happened and is generally treated as negative by scoring models.

Paid in full

A status showing the balance was satisfied in full. Paying a past-due account does not by itself erase the earlier delinquency history from the report.

Re-aging

Improperly resetting the date of first delinquency so a negative item stays on a report longer than federal law allows. Legitimate re-aging by a creditor to bring an account current is a different, voluntary arrangement.

Duplicate tradeline

The same debt appearing more than once as if it were two obligations — for example the original account and a collection both reporting an active balance. It is a common thing to review for accuracy. Credit report error examples →

Inquiries

Hard inquiry

A request for your report tied to an application for credit. Hard inquiries are visible to other creditors and can influence scores modestly, usually for a limited period. Hard vs. soft inquiries →

Soft inquiry

A review of your report that is not connected to a credit application — checking your own report, account reviews by existing creditors, or prescreened offers. Soft inquiries do not affect scores.

Permissible purpose

The set of legally allowed reasons a third party may obtain your consumer report under 15 U.S.C. § 1681b, such as a credit transaction you initiated. An inquiry without a permissible purpose is worth questioning.

Rate shopping window

A period during which multiple inquiries for the same loan type — such as auto or mortgage — are treated as a single event by many scoring models. The exact window depends on the model and version.

Prescreened offer

A firm offer of credit or insurance based on criteria a lender applied to your file. You can opt out of most prescreened offers at OptOutPrescreen.com, the industry opt-out site authorized under the FCRA.

Scores

Credit score

A number produced by a statistical model from the data in a credit file at a specific moment. Different models, versions, and bureaus can produce different numbers from the same borrower's information. What credit scores are built from →

FICO Score

A family of scoring models developed by Fair Isaac Corporation and widely used by lenders. Many versions exist (such as FICO 8, 9, and 10T) along with industry-specific auto and bankcard variants. FICO score versions explained →

VantageScore

A scoring model developed jointly by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 use a 300–850 range and are the models behind many free consumer score products. What is VantageScore →

Educational score

A score shown to consumers for informational purposes that may not be the model a particular lender uses. A difference between an educational score and a lender-pulled score does not necessarily mean either is wrong. Why free scores differ →

Credit utilization ratio

Revolving balances divided by revolving credit limits, expressed as a percentage, measured per account and across all revolving accounts. It is calculated from the balances reported on the day the file is pulled. Credit utilization explained →

Credit mix

The variety of account types in a file, such as revolving and installment credit. Most models treat it as a minor factor compared with payment history and utilization.

Length of credit history

How long accounts have been established, commonly measured through the age of the oldest account and the average age of all accounts.

Thin file

A credit file with too few accounts or too little history for some scoring models to generate a score. Related terms include "credit invisible" and "unscorable."

Score factor (reason code)

A short statement provided with a score explaining what most influenced it, such as high revolving balances. Lenders must disclose key factors in certain adverse-action and risk-based-pricing notices.

Adverse action notice

A notice a creditor must send when it denies credit or grants it on less favorable terms based on a consumer report, identifying the reporting agency used and your right to a free copy of the report.

Rights and disputes

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The federal law at 15 U.S.C. § 1681 and following that governs the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in consumer reports, and that creates your rights to access and dispute your file.

Dispute

A notice to a credit reporting agency or furnisher that specific information in your file is inaccurate or incomplete. Disputing is free, and you can do it yourself directly. How to dispute an error →

Reinvestigation

The review a credit reporting agency generally must complete within 30 days of receiving a dispute — extendable to 45 days if you supply additional relevant information during that period — under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1).

Frivolous or irrelevant dispute

A dispute an agency determines does not require reinvestigation, for example because it repeats a prior dispute without new information. The agency must notify you and explain what it needs.

Method of verification

A description of how a reporting agency verified disputed information, which you may request after a reinvestigation. It can include the business name and contact information of the furnisher contacted.

Section 609 request

A request under 15 U.S.C. § 1681g for disclosure of the information in your file and, in most cases, the sources of that information. It is a disclosure right; it is not a mechanism that requires deletion of accurate information.

Section 611 dispute

The dispute and reinvestigation procedure at 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, the provision most consumer disputes about accuracy actually rely on.

Reporting time limits

Federal limits under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c on how long most negative information may appear — generally seven years for delinquencies and collections and ten years for most Chapter 7 bankruptcies, with exceptions.

Identity theft report

A report filed with a law enforcement or federal agency, such as through IdentityTheft.gov, that supports blocking information resulting from identity theft under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2.

Credit repair organization

A business that sells services to improve a consumer's credit record for payment, regulated by the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Such organizations may not charge before services are fully performed or promise results they cannot deliver. CreditKaren is not one.

Goodwill request

A voluntary request asking a creditor to remove accurately reported negative information as a courtesy. Creditors are not required to agree, and it is not a dispute of accuracy.

Pay for delete

An arrangement in which a collector is asked to remove an accurate entry in exchange for payment. There is no legal right to it, furnishers have accuracy obligations, and no outcome can be promised.

A–Z index of every term

• Adverse action notice
• Authorized user
• Charge-off
• Collection account
• Consumer reporting agency (CRA)
• Consumer statement
• Cosigner
• Credit file disclosure
• Credit freeze (security freeze)
• Credit limit
• Credit mix
• Credit repair organization
• Credit report
• Credit score
• Credit utilization ratio
• Date of first delinquency (DOFD)
• Date of last activity
• Date opened
• Debt buyer
• Deficiency balance
• Delinquency
• Dispute
• Duplicate tradeline
• Educational score
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• FICO Score
• Foreclosure
• Fraud alert
• Frivolous or irrelevant dispute
• Furnisher
• Goodwill request
• Hard inquiry
• High balance / high credit
• Identity theft report
• Installment account
• Joint account
• Length of credit history
• Method of verification
• Mixed credit file
• Nationwide credit bureau
• Open account
• Original creditor
• Paid in full
• Pay for delete
• Payment history
• Permissible purpose
• Personal information section
• Prescreened offer
• Rate shopping window
• Re-aging
• Reinvestigation
• Reporting time limits
• Repossession
• Revolving account
• Score factor (reason code)
• Section 609 request
• Section 611 dispute
• Settled / settled for less than full balance
• Soft inquiry
• Specialty consumer reporting agency
• Thin file
• Tradeline
• VantageScore