Your score consists of five main components: payment history, amount of current debt, length of credit history, amount of new credit, and types of credit used. This UW-Madison Division of Extension guide provides detailed information about the factors that affect your score. Your credit score is not available for free through. In the United States, the most widely used credit score is the FICO score. Companies use each of these components to calculate a three-digit score, ranging from a low around 300 to a high around 900, which again varies across different types of scores. Regardless of the agency, your score will consist of five main components: payment history, amount of current debt, length of credit history, amount of new credit, and types of credit used. Your scores change constantly based on your financial activities. Although many people believe they have one credit score, in fact everybody has several credit scores–different companies calculate your credit score in different ways. Your credit score also determines the interest rates and credit limits that financial institutions offer to you. Financial institutions use your credit score to decide whether to offer you a loan or credit card. Your credit score is calculated using the information in your credit report. Companies use the information in your credit report to calculate credit scores. You can request one free credit report every year at from each of the three main credit agencies-Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It includes your payment history for your credit cards and other loans such as auto loans and mortgages public records related to your finances such as bankruptcies, tax liens, and court judgements and a record of everybody who has looked at your report within the past two years.

Your credit report is a collection of all of your credit activities within the past 7-10 years. Therefore, paying for a credit score is typically unnecessary, but ensuring the accuracy of the underlying data in the report is crucial. *Although a credit score is a useful piece of information, it is ultimately calculated using the information in your credit report. You are entitled to three free credit reports per year, but you generally have to pay to view your score. Your credit report is a detailed account of your credit history, while your credit score is a three-digit number signifying your credit-worthiness. Many people use the terms “credit report” and “credit score” interchangeably, but they are not the same.

Credit score