🎯 In 30 seconds: Your credit score is a summary of your credit report. FICO weighs five things, and two of them (paying on time and how much of your limits you use) make up about two thirds of it. Reports are free every week at AnnualCreditReport.com. Errors can be disputed, and most negative marks fall off after seven years.
What goes into a FICO score
FICO scores run from 300 to 850 and are built only from what is in your credit report. FICO publishes the general weights:
| Factor | Weight | What it looks at |
|---|---|---|
| Payment history | 35% | On-time versus late payments, collections, bankruptcies |
| Amounts owed | 30% | Balances, and especially balances compared with limits |
| Length of credit history | 15% | Age of your oldest and newest accounts, and the average |
| New credit | 10% | Recently opened accounts and recent hard inquiries |
| Credit mix | 10% | Having both cards and installment loans |
Income, savings, job title and checking-account balances are not in the report, so they are not in the score. Lenders also use other models (VantageScore is the main one) that look at similar information with different weights.
Utilization: the part you can change this month
Utilization is your card balances divided by your card limits. It is calculated per card and across all cards. Lower is better, and there is no official magic number.
| Card A limit / balance | $5,000 / $2,000 |
| Card B limit / balance | $3,000 / $400 |
| Total utilization | $2,400 ÷ $8,000 = 30% |
| Card A on its own | 40% |
The balance that usually gets reported is the one on your statement, even if you pay in full every month. Paying most of the balance a few days before the statement closes lowers the reported number. Because utilization is a snapshot, it recovers as soon as balances come down, unlike a late payment.
Getting your reports for free
- Go to AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site named by federal law. The three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) have permanently extended free weekly reports there.
- Pull all three. They are not identical, because not every lender reports to every bureau.
- Check personal details, every account, every balance and every late mark. Look for accounts you do not recognize.
A free report does not include a score. Many card issuers and banks show a free score; it may be a FICO or a VantageScore version, so numbers from different apps can differ.
Disputing an error
- Dispute with the credit bureau showing the error, online or in writing. Explain what is wrong, include copies (never originals) of proof, and keep records.
- Also dispute with the company that supplied the information (the lender or collector). The CFPB suggests writing and using certified mail.
- The bureau has 30 days to investigate. It must send you the results in writing and, if your report changes, a free updated copy.
- If the dispute is not resolved in your favor, you can ask for a statement of the dispute to be added to your file. You can also file a complaint with the CFPB.
How long negatives stay
| Most negative information (late payments, collections) | Generally up to 7 years |
| Bankruptcy | Up to 10 years |
| Positive accounts | Can stay much longer, which helps |
The impact fades over time even before an item drops off, and recent behavior counts most. To stop someone opening new credit in your name, use the freeze steps in move 9 of the 12 moves; this page does not repeat them.