What Does Your Credit Report Contain?

Credit history or a credit report envelops all your credit activities. Credit report prepared by the three major credit reporting bureaus has the following major components.

First up it contains all your personal details like your name, address, phone number, birth date, and your Social Security number. This helps make sure that the credit report is to the point and belongs to the right person as there may be many people with the same name.

Next are the credit activities that you have performed over time. This involves public record information like foreclosures, tax liens and court ordered payments. This helps a lender decide your trustworthiness. This also gives an idea about the legal judgements and defaults against your name. Information such as bankruptcy remains in your credit report for as long as 7 years and is a big stigma.

Other credit related information like loans you made, number of credit cards, late payments, etc is mentioned in your credit report too.

The next section comprises of ‘Inquiries’. This encapsulates a list of creditors, lenders, insurance companies and other organizations that have requested for your credit report. Inquiries remain in your credit report for 2 years and are again, a measure of your credit worthiness.