How to Read Your Credit Report: What Every Line Means

Your credit report is available free at AnnualCreditReport.com from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). Most Americans have never read one carefully. Here's how to decode what you're looking at.

The five sections of a credit report

1. Personal information: Name, addresses, employment history. Doesn't affect your score, but errors here can indicate identity theft. Review all addresses — do you recognize them all?
2. Account information: Every credit account — credit cards, loans, mortgages. Shows balance, payment history, credit limit, and account status. This section most affects your score.
3. Public records: Bankruptcies (if any). Judgments and tax liens were removed from credit reports in 2018. Only bankruptcy remains.
4. Hard inquiries: Every time a lender pulled your credit (with your permission) in the last 2 years. Multiple inquiries within 14–45 days for the same loan type (mortgage shopping) count as one.
5. Soft inquiries: Credit checks you authorized for non-lending purposes (checking your own credit, employment screening). Don't affect score.

The payment history codes to know

Disputing errors: your legal right

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires bureaus to investigate disputes within 30 days. Dispute online at each bureau's website. Include documentation supporting the error. If the dispute is upheld: the item is removed or corrected. If the furnisher verifies the item: it stays, but you can add a 100-word statement to your report. Successful dispute of one 30-day late payment: can add 15–40 points to your score.