How to Read Credit Report Numbers

There are three major credit-reporting bureaus in the U.S.: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. While each has a slightly different format for its credit reports, the numbers on those reports mean the same thing for all three: They show how current you are with your payments. The numbers are contained in the credit history section of your report, which also contains information about your lenders, the account numbers and how long you've had the accounts.

Instructions

1

Locate the credit history section of your credit report. This section is usually in a table format, with the lender name, account number, date opened, last activity and other pertinent information. Most of the information contained in the table is self-explanatory. For example, "date opened" will have the date you opened the account, and "date reported" is the date the credit bureau last received information about your report.

2

Find the "Past due" column. This is the amount (in dollars) of your past due payment.

3

Locate the "High credit" column. This is the highest amount that you have charged on the card, or it could be your credit limit. If you have an installment loan, this figure will show the amount of the loan.

4

Look at the number in the "Terms" column. A number will appear only if the item is an installment loan. The number could be the amount of the monthly payment or the number of payments you agreed to make.

5

Locate the "Months Reviewed" column. This column represents how long the account has been reported to the bureau.

6

Find the number in the "Status" column. A "0" or "1" in this column is good: It indicates paid as agreed or current. Larger numbers indicate that the account is past due. The larger the number, the more delinquent the account is.

7

Check every number in every column for accuracy. Even the slightest error could seriously dent your credit historyfor example, a "9" in the Status column instead of a "1."