How to Check My Credit Score
You can view a credit score through a bank, credit union, or credit card issuer that provides one to account holders at no cost, through a nonprofit credit counseling agency, or by purchasing a score directly. Federal law separately entitles you to free credit reports, which you request at AnnualCreditReport.com.
A credit score is a number produced when a scoring model applies the contents of a consumer's credit report to a formula. There is no single universal figure. FICO and VantageScore each publish several model versions, and each of the three national credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, maintains its own file on a consumer. Because both the underlying data and the formula can differ, the score a person obtains on their own may not match the score a lender obtains. Checking a score is a matter of reading reported information, not of altering it.
Many banks, credit unions and credit card issuers give account holders access to a score at no charge, usually displayed in online or mobile banking with the model name and the date the data was pulled. Nonprofit credit counseling organizations also sometimes review reports and scores with clients at no cost, and some credit reporting companies offer a score directly to consumers. A score shown by one of these sources is not automatically a lesser product simply because no fee is charged, though some consumer-facing scores are labeled as educational scores, which a lender may not use in a decision.
Credit reports and credit scores are separate items. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers are entitled to free credit reports from each national credit reporting company, requested through AnnualCreditReport.com, the site authorized by federal law for that purpose. Those reports do not generally include a score. If a report contains information that is inaccurate or incomplete, the Act provides a dispute process through which a consumer can ask the credit reporting company to investigate and correct or delete the item. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission publish guidance describing both the request process and the dispute process in plain language.
Scores also move for reasons unrelated to a person's behavior. A score can change when a lender reports a new balance, when an account is added or closed, or when a scoring model version changes and historical data is re-scored. Comparing two scores without comparing their model names, version numbers and pull dates will often produce a confusing result. The useful habit is to read the report behind a score, confirm that the accounts, balances and payment histories listed are accurate, and note which scoring model and date the source is displaying.