Reading a Credit Report

Learn how to read one of the most widely used reports in the industry. Following is a step-by-step guide to reading and interpreting a merged credit report from First American CREDCO, a third-party credit-reporting agency. Click on the links below to view each section.

Header

Reference Number (REF): On the top left of the report, you will see the reference number, a unique identifier that can be used to organize and archive reports.

Transaction Identification (TID): An 11-digit transaction identification number uniquely identifies individual transactions, along with the date and time the transaction took place. The TID is located directly to the right of the reference number.

Account Number (ACCT): Below the TID is the account number of the company accessing the credit report.

Notes: Underneath the account number, you will see a notes field. In this field, the person accessing the report can type additional information for their own reference. The bureaus will not store this information.

Prepared For: On the top right, below “CREDCO Instant Merge Credit Report,” the name of the company accessing the credit report will appear.

Requested: Underneath the company name, the credit bureaus from which credit information was requested are listed. EFX is Equifax, TUC is TransUnion, and XPN is Experian.

Delivered: Directly to the right of the list of requested credit bureaus is a list of the credit bureaus from which information was received.

Consumer Information: (APP, CAP, CURR ADDR, PREV ADDR, SSN): Displayed below the reference information (i.e. reference and account number, etc.), you will find any information you have input about the consumer (the applicant) and any co-applicants.

Warnings & Alerts: Below the consumer’s information, warnings and alerts, if there are any, may appear. Warnings indicate that information appearing on the credit report may not actually pertain to the applicant. This warning can be triggered by two people with similar names (i.e., “Sr.” and “Jr.”) or Social Security numbers living at the same address.

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Summary

Account Distribution: This section breaks down the report by Account Type (Real Estate, Revolving, etc); Count, which shows the number of accounts for each type; Balance, which shows the total still owed; Payments, which show the monthly payments. This section also shows the monthly payment amounts listed under the account distribution table.

Current Status: Located to the right of the account distribution, this section indicates how many accounts are current, closed or either 30, 60, or 90+ days delinquent.

Available Credit: Located below the Account Distribution table, you may find a list of available credit for revolving tradelines.

Inquiries: Below the available credit analysis, you will see the inquiries section, which shows how many times the consumers’ credit file has been accessed in the recent past.

Public Records: To the right of the inquiries section, you will see a list of the number of public records (Bankruptcies, Tax Liens, etc), if any, each bureau is reporting

Historical Delinquencies: The last item in the summary, to the right of the public records listing, shows the total of all delinquencies for the past seven years on the report. It will also list the most recent date of delinquency.

Bureau Score Information

Credit Score: Following the Summary is the Bureau Score Information, which shows the credit score provided by the selected bureau. Information will only be displayed here if the company pulling the credit report has requested a bureau score.

Factor Codes: To the right of the credit score, you will find a list of factor codes, which indicate the primary factors contributing to the consumer’s score.

Factor Descriptions: Below the credit score and the factor codes you will see factor descriptions for each factor code if you have requested this feature on your credit reports.

Applicant Identifier: Before each score is an identifier (e.g. APP indicates the score provided applies to the applicant/subject, CAP indicates a score pertaining to a co-applicant, etc.)

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Tradelines

Accounts: Joint accounts, accounts under applicant, and accounts under co-applicant are listed separately.

Account Name/Number: Each tradeline features the account name (e.g. the creditor or lender), the account number, and the credit bureaus from which the data on the account was received.

Responsibility Code: On each tradeline, below the account name and number, you will notice a single letter on the far left. This identifies the consumers’ responsibility for that particular account. The most common abbreviations are:

Tradeline Columns: Each tradeline is broken into columns of information. Columns are labeled with a heading at the beginning of each page of tradelines. Headings include:

Status: Shows the present status of the account (e.g. current).

Rptd (Reported): The column next to the status column shows the date when the information was reported.

Past Due: These three columns show the number of accounts that are 30, 60, and 90-days past due.

MR Last: When applicable, you will find the number of months reviewed, and the date of the last month reviewed. For example, 59 06-02, indicates 59 months reported, and June 2002 as the last month reported.

MD MxDlq: Below the number of months reviewed and the date of the last month reported, you will find a number indicating the maximum delinquency, if any, that occurred on the account listed, as well as the date the delinquency occurred. A date will not be shown for the maximum delinquency if the delinquency occurred on more than one month.

Hist (History): Below the line listing the information for each tradeline column, and to the left of any MD MxDlq information, is the history, which shows the month-to-month payment history of the account, with the most recent month on the left. The numbers correspond with the numerical MOP codes.

Additional Comments/Notes: Any notes added to the tradeline are generally located to the right and directly below the history line. Often, to the right of the history line, you will find additional information about the status of the account. For instance, next to the history line, you might see something like “CLSD 05-02 JNT,” indicating that the joint (JNT) account was closed (CLSD) on May 2002 (05-02). You may also find additional notes on:

Derogatory Information

First American CREDCO merged reports allow the flexibility of showing any derogatory history first.

Derogatory Tradelines: Again, the tradelines are divided by joint accounts, accounts under applicant, and accounts under co-applicant. The format of the derogatory tradelines corresponds the format of non-derogatory tradelines.

Public Record Information: This will list the type of public record (Tax Lien, Bankruptcy, etc.), the date filed with the court, the status of the judgment (whether it was released or not), where the judgment was filed and the decode number for that court.

View Additional Information Pages on Sample Report (pdf)

Possible Non-Applicant Accounts: Here you will find a list of accounts, if any, that may not belong to the applicant. A code, such as “*PNA* 05”, identifies which listing under the Identification Information contains possible non-applicant information. The listing under Identification Information will include additional information on any discrepancies between the applicant and the listing.

Inquiries: Depending on the type of report you have ordered, you will find a listing of all inquiries made on the consumers file in the last 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, or 2 years. Each listing includes the date of the inquiry, the name of the company inquiring, the company’s subscriber code, and the bureaus that were accessed for the inquiry.

Address Information: Here you will find a report of all the addresses for the consumer reported to the bureaus by creditors.

AKA Information: Alternate variations of the consumer’s name reported by creditors are listed here.

Employment Information: This section shows a list of past and current employers reported by creditors.

Consumer Statement: Here you will find any notes a consumer may have submitted explaining reason for delinquency, etc.

Decode Directory Information: This feature shows creditor information with bureau-specific subscriber code and a phone number when available.

Fraud Verification Information: This add-on product identifies to whom any fraud messages pertain (e.g. APP, CAP or PNA).

Consumer Referral Information: Here you will find contact information for all bureaus accessed, as well as information on any third party credit reporting agencies (e.g. First American CREDCO).

Error Information: If there are any issues with processing the report, special messages regarding the state of the file will appear in this section.

View Complete Sample Instant Merge Report (pdf)

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