Information in a credit report

• Identifying information: your name, current and previous addresses, telephone number, reported variations of your Social Security number, date of birth, employer and your spouse’s name. This information comes from your credit applications, so its accuracy depends on your filling out the forms clearly, completely and consistently each time you apply for credit. The federal government geographic code for the area in which you live also will appear in your credit report. The geographic code helps prevent discriminatory lending practices.
• Account history: specific information about each account, such as the date opened, credit limit or loan amount, balance, monthly payment, payment status and payment history. The report also states your association with the account (individual, joint, authorized user, etc.) and whether anyone else besides you (your spouse or cosigner, for example) is responsible for paying the account. This information comes from companies that do business with you.

For open accounts, positive credit information may remain on your report indefinitely, which is good for your credit history. Most negative information remains up to seven years. Closed accounts with no negative information remain for 10 years, helping you establish a positive credit history.

• Public records: federal bankruptcy records; tax liens and monetary judgments; and, in some states, overdue child support payments. This information comes from public records.

  Bankruptcy information can remain on your credit report up to 10 years; Chapter 13 bankruptcy is deleted after seven years; unpaid tax liens can remain for up to 15 years; and other public record information can remain up to seven years. Public records are deleted based on the filing date of the item.

• Inquiries: a record of those who have reviewed your credit history. This information comes from the credit reporting agency. Inquiries remain on your credit report for two years.

Inquiries you initiated (by applying for a new credit card, for example) become part of your credit report and may be considered by those who review your credit history. They remain on your report for two years.

On your personal copy of your Experian credit report, information about those who inquired for the purposes of extending a preapproved credit offer, for managing an existing account or for employment evaluation is included for your reference. An inquiry also is posted when you obtain a personal copy of your report. These inquiries are not revealed to creditors and do not impact your ability to obtain credit.

There are three types of dispute statements that could appear on your credit report.

An “account in dispute” statement should be added by the creditor when you challenge an account’s status. The creditor typically removes the statement when the dispute is resolved. If the dispute is not resolved, the statement may display as long as the disputed information remains on your credit report, usually seven years.

If you disagree with the results of a dispute about a specific account, you may request that a statement be added to the account indicating you disagree with the creditor. The account-specific statement will remain until the account is removed, typically seven years, or until you ask that it be removed.

You also may add a general statement to your credit history that is not specific to an individual item or account. A general statement remains for two years.

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Important facts about the accuracy of your credit report