What is a credit report?

In the United States, credit files on individuals are kept by three different credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. All three are private-sector, for-profit companies. The credit files they maintain contain extensive information on you and your credit history. This information is obtained mainly from lenders, creditors, insurers, employers and other institutions with which you may have a financial relationship. Any company that issues you any type of loan (such as a mortgage or car loan) or a credit card reports to at least one and often all three credit bureaus each month. These companies give the bureaus the latest status of your relationship with them, including your outstanding balance and whether or not you have been paying on time. The bureaus then keep all of this information in your credit file. Information about you is also obtained from public records. In addition, any time you apply for credit and a creditor requests your credit report from one of the bureaus (a "hard inquiry"), that information goes into your credit file as well. A credit report is simply a compilation of all the information contained in your credit file. Because not all lenders, employers, etc., report to all three bureaus, you actually have 3 different credit reports at any one time - one each from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each credit report changes regularly as the credit bureaus receive new data.

Any time you are applying for new credit, such as in a credit card application, the creditor requests your credit report from one or more of the credit bureaus. The creditor then uses that information, along with your income and other data, to evaluate whether they want to offer you credit, and if so, how much. This type of request by a creditor for your credit report is known as a "hard inquiry" (as opposed to a "soft inquiry"). Hard inquiries themselves show up on your credit report and can affect your credit score. If the creditor does grant you credit, they then report back to the credit bureaus monthly, and the cycle continues.

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