What information goes on my credit report?

What information goes on my credit report?  Many people have an unrealistic view of what a credit report actually contains.  They think that it mysteriously contains intimate information about their personal life like how much they drink.  If you ever wondered what goes on my credit report, let me clarify by outlining the major bits of information that make up your credit report:

 Personal Identification Information:

Contains information such as your name, social security number, addresses (past and present), and your most recent employment history.

Public Record Information:

Contains information about tax liens, judgements, bankruptcies, child support orders, and other official information that impacts your credit report and score.

Collection Activity:

Contains information for any accounts that have been sent to collection.

Credit Account Information:

For each of your credit accounts, information is tracked such as:

• open or closed
• whom you owe
• type of account (installment or mortgage)
• joint or shared account
• the amount you owe
• your monthly payments
• your payment history (late or on time)
• your credit limit.

List of companies that have requested your credit file:

Companies that look at your report for promotional purposes such as new credit offers (these DO NOT show up when you apply for credit or a loan and DO NOT impact your credit score negatively). 

Companies that look at your credit report because you applied for credit or a loan (these DO show up on when lenders or creditors view your report and can impact your credit score negatively).

An optional message from you:

The message can be up to 100 words long and is used to explain any blemishes or problems on your credit report.

An optional credit score:

Technically, the score provided by each credit reporting agency is not the official FICO score.  Each of the credit bureaus provides their own scores and the scores can differ between the three credit agencies.  The primary score that lenders use to make credit or lending decisions is the official FICO score created by Fair Issac Corporation.

As you can see, your credit report contains mainly factual information about your credit history and does not contain personal information like you cheating on your girlfriend / boyfriend or drinking too much at the local pub.