Checking Your Credit Report and Credit Score
August 6, 2025
Understanding your credit score and credit report is a foundational step toward financial health. Your credit score influences everything from loan interest rates to insurance premiums and even rental approvals.
Here’s how to check your credit information, what to look for, how to improve it, and whether checking your own score can lower it.
How to Check Your Credit Score
Free Credit-Score Services
Many banks, credit-card issuers, and personal‐finance apps now provide free access to your FICO® Score or VantageScore. Examples include Discover Credit Scorecard, Capital One’s CreditWise, and Credit Karma. These services update your score monthly (or more often) and usually don’t require a hard credit pull.
Credit-Reporting Agencies
While the three major credit bureaus—Equifax®, Experian®, and TransUnion®—sell credit scores directly, you’ll often pay a fee. If you prefer an official FICO® Score report, you can purchase it from myFICO.com.
Annual Free Reports
Federal law (the Fair Credit Reporting Act) entitles you to one free credit report per bureau each year via AnnualCreditReport.com. Note that these reports do not include your credit score, only the detailed file of your credit history.
How to Obtain Your Credit Reports
Visit AnnualCreditReport.com
This is the only authorized site for free annual credit reports. You can request all three reports at once or stagger them throughout the year to monitor more frequently.
By Phone or Mail
If you prefer, you can call 1-877-322-8228 or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Watch Out for Imposters
Beware of websites that mimic AnnualCreditReport.com but charge fees or sign you up for costly subscriptions.
What to Look for on Your Report
When you review your credit report, focus on these areas:
Personal Information: Ensure your name, address history, Social Security number, and employment details are correct.
Account Listings: Verify that open and closed accounts (credit cards, loans, mortgages) belong to you and that their status—balances, credit limits, payment history—is accurately reported.
Payment History: Late payments, especially those more than 30 days past due, significantly damage your score. Confirm that reported on-time and late payments match your records.
Credit Inquiries: Hard inquiries (from loan or credit applications) stay on your report for two years; too many in a short period can lower your score. Soft inquiries (like checking your own score) should not be on this list.
Public Records and Collections: Bankruptcies, tax liens, and collection accounts can stay on your report for seven to ten years. Make sure these only reflect valid, resolved obligations.
Does Checking Your Credit Lower Your Score?
Soft Inquiry vs. Hard Inquiry
● Soft Inquiries: Checking your own credit score or report is considered a soft inquiry. It does not impact your credit score.
● Hard Inquiries: When a lender reviews your credit as part of a loan or credit-card application, that’s a hard inquiry—and it can shave a few points off your score.
So feel free to check your own score and report regularly without fear of damage.
Improving Your Credit Score
If you identify negative items or simply want to boost your score, consider these strategies:
Dispute Errors Promptly: If you find inaccuracies—like an account that isn’t yours or an incorrect balance—file a dispute with the credit bureau reporting the error. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, bureaus must investigate within 30 days.
Pay On-Time, Every Time: Your payment history is the single biggest factor in your credit score (35%). Setting up autopay or calendar reminders can help ensure you never miss a due date.
Reduce Credit-Card Balances: Keep your credit utilization—the ratio of your balances to your credit limits—below 30%, and ideally below 10%. Focus on paying down high-interest cards first.
Avoid Unnecessary New Accounts: Each new hard inquiry and new account can temporarily ding your score and lower your average account age.
Maintain a Mix of Credit: Having a combination of installment loans (e.g., auto, mortgage) and revolving credit (e.g., credit cards) can benefit your score—provided you manage them responsibly.
Keep Old Accounts Open: Closing a credit card reduces your overall available credit and can raise your utilization ratio. If there’s no annual fee, consider keeping older cards active with occasional small purchases.
Bottom Line
Checking your credit score and report is quick, free, and essential. Regular monitoring helps you find errors and understand your finances.
It also lets you take action. You can dispute mistakes, manage balances, and pay on time. These steps will help you build a stronger credit profile over time.
Sources:
https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/smart-money/how-to-check-credit-score
Disclosure:
This information is an overview and should not be considered as specific guidance or recommendations for any individual or business.
This material is provided as a courtesy and for educational purposes only.
These are the views of the author, not the named Representative or Advisory Services Network, LLC, and should not be construed as investment advice. Neither the named Representative nor Advisory Services Network, LLC gives tax or legal advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Please consult your Financial Advisor for further information.