How Long Does it Take To Fix Your Credit?
You could see your credit score improve 30 to 45 days after you start taking positive steps, but it depends on how often your lender reports to the credit bureaus. Lenders normally update monthly, but it varies.
- You can bump up your credit score quickly, but big swings can take a year or more.
- Your credit score recovery time can vary a lot, depending on your situation and goals.
- Paying off debt and making on-time payments can be the best ways to fix your credit fast.
- Late payments and hits to your credit can sit on your report for years, but their impact on your credit score fades as time passes.
How quickly can you improve a credit score?
It’s possible to improve your credit score in 30 days, at least a little. But the time needed to fully bounce back depends on factors like:
- Your current score
- How much debt you have
- Your past credit troubles
- Your definition of “fixing” credit
No two people will see exactly the same credit recovery time, even when using the same strategies.
If you’re expecting a triple-digit increase, you’re probably going to need some patience. A year may be more like it, and it’s going to take some drastic money moves.
No two people will see exactly the same credit recovery time, even when using the same strategies.
If you’re expecting a triple-digit increase, you’re probably going to need some patience. A year may be more like it, and it’s going to take some drastic money moves.
Using LendingTree data, we looked at people who improved their credit scores by at least 100 points within one year. On average, those individuals each paid off over $20,000 in debt during that time.
Get your own credit report card for free with LendingTree Spring. We’ll show you how you’re doing on each of the factors that affect your credit, like payment history and credit utilization. Plus, we’ll give you personalized recommendations on how to improve your score.
What makes up your credit score?
A big part of fixing your credit score is understanding how it works. Here’s how your FICO Score — one of the most widely used credit scores — is calculated.
| Factor | Weight | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Payment history | 35% | A running tally of your debt payments |
| Amounts owed | 30% | How much you owe, and how that compares to how much credit you have available |
| Length of credit history | 15% | The age of your credit accounts and how long it’s been since you’ve used them |
| Credit mix | 10% | How many different types of credit accounts you have (auto loans, credit cards, mortgage, etc.) |
| New credit | 10% | How many new accounts you have open, how long it’s been since opening a new account, and how many hard credit inquiries you have |
Want to learn more? Read 5 Factors That Affect Your Credit Score.
Credit score improvement timeline after late payments and more
Major negative marks like foreclosure and bankruptcy can hurt your score for years. But so can seemingly smaller things, like hard credit inquiries and late payments.
Even so, you should see your credit score improve as these events get older and as you make more on-time payments.
You aren’t necessarily doomed to have bad credit because you have a few negative marks on your credit report, but here’s how long they’ll generally stick around:
- Hard credit inquiries: Two years
- Late payments: Seven years
- Accounts sent to collections: Seven years
- Foreclosure: Seven years
- Chapter 13 bankruptcy: Seven years
- Chapter 7 bankruptcy: 10 years
Speed up your credit repair: 8 practical solutions
1. Pay down what you owe
Your credit utilization ratio is part of the “amounts owed” credit scoring factor. It shows how much revolving credit you owe compared to how much credit you have available. Revolving credit refers to accounts that you borrow from over and over again (like credit cards) as opposed to once (like a car loan).
2. Ask for a credit limit increase if your credit utilization ratio is well below 30%
Getting a spending limit increase on one of your credit cards can help improve your credit utilization ratio. It’s like paying down debt, but backwards. Increasing your available credit can make your current debt load seem smaller in comparison.
But there are situations where asking for more credit can hurt instead of help. Skip this strategy if:
- Having more credit will tempt you to overspend
- Your credit utilization ratio is near or over 30% — in this case, asking for more can be a sign you’re in over your head
- The lender requires a hard credit pull to approve you.
3. Consolidate credit card debt
If you’ve been working on your score and are juggling multiple credit card and/or personal loan bills, consider a debt consolidation loan. This is a type of personal loan that you use to pay off multiple debts.
LendingTree did a study to see how a credit score changes after debt consolidation. We found that users with scores below 580 saw an average increase of 45 points one month after consolidating at least $1,000 of credit card debt.
4. Set up autopay for bills
Since it makes up the bulk of your credit score, your payment history can make or break you.
Avoid missing payments by setting up autopay. It’s also a good idea to sign up for alerts, either through your lender or with a calendar reminder. That way, you can make sure you have money in your account to cover your payment.
5. If buying a house, ask about rapid rescoring
It usually takes 30 to 45 days for your credit score to update after you pay off debt. If you’re trying to fix your credit so you can get a better rate on a home loan, ask the mortgage company for a rapid rescore.
Since mortgages are so time-sensitive, some lenders will re-run your credit if you ask. During the process, it may also give you a report that shows you how much your credit score could increase by paying off certain debts.
6. Review your credit report and dispute errors
Disputing credit reporting errors can be a quick way to fix your credit score. Errors are probably more common than you think. You can dispute them online with all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion).
You can currently get one free credit report per week.
7. Keep older accounts open
The age of your oldest account affects the length of your credit history. Closing older accounts can sometimes hurt your credit score (which is why paying off a loan can occasionally ding your credit).
If you have an older card that’s paid off, consider keeping it open and making a charge once in a while. This doesn’t really apply to loans, though, since the longer the loan is open, the more interest you’ll pay.
8. Consider Experian Boost
Rent, utility, insurance and cell phone payments usually don’t impact your credit. But Experian Boost, a free service, lets you add some of these to your Experian credit report, which can then improve your FICO Score.
What slows down credit recovery?
- Making late payments negatively impacts your payment history.
- Applying for more loans and cards means more hard credit hits, which can ding your score.
- Piling on debt can hurt by adding to your “amounts owed,” even if you’re making minimum monthly payments.
Frequently asked questions
Credit scores usually update every 30 days, but it’s up to the lender. It decides when to send information to the credit bureaus, and there’s no law that says they need to report at any specific time — or at all.
Yes, it’s possible to boost your credit score in 30 days. How much your score will go up depends on what strategies you use to improve it (paying off debt, increasing your credit limit, etc.).
Most often, those with the best credit scores will see the smallest increases, since there’s less room to grow.
The first thing to do when a payment is late is to call your lender and ask if it has a hardship program. You might also still be in a grace period. Late payments don’t usually affect your credit until they’re at least 30 days overdue.
Otherwise, get back on track and make the rest of your payments on time. Your payment history makes up the bulk of your credit score (35%).
Learn more about your credit score!
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