How Often Do Credit Scores Change?
How often your credit score changes depends on both how often your financial situation changes and how quickly credit bureaus and credit scoring companies update their data.
If you don’t have a credit history, or all of your accounts have remained relatively the same, you may not see your score change much from one month to the next. But your score can change multiple times in a month when there have been changes to any of the financial measures that it tracks.
- Creditors typically report to the major credit bureaus once a month, but the exact timing varies, so your credit score may change more frequently.
- Consumers have multiple credit scores, and because credit scoring models vary between companies, your scores won’t be identical.
- Credit scores typically change based on a handful of factors, including payment history, credit utilization, credit age, credit mix and new credit.
When does your credit score change?
When someone requests your credit report and/or credit score, a score is generated based on what’s in your credit file when the request comes through. Any change in the underlying report, or even the passage of time, can lead to a change in your credit score. So technically, your score changes when someone checks it, though the information used to calculate your score is changing a lot more often.
Lenders and credit card issuers typically report to the major credit bureaus about once a month, but because they may report your activity at different times, your scores could change multiple times in a single month, especially if you take specific actions like applying for a new credit card or increasing your debt utilization. This means that in practice, your score usually updates about once a month.
In general, your credit score can change or vary depending on which credit report the score is based on, which credit scoring model is being used and when the score was generated.
It’s a common misconception that you have a single, static credit score. In reality, you have multiple credit scores. Generic consumer credit scores from FICO and VantageScore, the two primary credit scoring companies, rely on the information in one of your credit reports from Equifax, Experian or TransUnion to determine your score.
And because some lenders choose not to report account information to all three bureaus and the scores are calculated differently, it’s common for each of your scores to have different numbers. If you’re surprised by a change to your credit score when checking on different platforms, check if they’re actually showing the same score.
What causes your credit score to change?
Your credit score is a three-digit numerical measure of your credit history, including how long you’ve been using credit, how often you make payments on time and the different types of credit you have available to you. The factors that impact your credit score include:
- Payment history
- Credit utilization
- Credit age
- Credit mix
- New credit
You can generally expect your credit score to change based on these factors. For example, applying for new credit accounts can lead to a temporary dip in your score, but with time, a new account could have a positive impact on your credit mix and utilization, driving your score back up.
Keep in mind that some factors have a stronger impact on your credit score than others. And while the specific weight of each factor depends on the credit scoring model being used, the factors themselves remain the same.
With that in mind, here are some events that could lead to a decrease in your credit score:
- Letting a bill go unpaid for 30 days or more
- Defaulting (nonpayment) on an account
- Having an account sent to collections
- Declaring bankruptcy
- Applying for or opening new accounts
How to check your credit score
Because your credit score can change frequently, it’s important to keep an eye on them. Checking your own credit will not impact your score, and taking the time to review your full credit report can help you understand the factors that are having the biggest impact on your score.
You can request a free weekly copy of your credit report from each credit bureau at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also check your credit score for free with LendingTree Spring. Signing up for a LendingTree account gives you access to useful tips and tailored suggestions on how to improve your score.
How to improve your credit score
Regularly checking your credit reports can make it easier to identify areas of opportunity and take action to improve your credit. But if you aren’t sure where to start, focusing on the fundamentals is always a good idea.
Here are a few steps you might be able to take to improve your credit score:
- Prioritize on-time payments: Your payment history has the biggest impact on your score, and even one late payment can have a negative effect. You may have up to 30 days beyond your due date before a creditor reports the late payment to credit bureaus, so if you happen to miss a payment, contact the lender right away to find a fix before the late payment is reported.
- Pay down credit card balances: Reducing the amount of revolving debt you’re carrying is one of the fastest ways to boost your credit score. In general, a credit utilization rate of 30% or higher can negatively impact your score, while rates below 10% can help your score. You can calculate your credit utilization ratio by dividing your debt by the total amount of credit that is available to you. Some credit score trackers will do this for you.
- Be strategic about opening new accounts: There are times when it might make sense to open a new credit card or apply for a loan, but these decisions should be made strategically, keeping in mind that new applications for credit can negatively impact your score.
- Open a secured credit card: If you decide it makes sense to open a new credit card, consider a secured one. Secured credit cards require a cash deposit to open, and the deposit you make typically becomes your credit limit. This can help people with damaged credit avoid the risk of overborrowing, and timely payments can improve your score.
Frequently asked questions
Small fluctuations in your credit score aren’t necessarily a sign that something is wrong. But if you see a large unexpected drop in one or more of your scores, you may want to review your credit reports for any unfamiliar accounts or activity. An unexpected new account, inquiry, late payment or collection could be an indication of identity theft and fraud.
If you find something, you can contact the creditor to limit the potential damage, take steps to secure your other accounts (such as changing passwords or instituting a credit freeze), add a fraud alert to your credit files and dispute the account or information with the credit bureau.
Typically a month or more. If you dispute something on your credit report, be aware that it won’t impact your score right away. First, the credit bureau will need to conduct an investigation, contacting the lender to verify the information you provided. Lenders typically have 30 days to respond to the dispute, after which the credit bureau will decide if the reported activity was inaccurate or fraudulent.
The results of the dispute may eventually be reflected in your score, assuming the decision is in your favor, but it may take a month or more for your credit score to be updated.
Paying off debt can have a significant impact on your credit score. For example, paying off a revolving account and keeping it open can lower your credit utilization and help your score.
But paying off debt can also negatively affect your score. This might occur if you close the oldest account on your credit report, shortening the length of your credit history, or if you close a paid-off account, increasing your utilization ratio.
Either way, the impact on your credit score might be delayed. Creditors typically report account activity at the end of each billing cycle, so it could take a month or more for the change to be reflected on your credit report.
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