What is a credit report, who makes it and what is in it?

A credit report is a statement with information about your credit activity and current credit situation, such as your loan-paying history and the status of your accounts.^[1] Credit reporting companies build it from data that creditors send them, and lenders, insurers, landlords and some employers use it.^[1] This page explains what is in a report, who may get it, how it differs from a score, and where to get your own copy.

The short version

What it is: a statement of your credit activity and current credit situation.^[1]
Who makes it: credit reporting companies, also called credit bureaus or consumer reporting agencies. They collect and store financial data that creditors submit about you. Creditors are not required to report to every credit reporting company, so most people have more than one report.^[1]
Who uses it: lenders, and also businesses deciding whether to offer you insurance, rent you a home, or provide utility, cable, internet or cell phone service. Some employers use it if you agree.^[1]
Your copy is free: federal law gives you a free copy of your report from each nationwide credit bureau once every 12 months, and the FTC says the three bureaus also let you check each one weekly for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.^[2]
A report is not a score. The score is a number built from the report.^[3]

What a credit report can contain

The CFPB says credit reports often contain the information in this table.^[1]

Part of the report	What the CFPB lists
Personal information	Your name and any name you have used with a credit account, including nicknames; current and former addresses; birth date; Social Security number; phone numbers.^[1]
Credit accounts	Current and past accounts, with the account type (mortgage, installment, revolving and so on), the credit limit or amount, the balance, the payment history, the dates opened and closed, and the creditor’s name.^[1]
Collection items	Missed payments and loans sent to collections, and information on overdue child support provided by a state or local child support agency or verified by a government agency.^[1]
Public records	The CFPB’s list names liens, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and civil suits and judgments.^[1] Our page on judgments and tax liens explains that the three nationwide companies removed nearly all civil judgments from consumer reports in July 2017 and the remaining tax liens by April 2018, while bankruptcies are still reported.
Inquiries	The companies that have accessed your credit report.^[1]

The CFPB’s list is general. For what changed in 2017 and 2018 and what did not, see our page on civil judgments and tax liens.

Your right to see your whole file

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a credit reporting company must, on request, clearly and accurately disclose several things to you.^[4] Section 1681g(a) lists them:

all information in your file at the time of your request;^[4]
the sources of the information;^[4]
each person that got a report on you for employment purposes in the last 2 years, or for any other purpose in the last 1 year;^[4]
the dates, original payees and amounts of any checks used for an adverse characterization of you;^[4]
a record of inquiries received in the last year that identified you in connection with a credit or insurance transaction you did not start; and^[4]
if you asked for the file and not the score, a statement that you may request and obtain a credit score.^[4]

If you ask, and give proof of identity, the company must leave the first 5 digits of your Social Security number out of the disclosure.^[4] The same section says it does not require the company to disclose credit scores or other risk scores in the file disclosure.^[4]

Who may get your report

Section 1681b(a) of the FCRA says a credit reporting company may give out a report “under the following circumstances and no other.”^[5] The listed circumstances include:

a court order, or certain subpoenas;^[5]
your written instructions;^[5]
a person the company has reason to believe will use it for a credit transaction involving you, for employment purposes, for underwriting insurance involving you, or for deciding your eligibility for a government license or benefit;^[5]
an investor, servicer or current insurer assessing an existing credit obligation;^[5]
a person with a legitimate business need, in a transaction you started or to review an account you hold.^[5]

For employment, the FCRA adds a step. With limited exceptions, an employer may not get a report for employment purposes unless it first gives you a clear written disclosure, in a document that consists solely of that disclosure, and you authorize the report in writing.^[5] For more on who is allowed to pull a report, see who is actually allowed to pull your credit report.

A report is not a score

The CFPB describes a credit score as a prediction of your credit behavior, based on information from your credit reports. A company uses a mathematical formula, called a scoring model, to create the score from the report.^[3] The CFPB also says you do not have just one score; each depends on the data used, the scoring model and even the day it was calculated.^[3] For what goes into a score, see what goes into a credit score.

How long information can stay

The FCRA limits how old some information can be in a report. Under section 1681c(a), a report may not contain:^[6]

bankruptcy cases more than 10 years old, counted from the date of the order for relief;^[6]
civil suits, civil judgments and records of arrest more than 7 years old, counted from the date of entry, or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period;^[6]
paid tax liens more than 7 years old, counted from the date of payment;^[6]
accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss more than 7 years old. Section 1681c(c) says that 7 years begins 180 days after the start of the delinquency that immediately preceded the collection activity or charge-off; or^[6]
any other adverse item of information, other than records of criminal convictions, more than 7 years old.^[6]

Section 1681c(b) says the limits in those five paragraphs do not apply to a report used for a credit transaction of $150,000 or more, life insurance underwriting of $150,000 or more in face amount, or employment at an annual salary of $75,000 or more.^[6] Our page on how long negative items stay on your credit report has a worksheet.

How to see your own report

The FTC says AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website authorized to fill orders for the free annual reports you are entitled to by law. It says to check your report at least once a year, and before you apply for credit, a loan, insurance, housing or a job.^[2] Our guide to getting your free credit reports covers the options and the extra free reports some people can get.

What this page does not cover

It does not say what any particular lender, insurer, landlord or employer looks at, and it does not tell you what is in your own report. Separate “specialty” consumer reporting companies keep other files; see our specialty reports checklist. It is general information, not legal or financial advice. Our Standard checks companies against published points; it does not grade a credit report.

Your next step

Get your reports and read each section against the table above. Our credit report audit checklist goes through a report section by section. If you find an error, see furnishers and your FCRA dispute rights. To check a company that offers credit help, use the Register and our guide to checking a company yourself.

When we will update this page

We revisit it when the CFPB or FTC changes these pages, or the cited FCRA sections change. Sources last read 6 October 2026.

What you can do next

Find a company — see which specific US companies we checked and what we could verify.
How we check — the rules and sources behind each result.
More credit help guides
Report an error on this page or in a result.