Know how your credit works.

1. What actually makes up your score

The FICO score most lenders use is built from five weighted categories. Knowing the weights tells you where your effort pays off.

2. What the score ranges mean

FICO scores run from 300 to 850. Where you land changes not just whether you're approved, but what rate you're offered.

Most conventional mortgage programs want to see 620 or higher, and the best pricing generally starts around 740. Moving up even one band can save real money over the life of a loan.

3. Getting your reports for free

You are entitled to free credit reports from all three bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — through AnnualCreditReport.com, the only federally authorized source. The bureaus have made weekly free reports permanently available through that site.

Pull all three. The bureaus don't share data with each other, so an error can sit on one report and not the others — and you have no way of knowing which one a given lender will pull.

Note that a free report shows you the information on file. It does not always include a score, which is a separate product calculated from that information.

4. How long negative items stay

Accurate negative information has a legal expiration date. These are the standard windows under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Two things worth knowing. Hard inquiries stay visible for two years but typically stop affecting your score after about twelve months. And the impact of any negative item fades over time — a late payment from four years ago weighs far less than one from four months ago.

5. Your rights under the FCRA

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you specific, enforceable rights. Among them:

• You can dispute any information you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable — at no cost, directly with the bureau.
• The bureau must investigate, generally within 30 days of receiving your dispute.
• If the information can't be verified, it must be removed or corrected.
• You must be told when information in your report is used against you in a credit, insurance, or employment decision.
• You can add a 100-word statement to your file explaining a disputed item.
• Outdated negative information must come off on schedule — you don't have to ask.

You can do all of this yourself, for free. That is your right and we will always tell you so. What a credit repair company provides is the time, the process, and the follow-through — not access you don't already have.

6. How the dispute process works

A dispute is a formal request that a bureau verify an item with the company that reported it. The bureau contacts that furnisher, the furnisher checks its records, and one of three things happens: the item is verified and stays, it's corrected, or it can't be verified and comes off.

The bureau generally has 30 days to complete the investigation, extendable to 45 if you submit additional information mid-cycle. You're entitled to written results and, if anything changed, a free updated copy of your report.

One important limit: disputes are for information that is genuinely inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable. Disputing accurate information in bulk to see what falls off is not a legitimate strategy, and bureaus can dismiss repeat filings as frivolous.

7. Habits that build score fastest

• Never miss a due date. Autopay the minimum on everything, then pay more manually. Payment history is 35% of your score and the damage from one miss lasts years.
• Get utilization under 30%, then under 10%. This is the fastest legitimate lever there is — balances report monthly, so a paydown can show up within one cycle.
• Don't close your oldest card. It's anchoring your length of history. If there's an annual fee, ask to downgrade to a no-fee version instead of closing.
• Space out applications. Each hard inquiry is a small ding, but several in a few months compounds.
• Check all three reports at least annually. Errors are common, and you can't fix what you haven't found.

8. Common myths, corrected

"Checking my own credit hurts my score." It doesn't. Checking your own report is a soft inquiry and has no effect. Only hard inquiries from credit applications count.

"Carrying a small balance helps." It doesn't. Paying in full every month is better for your score and saves you the interest.

"Closing a card removes its history." Closed accounts in good standing stay on your report for up to 10 years and keep contributing. But closing reduces your total available credit, which raises your utilization immediately.

"Paying off a collection erases it." Payment updates the status to paid, which some newer scoring models treat more favorably, but the item itself generally remains for the full 7 years unless it's inaccurate.

"A company can legally remove accurate information." No one can. Any company promising to delete accurate, verifiable negative items is not being straight with you.

This page is general educational information, not legal or financial advice. For guidance specific to your situation, speak with a qualified professional. See our CROA disclosure for your full consumer rights.