Get Free Credit Reports Glossary
If you get free credit reports but have no idea what the terms within them mean, you won't benefit much from the exercise. To help you make the most of your credit report, we've compiled a list of definitions for the most common credit report terms.
Account number - the number your creditor assigns to your account for identification purposes. When you get free credit reports, only the last few digits of this number will be displayed for security purposes.
Charge-off - the action creditors take when they have given up on collecting a debt. They write the balance off as a loss or bad debt. Some creditors may still pursue payments after a charge-off has occurred.
Co-signer - a person who agrees to pay a loan if the primary borrower does not do so. Co-signed loans will show up on the borrower's and the co-signer's reports.
Credit report - confidential record of a borrower's payment behavior according to their creditors' reports to credit bureaus. Consumers can get free credit reports every 12 months according to federal law.
Delinquent - past-due accounts. The different categories for delinquency are 30, 60, 90, and 120 days late.
Equifax - one of the three major credit bureaus in the U.S.
Experian - one of the three major credit bureaus in the U.S. Experian is located in Costa Mesa, CA.
Fair Credit Reporting Act - federal law that oversees the behavior of the national credit reporting bureaus. A recent amendment to this legislation is what enabled consumers to get free credit reports every year.
Judgment - a court record of a bankruptcy, lien, divorce, wage garnishment, and other derogatory items. If your credit report contains any information in the court records/judgments section, it will almost always hurt your credit score.
Original amount - for installment loans, the amount a borrower owed the creditor when the debt was first created. For example, if you took out a $20,000 car loan, the $20,000 would be the original amount.
Revolving account - an account that a borrower can access up to the maximum credit limit provided that he/she makes the minimum payment every month.
Status - the present state of the account (e.g., open, closed, delinquent, etc.). When you get free credit reports, every one of your accounts will have a "status" indication.
Term - the amount of time you have to repay the loan, such as 36 or 60 months.
TransUnion - one of the three credit bureaus in the U.S. TransUnion has offices in California and Pennsylvania.
If you have any questions about these terms or anything else related to credit reports, then please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.