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FICO® Score

Learn more about what a FICO Score is and how it’s determined.

What is a FICO Score?

A FICO Score is the most common credit score used by lenders to make decisions about your credit worthiness when applying for a loan. Most scores range from 300 to 850. The higher your score, the better. A lower score can impact your ability to obtain new credit.

 

FICO Scores assess five main areas of your credit report:

Payment history (35% of score)Do you make your payments on time? Late or missed payments, collection items and bankruptcy filings can lower your score.
Amount owed compared to credit limits (30%)Having a lot of debt may not necessarily lower your score; however, carrying high balances (e.g., maxing out your available credit lines) can lower your score.
Length of credit history (15%)Generally, the longer you have had credit history, the better your score. FICO Scores consider the age of your oldest and newest accounts and the average age of your accounts overall.
New credit accounts and inquiries (10%)Frequent credit inquiries or opening a lot of new accounts in a short period of time can lower your score.
Credit mix (10%)Having a balanced mix of installment loans (e.g., car or mortgage loans) and revolving credit lines (e.g., credit cards or home equity lines of credit) can help increase your score.

View your score in Member Access

If you have an active lending relationship with us, you can view your FICO Score in Member Access. While your FICO Score can change daily, we obtain the score from Equifax and update the score in Member Access on a monthly basis.1

Receive a free credit report

Obtain a free copy of your credit report once a year from all three credit bureaus from Annual Credit Report.com.

Frequently asked questions about FICO Scores

No, receiving your FICO Score does not impact your credit score.

A FICO Score is a type of credit score. It is most commonly used to make decisions about your credit worthiness when applying for a loan.

FICO Scores can change daily based on financial activity.

Review the FICO® Score FAQs and Understanding Your FICO® Score.

 

This material is provided by FICO. The information provided may not reflect the view of your Credit Union. FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and other countries.