What is a credit report?

Just as newspaper reports track how your favorite athletes perform, your credit report tracks how you perform when it comes to managing your money.

A credit report is simply a record of your personal financial transactions. Those financial transactions make up your credit history. Lenders look at your credit history to see how well you manage credit.

The Type of Information on Your Credit Report
•	Personal information: your name, date of birth, and Social Security number or tax ID number
•	Residence: your current and previous address	Hard Inquiries A hard inquiry on your credit report occurs each time you request credit. At that time, a lender reviews your credit report for the purpose of approving or denying you for a loan or credit card. Hard inquiries show up on your credit report even if you were denied credit. Too many requests for credit, or hard inquiries, can damage your credit score.
•	Employment: your current and previous employers
•	Loan (installment and mortgage) and credit card balances (if any)
•	Payment history for each account: • Your monthly payments for credit accounts: • credit cards, car loans, home mortgages • Whether you pay (or paid) your bills on time • Whether you pay (or paid) the amount due
•	Requests for your credit; also known as “hard inquiries”
•	Collections: any of your accounts that have been sold to a collection agency
•	Public records: any tax liens, foreclosures, bankruptcies, wage garnishments, lawsuits, and judgments

Information that is NOT on Your Credit Report
Your race, sex, marital status, religion, age, national origin, criminal or driving record, political preference, or health status; or if you receive public assistance.