Building and protecting your credit is a long-term process. Experts recommend several key habits: Understand, get, and improve your credit score | USAGov
: Your name, current and former addresses, date of birth, Social Security number, and employment history. credidt*report
: A list of everyone who has accessed your report in the last two years. This includes "hard" inquiries (when you apply for credit) and "soft" inquiries (like pre-approved offers). Building and protecting your credit is a long-term process
: Information from collection agencies regarding unpaid or past-due debts. Maintaining a Healthy Report This includes "hard" inquiries (when you apply for
: Legal filings such as bankruptcies. Note that while tax liens were previously common, many bureaus have reduced their reporting of these.
: Details on your credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages, including the date opened, credit limit, current balance, and payment history.
While formats vary between the three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion), most reports include these five categories: