Learn · Glossary

Credit glossary

69 credit report, score, dispute, and debt terms in plain English. Each one links to the guide that covers it in depth.

Last reviewed October 8, 2026 by the CreditGod Editorial Team. Educational information, not legal advice.

A

Account age: How long your credit accounts have been open: your oldest account, your newest, and the average across all of them. Part of the length-of-credit-history factor in FICO Scores.; The 5 score factors
Active duty alert: A free alert that service members on active duty can place on their credit files. It asks creditors to take extra steps to verify identity before extending credit.; Your FCRA rights
Adverse action notice: A notice you must receive when a lender, landlord, insurer, or employer takes negative action (like a denial) based on your credit report. It names the bureau used and explains your right to a free report and to dispute.; Your FCRA rights
AnnualCreditReport.com: The only website authorized by federal law to fill orders for free credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Free weekly reports are now permanent.; How to read your report
Authorized user: Someone added to another person's credit card who can use it but isn't legally responsible for the debt. The account's history may appear on the authorized user's credit report.; Authorized user guide

B

Balance: The amount owed on an account as of the date the creditor reported it. For credit cards, this is usually the statement balance.; Credit utilization
Bankruptcy: A legal process for eliminating or restructuring debts. Under the FCRA, most bankruptcies can be reported for up to 10 years; bureaus generally remove completed Chapter 13 cases after 7.; How long items stay

C

Charge-off: When a creditor writes off a debt as a loss after months of missed payments. You may still owe the money, and the debt may be sold to a collector.; Collections and charge-offs
Closed account: An account that can no longer be used. Closed accounts can stay on your report; those in good standing often remain for years and keep contributing history.; How to read your report
Collection account: A debt placed with or sold to a collection agency, which may report it to the bureaus as its own account. Generally reportable for 7 years, starting 180 days after the original delinquency.; Collections and charge-offs
Consumer reporting agency (CRA): A company that collects and sells information about consumers' credit or other history. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the three nationwide CRAs; tenant and employment screening companies can be CRAs too.; Your FCRA rights
Consumer statement: A brief statement you can add to your credit file explaining your side of a dispute that wasn't resolved in your favor. Lenders may read it, but it doesn't change your score.; When a dispute is verified
Credit bureau: Another name for a consumer reporting agency, usually meaning Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. Each keeps its own file on you, so reports can differ.; Why reports differ
Credit freeze (security freeze): A free right under federal law to restrict access to your credit report so most new creditors can't check it. You place and lift it at each bureau separately. It doesn't affect your score.; Freeze vs. lock
Credit limit: The maximum a lender lets you borrow on a revolving account. Your limits are the denominator in credit utilization, so a missing or wrong limit can make utilization look higher.; Credit utilization
Credit lock: A product offered by bureaus and other companies that restricts access to your credit report, similar to a freeze but governed by the provider's terms rather than federal law. May be free or paid.; Freeze vs. lock
Credit mix: The variety of credit types in your file, such as credit cards (revolving) and loans (installment). About 10% of a FICO Score for the general population.; The 5 score factors
Credit repair: Work to correct inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information on credit reports, done yourself for free or through a paid company. It can't legally remove accurate, timely negative information.; Credit repair guide
Credit repair organization: Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, a business that sells services to improve a consumer's credit record, history, or rating. Such businesses must follow CROA's contract, disclosure, and fee rules.; What credit repair companies can do
Credit report: A record of your credit accounts, payment history, certain public records, collections, and inquiries, kept by a credit bureau. Scores are calculated from it.; How to read your report
Credit score: A number, commonly from 300 to 850, that summarizes the information in one credit report to predict how likely you are to repay as agreed. You have many scores across bureaus and models.; Credit scores explained
Credit utilization: The share of your revolving credit limits you're using, overall and per card. Lower is generally better; it can change as soon as new balances are reported.; Utilization calculator
Credit-builder loan: A small loan where your payments go into a locked savings account or certificate, and you receive the money after you finish paying. Payments are reported to the bureaus to build history.; Credit-builder loans
CROA (Credit Repair Organizations Act): The federal law governing paid credit repair. It bans fees before services are fully performed, requires a written contract and disclosures, gives a 3-business-day right to cancel, and prohibits misleading claims.; What credit repair companies can do

D

Date of first delinquency: The date you first fell behind on an account and never caught up. It sets the clock for how long most negative items can be reported.; How long items stay
Debt collector: Under the FDCPA, generally a third party that collects debts owed to someone else, or a company whose main business is collecting debts. Original creditors collecting their own debts are usually not covered.; Debt validation
Debt validation: Your right under the FDCPA to receive details about a debt from a collector and, if you dispute in writing within the validation period, to have collection paused until the collector verifies it.; Debt validation letters
Delinquency: Being behind on payments. Late payments are generally reported once an account is 30 or more days past due, in 30-day steps (30, 60, 90 and so on).; Disputing a late payment
Dispute: A request asking a credit bureau or furnisher to investigate information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. Disputing is free, and bureaus generally must finish within 30 days.; How to dispute errors

E

Equifax: One of the three nationwide credit bureaus. Equifax keeps its own credit file on you, which may differ from Experian's and TransUnion's.; Why reports differ
Experian: One of the three nationwide credit bureaus. Experian keeps its own credit file on you, which may differ from Equifax's and TransUnion's.; Why reports differ
Extended fraud alert: A free fraud alert for identity theft victims that lasts seven years. It requires an identity theft report, such as one from IdentityTheft.gov.; After identity theft

F

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): The federal law that governs credit reports: accuracy, privacy, who may access reports, how long information can be reported, and your rights to see and dispute your file.; Your FCRA rights
FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act): The federal law that limits how third-party debt collectors can collect, bans abusive and deceptive practices, and gives you debt validation rights. Regulation F implements it.; Debt validation
FICO Score: A family of credit scores made by FICO, widely used by lenders. Base scores range from 300 to 850 and weigh payment history, amounts owed, length of history, new credit, and credit mix.; Credit scores explained
File brief: CreditGod's plain-English summary of your three reports: what's there, what changed, and which items may be worth disputing.; Credit reports
Fraud alert: A free note on your credit file that asks businesses to verify your identity before opening credit. An initial alert lasts one year; you contact one bureau and it notifies the other two.; Freeze vs. lock
Frivolous dispute: A dispute a bureau reasonably determines is frivolous or irrelevant, for example because it lacks enough information to investigate. The bureau must tell you within 5 business days and explain why.; How disputes work
Furnisher: A company that reports information about you to the credit bureaus, such as a lender, card issuer, or collector. Furnishers must report accurately and investigate disputes.; Disputing with a furnisher

G

Goodwill letter: A letter asking a creditor, as a courtesy, to remove an accurate late payment. Creditors aren't required to agree, and it isn't a legal dispute.; Goodwill letters

H

Hard inquiry: A credit check from an application for new credit. It may lower scores slightly for a while; FICO generally counts hard inquiries from the past 12 months.; Hard vs. soft inquiries

I

Identity theft block (605B): Your right under FCRA section 605B to have bureaus block information that resulted from identity theft, generally within 4 business days after you provide the required documents.; Identity theft protection
Identity theft report: A report of identity theft, such as the one you create at IdentityTheft.gov, that lets you request extended fraud alerts and blocks of fraudulent information.; After identity theft
Installment account: A loan with a set number of fixed payments, such as an auto loan, mortgage, student loan, or credit-builder loan.; The 5 score factors

L

Late payment: A payment reported as past due, generally once it's 30 or more days late. Accurate lates can stay up to 7 years; inaccurate ones can be disputed.; Disputing a late payment

M

Medical collection: A medical bill reported by a collector. The nationwide bureaus remove paid medical collections and those under $500, and wait a year before reporting unpaid ones.; Medical debt and credit
Method of verification: A description of how a bureau verified disputed information. After a reinvestigation, you can ask the bureau for it, and it must respond within 15 days of your request.; When a dispute is verified
Mixed file: A credit file that contains another person's information, often someone with a similar name or SSN. It's an accuracy problem you can dispute.; Mixed credit files

N

Negative item: Information that can hurt your scores, such as late payments, collections, charge-offs, or bankruptcies. Accurate items can be reported for set time limits; inaccurate ones can be disputed.; How long items stay

O

Open account: An active account you can still use or are still paying. Open revolving accounts count toward your utilization.; Credit utilization
Original creditor: The company that first extended you credit, such as the card issuer or lender, before any sale of the debt to a collector.; Collections and charge-offs

P

Pay for delete: An arrangement where a collector agrees to stop reporting a debt in exchange for payment. Many collectors refuse, and it can conflict with accurate-reporting obligations.; Pay for delete explained
Payment history: The record of whether you've paid your accounts on time. The largest factor in FICO Scores, at about 35% for the general population.; The 5 score factors
Permissible purpose: A legally allowed reason to access your credit report under the FCRA, such as reviewing your credit application. Employers also need your written consent.; Your FCRA rights
Prescreen opt-out: Your right to stop prescreened credit and insurance offers based on your credit file, for five years or permanently, through the official site OptOutPrescreen.com.; Your FCRA rights
Public record: Court information that can appear on a credit report. Today bankruptcies are the main public record on reports from the nationwide bureaus.; How to read your report

R

Rate shopping: Comparing loan offers within a short window. Scoring models generally treat multiple mortgage, auto, or student loan inquiries in that window as one inquiry.; Hard vs. soft inquiries
Reinsertion: When information deleted after a dispute reappears. The furnisher must certify it's complete and accurate, and the bureau must notify you in writing within 5 business days.; How disputes work
Reinvestigation: The FCRA's term for the investigation a bureau must conduct when you dispute information, generally within 30 days.; How disputes work
Revolving account: Credit you can borrow, repay, and borrow again up to a limit, such as a credit card or line of credit.; Credit utilization

S

Secured credit card: A credit card backed by a refundable deposit that usually sets your limit. It reports like a regular card, so it can build credit with on-time use.; Secured credit cards
Soft inquiry: A credit check that doesn't affect your scores, like checking your own credit, prescreened offers, or reviews by your existing lenders.; Hard vs. soft inquiries
Statement closing date: The day your card's billing cycle ends. Issuers usually report the balance on this date, so paying before it can lower reported utilization.; Credit utilization
Statute of limitations: The state-law time limit for suing to collect a debt. It's separate from how long a debt can appear on your credit report, and in some states a payment can restart it.; Collections and charge-offs

T

Tenant screening report: A report a landlord uses to evaluate a rental application. It may include credit, eviction, and other records, and screening companies are covered by the FCRA.; Credit for renting
Thin file: A credit file with too few accounts or too little history for some scoring models to produce a score.; Building credit
Tradeline: An account as it appears on your credit report, with its creditor, type, status, balance, limit, payment history, and dates.; How to read your report
TransUnion: One of the three nationwide credit bureaus. TransUnion keeps its own credit file on you, which may differ from Equifax's and Experian's.; Why reports differ

V

VantageScore: A family of credit scores created jointly by the three nationwide bureaus. Recent versions use a 300 to 850 range and weigh similar factors to FICO.; Credit scores explained

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