Personal Credit Check Understand your credit health

A personal credit check is a review of your credit report and score by a lender, landlord, employer, or yourself. It helps assess your financial reliability. When you check your own credit, it is considered a "soft inquiry" and does not impact your score.

You are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) via AnnualCreditReport.com. Many financial institutions and credit monitoring services also offer free access to your credit score.

No. Checking your own credit is a soft inquiry and does not affect your credit score. It is a responsible habit to monitor your credit regularly for accuracy and signs of identity theft.

Credit score ranges vary by scoring model (FICO vs. VantageScore). Generally: Excellent is 800+, Very Good is 740–799, Good is 670–739, Fair is 580–669, and Poor is below 580. Lenders use these ranges to determine your creditworthiness and the interest rates they offer you.

The five main factors are: Payment history (35%) — paying bills on time. Credit utilisation (30%) — how much of your available credit you use. Length of credit history (15%) — how long your accounts have been open. Credit mix (10%) — variety of credit types such as cards and loans. New credit (10%) — recent hard inquiries and new accounts.

Soft inquiries occur when you check your own credit or when lenders pre-approve you — they do not affect your score. Hard inquiries happen when you formally apply for credit (a loan or credit card) and give the lender permission to access your file. They may temporarily lower your score by a few points.

You can request a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major bureaus once every 12 months at AnnualCreditReport.com. You may also be eligible for additional free reports under certain circumstances — such as being denied credit, being unemployed, or receiving public assistance.

If you find an error, file a dispute with both the credit bureau that issued the report and the company that provided the information (the furnisher). You can usually do this online through the bureau's website. Provide documentation to support your claim. By law, they must investigate within 30 days.

Most negative information — such as late payments, collections, or bankruptcies — can remain on your credit report for 7 to 10 years. However, its impact on your score lessens over time as it ages. Positive information, such as on-time payments, can remain on your report indefinitely.

Credit monitoring services track your credit reports for key changes — new accounts, hard inquiries, address changes — and alert you quickly. This can help detect identity theft early. Many services are free, while others offer premium features like identity theft insurance for a fee. You can also monitor your own credit by regularly reviewing your free annual reports.

Act quickly: Contact one of the three credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. Review all your credit reports for unauthorised activity. File a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at IdentityTheft.gov. File a police report with your local authority. Contact the fraud departments of any companies where accounts were opened fraudulently.

A credit freeze (or security freeze) restricts access to your credit report, making it significantly harder for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. You can place a freeze for free by contacting each of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) individually. You can temporarily lift or permanently remove the freeze at any time.