F0391 | Root 4, Credit and Credit Scores | Cluster 4.1, Credit Score | Pattern 1, Definition
Author: Emily Turner, Credit, Loans and Insurance Editor | Reviewed by: Daniel Mercer, Editor-in-Chief, Personal Finance
Meta title: What Is a Credit Score? Definition, Ranges and Bands Explained
Meta description: A credit score is a 3-digit number from 300 to 850 that a scoring model calculates from a credit report. Definition, ranges, bands, factors and access routes.
A credit score is a 3-digit number that a credit scoring model calculates from the information in a consumer credit report. Two model families, FICO from Fair Isaac Corporation and VantageScore from VantageScore Solutions, produce the number from data held by 3 nationwide bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, on the generic scale of 300 to 850. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) defines the score as a snapshot of report data at one moment, so the number changes as report data changes.
This definition sits inside Credit Score Fundamentals and the Credit and Credit Scores root hub.
What does a credit score measure?
A credit score measures the repayment risk a lender reads from a consumer credit history. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau states that lenders use the number as 1 input beside income, employment data, and the debt-to-income ratio, and no lender decision rests on the score alone. Landlords read scores in tenant screening, and insurers in most states read credit-based insurance scores in pricing, a separate model output from the lending score.
Three uses dominate, and each use reads the same underlying report data:
- Lenders price mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and personal loans with the score.
- Landlords screen rental applicants with the score and the report.
- Insurers in most states price auto and homeowners policies with a credit-based insurance score.
The score summarizes past repayment behavior only. The score carries no income figure, no bank balance, and no employment title, because credit reports exclude those 3 data classes.
Who creates a credit score?
A credit score comes from a scoring model applied to bureau data, and no single company creates the number alone. Credit bureaus collect and maintain the report. Model companies supply the mathematics. Lenders, card issuers, and other furnishers supply the account data in the Metro 2 format of the Consumer Data Industry Association.
Fair Isaac Corporation released the first general-purpose FICO Score in 1989. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion founded VantageScore Solutions in 2006 as a joint venture, and VantageScore 3.0 arrived in 2013 and VantageScore 4.0 arrived in 2017. A fourth nationwide agency, Innovis, also maintains consumer files, and specialty agencies such as ChexSystems and LexisNexis Risk Solutions maintain narrower files on bank accounts and insurance claims. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau counts more than 200 million consumer files across the nationwide bureaus. The mechanism behind the number has a dedicated page: How does credit score work?
What credit score ranges exist in the United States?
Credit score ranges in the United States run 300 to 850 for generic-purpose scores and 250 to 900 for industry-specific scores. No single universal scale exists, and the scale follows the model and the purpose, a distinction the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) repeats in consumer guidance.
| Model and purpose | Scale | Width in points |
|---|---|---|
| FICO Score, generic purpose | 300–850 | 550 |
| VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0, generic purpose | 300–850 | 550 |
| FICO Auto Score and FICO Bankcard Score, industry purpose | 250–900 | 650 |
| VantageScore 1.0 and VantageScore 2.0, historical scale replaced in 2013 | 501–990 | 489 |
The table shows 2 live scales and 1 retired scale. A score of 720 sits at a different percentile on each scale, so a number carries meaning only beside the model name and the scale. The full classification of models, versions, and purposes sits on 1 page: What are the types of credit score?
What counts as a good credit score?
A good credit score starts at 670 on the FICO published band table and at 661 on the VantageScore published band table. Each publisher sets 5 bands, and the band tables differ because each model measures a different data mix.
The FICO band table, published by Fair Isaac Corporation through myFICO, groups scores as follows:
| FICO band | Range |
|---|---|
| Exceptional | 800–850 |
| Very good | 740–799 |
| Good | 670–739 |
| Fair | 580–669 |
| Poor | 300–579 |
The VantageScore band table, published by VantageScore Solutions, groups scores as follows:
| VantageScore band | Range |
|---|---|
| Excellent | 781–850 |
| Good | 661–780 |
| Fair | 601–660 |
| Poor | 500–600 |
| Very poor | 300–499 |
Both tables show the same pattern at a different cut line: each higher band groups borrowers with lower measured default rates in publisher data, and each lower band groups borrowers with higher measured default rates. A lender sets an approval cut line per product, so the band label informs a consumer and the lender cut line decides the application.
What information builds a credit score?
A credit score builds from 5 report data categories: payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and credit mix. Fair Isaac Corporation publishes the FICO category weights, and the 5 weights sum to 100 percent.
| FICO category | Weight |
|---|---|
| Payment history | 35% |
| Amounts owed | 30% |
| Length of credit history | 15% |
| New credit | 10% |
| Credit mix | 10% |
VantageScore Solutions publishes the category weights for VantageScore 4.0 in its consumer guide, The Complete Guide to Your VantageScore, on a different split: payment history 41 percent, depth of credit 20 percent, credit utilization 20 percent, recent credit 11 percent, balances 6 percent, and available credit 2 percent. Credit utilization measures balance against limit as a percentage. In an illustrative example, a $3,000 balance on a $10,000 limit equals 30 percent utilization, and a $1,200 balance on the same limit equals 12 percent utilization. The Credit Utilization Calculator computes the same division. Factor depth, per-factor behavior, and the calculation method sit on the factors and calculation pages of this cluster, and this page states the categories as attributes of the definition only.
How many credit scores does one consumer have?
One consumer holds dozens of credit scores, because 3 bureaus, 2 model families, multiple versions, and industry variants multiply against each other. A consumer with full files at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion holds a separate score per bureau per model. FICO alone sells the FICO Score 8, the FICO Score 9, the FICO Score 10, and the FICO Score 10T, plus the FICO Auto Score and the FICO Bankcard Score lines, and Fair Isaac Corporation describes the FICO Score 8 as the most widely used FICO version. UltraFICO, a newer FICO variant, reads bank account data with consumer permission and adds a data source outside the report.
An exact personal count depends on bureau file contents and model eligibility, so no fixed count applies to every consumer. A consumer with no bureau file holds no score at all. A thin file also produces no FICO Score, because FICO minimum scoring criteria require at least 1 account open for 6 months or longer and at least 1 account reported to the bureau in the past 6 months.
Where does a consumer check a credit score?
A consumer checks a credit score through bureau services, bank and card apps, and free score services, and checks the underlying report free at AnnualCreditReport.com. Congress created the free report right in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, governs the report system through the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, and governs decision fairness through the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974. The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as the federal supervisor of the bureau system.
The 3 bureaus made free weekly online reports at AnnualCreditReport.com permanent in September 2023. Provider displays draw on 1 named bureau each: Chase Credit Journey displays an Experian-based VantageScore, Capital One CreditWise displays a TransUnion-based VantageScore, Credit Karma displays TransUnion and Equifax VantageScore data, and American Express MyCredit Guide displays a TransUnion-based VantageScore. The displayed score names the model on each service, and the model name tells the consumer the scale from the ranges table above.
How long does credit information stay on a credit report?
Credit information stays on a credit report for 7 years for most negative items and 10 years for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The retention clock for a collection account runs from the original delinquency date plus 180 days, and the clock for a bankruptcy runs from the filing date.
| Report item | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Late payment | 7 years |
| Collection account | 7 years |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy | 7 years |
| Chapter 7 bankruptcy | 10 years |
| Hard inquiry | 2 years |
A hard inquiry stays on the report for 2 years, and FICO counts only inquiries from the past 12 months inside the new credit category. Retention periods explain score movement across time: a negative item loses presence at the retention limit, and the score recalculates from the remaining file.
What credit score do mortgage lenders use?
Mortgage lenders use a minimum score of 620 for most conventional loans and 580 for an FHA loan with a 3.5 percent down payment, under program rules in effect in 2026. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set the 620 floor in the conventional selling guides in effect in 2026. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), inside the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), sets 580 as the floor for the 3.5 percent down payment tier and accepts 500 to 579 with a 10 percent down payment, under HUD Handbook rules in effect in 2026.
In an illustrative example on a $300,000 home price, the 3.5 percent tier equals a $10,500 down payment and the 10 percent tier equals a $30,000 down payment. The US Department of Veterans Affairs sets no statutory minimum score for VA loans, and lender overlays set the operating floor for VA borrowers. Federal loan programs also include USDA loans from the US Department of Agriculture. Program thresholds state eligibility floors only, and approval also reads income, assets, and debt ratios. Full qualification rules sit on the mortgage pages: Credit Scores and Mortgage Qualification
What does a credit score exclude?
A credit score excludes income, salary, employment title, age, marital status, bank balances, and every characteristic the Equal Credit Opportunity Act protects. Credit reports carry account and inquiry data only, so a model reads no data outside the report. The exclusion list covers 8 named data classes:
- Income and salary figures
- Employment title and employer tenure scoring
- Age and marital status
- Bank account balances, outside permissioned variants such as UltraFICO
- Race, color, religion, and national origin
- Sex and receipt of public assistance income
- Consumer exercise of a right under federal consumer credit law
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 bans credit decisions based on the protected classes in the list. The glossary defines the 2 anchor terms of this page: Credit Score and Annual Percentage Rate (APR).
Frequently asked questions
Is a credit score the same as a credit report?
No. A credit report is the underlying record, and a credit score is a number calculated from the record. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion maintain the reports, and FICO and VantageScore models calculate separate scores from each report file.
Does income affect a credit score?
No. Income has no direct effect on a credit score, because credit reports exclude income data. Lenders read income separately in an application and combine the income figure with the score and the debt-to-income ratio in the decision.
Does checking a personal credit score lower the score?
No. A personal check counts as a soft inquiry, and a soft inquiry has zero effect on the score. A lender application counts as a hard inquiry, stays on the report for 2 years, and enters the FICO new credit category for 12 months.
Is a free app score a real credit score?
Yes. A free app score is a genuine model output, from FICO or VantageScore, calculated on 1 named bureau file. Chase Credit Journey, Capital One CreditWise, and Credit Karma display VantageScore values, and the display names the bureau source beside the number.
What credit score starts the mortgage approval range?
A score of 620 starts the conventional mortgage range and 580 starts the FHA 3.5 percent down payment tier, under rules in effect in 2026. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set the 620 floor, and HUD sets the FHA tiers at 580 and 500.
How long does a late payment affect a credit score?
A late payment stays on a credit report for 7 years from the original delinquency date, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The payment history category holds a 35 percent weight in the FICO model, the largest of the 5 categories.
Does a consumer with no credit file have a credit score?
No. A consumer with no bureau file has no credit score, because a model requires report data as input. FICO minimum criteria require 1 account open for 6 months and 1 account reported in the past 6 months before a score generates.
Do all lenders see the same credit score?
No. Lenders see different scores for the same consumer, because each lender selects a model, a version, and a bureau. A mortgage lender reads an older FICO version, a card issuer reads a bankcard score, and an auto lender reads an auto score.
Summary
A credit score is a 3-digit number that a credit scoring model calculates from the information in a consumer credit report, on a scale of 300 to 850 for generic-purpose scores and 250 to 900 for industry-specific scores. FICO and VantageScore produce the number from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion report data, 5 data categories build the number, and the credit report remains the record underneath every score.
Internal links: R04-P01 Credit Score Fundamentals (parent pillar, PENDING) | R04-HUB Credit and Credit Scores (root hub, PENDING) | F0392 How does credit score work? (sibling, PENDING) | F0393 What are the types of credit score? (sibling, PENDING) | R04-C01 Credit Utilization Calculator (calculator, PENDING) | G Credit Score and G Annual Percentage Rate APR (glossary, PENDING) | R04-901 Credit Scores and Mortgage Qualification (bridge, PENDING)
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