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This article deals with the general concept of the term credit history, for detailed information about the same topic in the United States see Credit score (United States).

Credit history or credit report is, in many countries, a record of an individual's or company's past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy. The term "credit reputation" can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score.

When a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank, store or credit card company, their information is forwarded to a credit bureau, along with constant updates on the status of their credit accounts, address or any other changes you may have made since the last time they applied for any credit.

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individual's or entity's credit worthiness; that is, determining an individual's or entity's means and willingness to repay an indebtedness. This helps determine whether to extend credit, and on what terms. With the adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry, this report has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual percentage rate (APR).

Contents 1 How credit rating is determined 2 Understanding credit reports and scores 3 www.AnnualCreditReport.com 4 International issues 5 Bibliography 6 External Links 7 References 8 See also

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country, but the factors are similar, and may include:

• Payment record - a record of bills being overdue will lower the credit rating.
• Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means. Experts estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15 percent of the borrower's after tax income.^{[citation needed]}
• Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the borrower's home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability. Having a respected profession can improve a credit rating.
• Re-Aging - Through re-aging, a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on that particular account. This can dramatically improve the credit score. In 2000 the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts for delinquent borrowers. [1] (PDF)
• Credit inquiries – An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file. There are several kinds of notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score. Soft pulls don't affect the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples:

A credit bureau may sell a person's contact information to an advertiser purchasing a list of people with similar characteristics, like homeowners with excellent credit. A creditor can check a person's credit periodically. Or, a credit counseling agency, with the client's permission, can obtain a client's credit report with no adverse action. Each of the preceding examples are commonly referred to as a "soft" credit pull.

However "hard" credit inquiries are made by lenders. Lenders, when granted a permissible purpose by a borrower for the purposes of extending his credit, can check his credit history. Hard inquiries from lenders directly affect the borrower's credit score. Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a person's credit rating. A lender may perceive many inquiries on a person's report as a signal that the person is looking for loans and will possibly consider that person a poor credit risk.

• Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have an adverse effect on a credit score, closing these lines of credit will not improve your score. The credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the amount being used, so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit. And the lower the percentage of available credit, the more the credit score will drop. The credit formula also factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open, so closing an account with several years of history is another avoidable credit mistake.

In the USA, federal law mandates that a person may receive their credit report free of charge. The only official free site is www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Each of the three bureaus must provide one free report every twelve months. You may request all three at the same time or spread out your requests over the twelve month period. This site is maintained by the three credit reporting bureaus, and the service must be free and available online. It takes no more than 5 minutes to obtain an online printout of your credit history report. You are required to answer several personal questions for identification purposes only. The profusion of websites offering credit reports have one thing in common - they all obtain the information by using the AnnualCreditReport.com information that you can get for free in five minutes. Your credit score is determined by each separate credit bureau and may differ with each one. You do have to pay for a credit "score" from each bureau They may be different with each bureau. (reference USA Today, November 28, 2007.)

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and Credit Score. This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with explanations of the notations and codes that are used. It also contains general information on how to build or improve credit history, and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred. The publication is available online at http://www.fcac.gc.ca, the site of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada.

Credit history is typically local to one country. Even within the same credit card network information is not shared for different countries. For example, a person who has been using Visa credit cards issued by banks in China or Canada for many years who moves to the United States and immediately applies for a Visa will not be approved because of lack of credit history.

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country, which can take years. New immigrants are forced to seek loans from irregular channels, which can create social problems.

On the history and origins of credit reporting, see Born Losers: A History of Failure in America, by Scott A. Sandage (Harvard University Press, 2005), chapters 4-6. Getting your free credit report in five minutes - USA Today, November 28, 2007, Money Section, "Free credit reports sometimes aren't free."

The three credit reporting companies:

• Equifax
• Experian
• TransUnion

• Non Profit UK Credit Reporting educational Video Series

• Adverse Credit History
• Credit card
• Credit rating agency
• Credit reference agency
• Credit score
• Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Identity theft
• Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act