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A vital part of your financial health
Billions of FICO® Scores are used in credit related decisions every year. They can help you qualify for the best loan rates, terms and promotions. Understanding your FICO® Scores and what they mean to you is a critical part of your financial health.
What your FICO® Scores mean to you
When you apply for credit — whether for a credit card, auto loan or mortgage — lenders want to know what risk they'd take by loaning you money. To evaluate this risk, lenders will often pull a credit report and credit score.
The most widely used credit scores are FICO® Scores. In fact, FICO® Scores are used by 90% of top US lenders, helping them make decisions about extending credit and at what terms and rates. Your FICO® Scores are based on a complex, scientific algorithmic assessment of the information in your credit report.
FICO® Scores provide an unbiased and proven way to evaluate a consumer's credit risk — helping people like you obtain credit more quickly and fairly.
Understand your credit
When a FICO® Score is generated, it's based on five key factors in your credit report.
- Payment history (35% of your scores): Whether you've paid past credit accounts on time
- Amounts owed (30% of your scores): The amount of credit and loans you are using
- Length of credit history (15% of your scores): How long you've had credit
- New credit (10% of your scores): Frequency of credit inquires and new account openings
- Credit mix (10% of your scores): The mix of your credit, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts and mortgage loans
FICO® Score versions
People have more than one FICO® Score and each lender determines which FICO® Score version they will use when assessing your credit risk.
To keep up with consumer trends and the evolving needs of lenders, FICO periodically updates its scoring models. As a result, there are multiple FICO® Score versions — base FICO® Scores (and their updates) and industry-specific FICO Scores (and their updates). Different lenders use different versions of FICO® Scores when evaluating your credit. Auto lenders, for instance, often use FICO® Auto Scores, an industry-specific version that has been tailored to predict auto loan risk. Credit card issuers use FICO® Bankcard Scores or base FICO Scores.
It’s likely that your different FICO® Score versions won’t all be the same. But since all FICO Scores share a similar foundation, more often than not your FICO Scores will be relatively close. You can see all the FICO® Score versions on myFICO.com and access yours on myFICO.com along with many more features.
Which FICO® Score version matters to me?
Seeking an auto loan?
FICO® Auto Scores are the industry-specific scores used in the majority of auto-financing credit evaluations. Your auto lender can pull your score from any or all three bureaus.
Managing your credit and FICO® Scores responsibly
The first step to managing your credit is knowing your FICO® Score. Check out the resources on myFICO to help you understand how to manage your credit.