FICO® Score – The Score that Lenders Use

A credit score is a number summarizing your credit risk, based on your credit data. A credit score helps lenders evaluate your credit profile and influences the credit that's available to you, including loan and credit card approvals, interest rates, credit limits and more.

FICO Scores are the most widely used credit scores. Each FICO Score is a three-digit number calculated from the data on your credit reports at the three major credit bureaus —Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Your FICO Scores predict how likely you are to pay back a credit obligation as agreed. Lenders use FICO Scores to help them quickly, consistently and objectively evaluate potential borrowers' credit risk.

Not all credit scores are FICO Scores. Because FICO Scores are the credit scores most widely used by lenders—90% of top lenders use FICO Scores—knowing your FICO Scores is the best way to understand how potential lenders could evaluate your credit risk when you apply for a loan or credit. Other credit scores, which use scoring formulas different from FICO's, may not give you an accurate representation of the scores your lender uses when assessing your credit profile.

1. Mercator Advisory Group Analyst Report, 2018

To keep up with consumer trends and the evolving needs of lenders, FICO periodically updates its scoring model, resulting in new FICO Score versions being released to market every few years. Additionally, different lenders use different versions of FICO Scores when evaluating your credit. Auto lenders, for instance, often use FICO Auto Scores, an industry-specific FICO Score version that's been tailored to their needs.

Between all three bureaus, there are 19 FICO Scores that are most commonly used by lenders. Use the chart below as a guideline for which score version is most relevant for the type of credit or loan you're seeking.

Experian	Equifax	TransUnion
Most widely used version
FICO Score 8	FICO Score 8	FICO Score 8
Versions used in auto lending
FICO Auto Score 8	FICO Auto Score 8	FICO Auto Score 8
FICO Auto Score 2	FICO Auto Score 5	FICO Auto Score 4
Versions used in credit card decisioning
FICO Bankcard Score 8	FICO Bankcard Score 8	FICO Bankcard Score 8
FICO Score 3	FICO Bankcard Score 5	FICO Bankcard Score 4
FICO Bankcard Score 2
Versions used in mortgage lending
FICO Score 2	FICO Score 5	FICO Score 4
Newly released version
FICO Score 9	FICO Score 9	FICO Score 9
FICO Auto Score 9	FICO Auto Score 9	FICO Auto Score 9
FICO Bankcard Score 9	FICO Bankcard Score 9	FICO Bankcard Score 9

Your FICO Scores are calculated from the credit data on your credit reports. Specifically, FICO Scores consider 5 main categories of credit data from your reports: Payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit and types of credit in use. The chart below shows the relative importance of each category.

FICO-Score-factors-pie-graph

FICO Scores generally range from 300 to 850, where higher scores demonstrate lower credit risk and lower scores demonstrate higher credit risk (note that industry-specific FICO Scores have a slightly broader 250 — 900 range). What's considered a "good" FICO Score varies by lender. For example, one lender may offer its lowest interest rates to people with FICO Scores above 730, another lender only to people with FICO Scores above 760.

The chart below provides a breakdown of ranges for FICO Scores found across the U.S. consumer population. Again, each lender has its own credit risk standards, but this chart can serve as a general guide of what a particular FICO Score represents.

FICO Score	Rating	What FICO Scores in this range mean
< 580	Poor	Well below the average of U.S. consumers Demonstrates to lenders that you are a risky borrower
580 — 669	Fair	Below the average of U.S. consumers Many lenders will approve loans with this score
670 — 739	Good	Near or slightly above the average of U.S. consumers Most lenders consider this a good score
740 — 799	Very good	Above the average of U.S. consumers Demonstrates to lenders you are a very dependable borrower
800 +	Exceptional	Well above the average score of U.S. consumers Demonstrates to lenders you are an exceptional borrower

No. While your FICO Scores consider a wide range of information on your credit reports, they don't consider your income, age, education, employment history, gender, zip code, marital status or race. Any information not found on your credit reports, or any information not proven to be predictive of future credit performance, is also not considered by your FICO Scores.

FICO's research shows that people with higher FICO Scores tend to:

Make all their payments on time, every month
Keep credit card balances low
Apply for new credit only as needed
Establish a long credit history

FICO Score Open Access is an educational program, launched by FICO and in partnership with lenders, with the goal of further educating individuals about their credit by increasing consumer access to FICO Scores. Lenders participating in FICO Score Open Access provide their customers free access to the FICO Scores they use to manage credit accounts. If your bank, credit card issuer, auto lender or mortgage servicer is participating in FICO Score Open Access , you can see your FICO Scores—along with the top factors affecting your scores—for free.

You can make sure you're getting access to your FICO Scores — and not a generic credit score — by obtaining your FICO Scores directly from an authorized FICO Score retailer or FICO Score Open Access partner .

Frequently Asked Questions