How long does it take for credit score to update after payment

Reading time: 3 minutes

Highlights:

• Your credit scores are not fixed numbers and will likely change over time based on your financial behavior.
• For your credit scores to update, the information in your credit reports must update first.
• It's up to your individual creditors to determine when and how often they will report your credit information to the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies.

A credit score is a three-digit number, typically between 300 and 850, designed to represent your credit risk, or the likelihood you will pay your bills on time.

Credit scores are not fixed numbers. They will change over time based on your financial behavior and other information reported to various consumer reporting agencies (CRAs).

How often are credit scores updated?

Your credit scores typically update at least once a month. However, this may vary depending on your unique financial situation.

Credit scores are calculated based on the information included in your credit reports. So, for your credit scores to update, the information in your credit reports must first change.

A credit report is a summary of your financial behavior over time. It may include information about the number and types of credit accounts you have, your payment history, the total credit available to you and other information such as recent requests for credit.

Credit reporting is voluntary. Not all lenders report information to the three nationwide CRAs — Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. It's up to each individual lender to decide if and when they will report information as well as which of the CRAs they report to, if any.

Lenders that choose to report, typically do so monthly. Credit card companies, for example, usually report by a recurring date known as the billing cycle or statement date. But the exact day of the month may be different for each provider.

In short, there's no set day that all lenders deliver information to the CRAs. Additionally, not every lender or creditor will share information with every CRA. Some may report to only one or two, or none at all.

So, when it comes to your credit scores, updates usually occur at least once a month but could be more frequent depending on how many lenders you have and when each of those lenders reports new information.

You will need to request a new copy of your credit score in order to see any changes. A free monthly VantageScore® 3.0 credit score (based on Equifax data) and Equifax credit report are available when you sign up for Equifax Core Credit™. A VantageScore is one of many types of credit scores.

Remember, when it comes to your credit scores updating…

• Although updates to your credit score usually occur at least once a month, this frequency could vary depending on your lenders and unique financial situation.
• It's normal for your credit score to change over time based on your financial behavior.
• It's up to each individual lender to decide if and when they will report information as well as which of the CRAs they report to, if any.
• Be sure to request a new copy of your credit score in order to see any changes.

If you’ve made the commitment to improve your credit score and you’re working hard at it, it can feel like ages before you see a change. Especially if you’ve only started out in your credit journey. You’ve been paying on time, so why don’t you see any difference in your score? How long do you have to wait until you see the fruits of your labor? 

It’s only natural to wonder how often does your credit score update. It’s also essential to understand how and when your credit information gets reported to credit bureaus, so you know when you’ll see a change. 

To help bring more clarity, we look at how often your credit score and credit report gets updated. We’ll also help you understand how often you should be checking your credit report and explain how you can check your credit score. 

• How Often Do Credit Scores Update?
• How Often Do Credit Reports Update?
• When Do Creditors Report to Bureaus?
• When Should You Check Your Credit Score?
• How to Check a Your Credit Score
• Read More
• Conclusion

How Often Do Credit Scores Update?

As soon as credit bureaus receive your information from your creditors, they update your credit report. The information on your credit report influences your credit score. As soon as your credit report is updated, your credit score will change and reflect the new information. 

Credit bureaus will recalculate your credit score based on the new information received immediately. If the information they received doesn’t have a significant effect on your credit score, you won’t see a change immediately, though. So, if you make one payment towards your outstanding credit balance, it’s not going to make your credit score jump all of a sudden. You will most likely only see a significant improvement if you keep making on-time payments over a long time. 

However, if you miss a payment and your creditor reports your payment as more than 30 days late, you might see a drop in your credit score. This late payment will stay on your credit report for seven years and will keep on having a negative effect. Another factor that can cause your credit score to take a significant hit is using more and more of your credit and increasing your credit utilization. If you suddenly have a spike in credit card debt, you can expect to see a knock in your credit score. 

How Often Do Credit Reports Update?

As with your credit score, your credit report updates as soon as the credit bureau receives information from your creditors. Any new information will be listed on your credit report. On your report, you will also see a list of risk factors that are affecting your credit score the most. 

Your credit report and credit score are essentially dependent on when your lender reports your information to the credit bureaus. So, the next important question is when do they report this information? 

When Do Creditors Report to Bureaus?

Creditors aren’t required or obliged to report any of your credit activity to credit bureaus. Lenders choose to report the information because it is in their best interest to collect consumer credit information and use it. Lenders use the content of credit reports to measure someone’s creditworthiness. So, making sure as much information is reported benefits all credit providers. 

So even though creditors aren’t required to report to credit bureaus, the majority of lenders will report information to the three main credit bureaus. So, when do they report this information? 

Each credit provider has its own schedule of when they report to credit bureaus. Credit bureaus don’t require the information to be reported at a specific date. But you can expect it to happen every 30 to 45 days. The exact dates will vary from lender to lender. Also, remember, the same information might not reach all credit bureaus at the same time. So, a lender could report your information to TransUnion this week, but it only reaches Equifax next week. 

As a result, it is very typical for your credit score to be in constant flux. It can change within days or even hours as different lenders send information to the credit bureaus. Your credit score will also not be the same with each credit bureaus. Every new report a creditor makes to the bureaus could mean adjustments to your credit report and credit score. 

When Should You Check Your Credit Score?

Generally, people advise you should check your credit score at least every year. But there are advantages to checking it more often than just annually. Firstly, it will help you stay on top of your credit accounts. You’ll also know where you stand or where you can improve if you want to apply for new credit. If you only check your credit report every year, you might not spot any drops in your credit score and correct it in time before you apply for a new loan. 

Unfortunately, credit fraud and identity theft is also a reality. This can have detrimental effects on your credit score. Knowing what is going on with your credit report will help you identify any credit fraud or identity theft sooner than later. You can take action and correct the wrongs before too much damage is done. 

It is also always possible for an error to creep in on your credit report that could unnecessarily hurt your score. If you review your credit report regularly, you can spot errors sooner and have them corrected immediately. 

Remember, checking your own credit score doesn’t have a negative impact on your score. You can check your credit score and credit report as often as you like without it ever hurting your credit health. It is only when a credit provider does a hard credit inquiry when you are applying for a new loan (for example) that it will affect your score. 

While checking your credit score won’t improve it directly, either, it’s always a good idea to periodically check in to make sure nothing looks off. Jim Droske, president of Illinois Credit Services, explained that “the more you pay attention to it, the better your credit tends to be.”

Using a credit monitoring service or another personal finance app that includes credit monitoring is a great way to stay on top of your credit without having to constantly request reports from the credit bureaus.

How to Check a Your Credit Score

There are many ways you can check your credit score and review your credit report. You can get a free copy of your credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also order your free credit report from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax once a week. 

Read More

• How to Remove Paid Collections from a Credit Report
• How to Get Approved for a Cell Phone with Bad Credit
• How Many Points Will My Credit Score Increase When I Pay Off Collections?
• How to Check Your Credit Score Without an SSN
• How to Remove Late Payments from a Credit Report
• Why Did My Credit Score Go Down When Nothing Changed?
• How Accurate is Credit Karma?
• Can You Be Denied a Job Because of Bad Credit?

Conclusion

We’ve clarified how often does your credit score update. Unfortunately, there isn’t a straight answer or a set formula. But you’ve now got everything you need to keep on top of your credit report and see your credit score soar to new heights. 

Check your credit report regularly but don’t get despondent if you don’t see an immediate change. Remember, credit providers report information at different times. Stay focused on the long-term improvement of your credit score and don’t expect immediate results. 

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Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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