Your credit report does not include information about your marital status, race, religion, level of education, or income. It also does not list any bank account information, such as account numbers or balances, or arrest records. You won’t find your credit score in there either.
The major credit bureaus tend to include and exclude the same types of information. Sure, there may be some slight discrepancies here and there, depending on each bureau’s sources and information-gathering techniques, but the fundamentals are fairly uniform. That’s partly due to the fact that credit reporting agencies are actually prohibited from tracking certain types of information by federal law, as you’ll see below.
Credit Score
Your credit score is generated based on the information from your credit report, but you will not find this numerical manifestation of your financial responsibility on the report itself. It’s a separate entity, though you may receive access to both your report and your score as part of a package deal. For example, you can check your TransUnion credit report and your VantageScore credit score based on that report with a free WalletHub membership.
Non-Credit Banking Information
Contrary to popular belief, credit reports do not contain information about every type of financial account or bill that you might have. You won’t find mention of the following on your credit report:
- Checking accounts
- Savings accounts
- Debit cards
- Prepaid cards
- Non-delinquent medical bills
- Non-delinquent utility payments
- Rewards earnings
- Investments
- Purchases you make
Personal Information Not Related to Your Credit
Federal law prohibits discrimination based on things like your faith, sex, and familial status. As such, your credit reports will not include mention of your:
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Religion
- Political affiliation
- Marital status
- National origin
- Disability
Income Information
Income is an important factor that lenders and creditors use to determine whether to approve you for a loan or credit card. However, they won’t find this information in your credit report. Lenders and creditors instead will ask you for your current income or ask you to provide your most recent pay stubs.
Outdated Financial Information
Laws dictate the length of time that certain information can remain on your credit reports in order to prevent undue punishment for the respective “offenses.” You should, therefore, notify the credit bureaus and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau if any of the following are still on your file:
- Bankruptcies more than 10 years old
- Accounts charged off more than 7 years ago
- Accounts sent to collections more than 7 years ago
- Late or missed payments more than 7 years old
Certain Public Records
In the past, certain public records, such as civil judgments and tax liens, used to be included in your credit report, but they are not allowed anymore. The major credit bureaus also do not include arrest records and criminal convictions on your credit reports. The only types of public records included are bankruptcy filings and foreclosures.
What Is Included in Your Credit Report?
Now that you know what’s not included in your credit report, it’s fair to wonder what is included. This is a shorter list than what’s excluded, as you can see below.
Personally identifying information: Your name, Social Security number, date of birth, phone number, and past and current addresses.
Credit account information: The credit cards, lines of credit, and loans you have in your name, along with the balances on them and your payment history.
Credit inquiries: A record of who has requested to see your credit report.
Bankruptcies & foreclosures: Any bankruptcy filings or foreclosures you’ve had in the past 7 to 10 years.
Learn more about what’s included in your credit report.
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