Your credit report tells the story of your credit health over the past six years. It holds records of your loans and credit cards, and how you've handled the repayments.

You'll also find your Electoral Roll registration, any public records, and your financial associations.

This is the story lenders read when you apply for credit — a mortgage, a car loan, a new credit card. And it isn't only about getting a yes or a no. What's on your report can also shape the interest rate you're offered.

So it's worth knowing your own story, and how you can shape what comes next.

What's actually on your credit report#

Not every lender reports to every credit reference agency, which is why your information can differ between them.

Here's what you can expect to find:

  • Personal details — any name you've applied for credit in, along with your current and previous addresses
  • Credit and bank accounts, open or closed — a mortgage, a card, a loan, an overdrawn current account, a phone contract
  • Your Electoral Roll listing
  • Your repayment record, month by month, including anything paid late or not at all
  • Public records — County Court Judgments (CCJs), Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), Debt Relief Orders and bankruptcies
  • Hard and soft credit searches — only hard searches affect your score, and those are made when you apply for credit
  • Financial associations — anyone you're financially linked to, including people you've taken joint credit out with. They won't affect your credit score, but they could affect a credit application
  • Notices of Correction — a short statement you can add to explain something a lender might query

Plenty never appears at all. What you earn, what you believe and whether you're married are all absent. So, usually, is money you've saved — a current account balance only surfaces where there's an overdraft attached, because an overdraft is borrowing.

Who sends the information in#

Your report is built from a mix of sources.

Public records and local authorities supply the public side of things: your Electoral Roll status, your address, and any court judgments.

Lenders, banks, building societies and service providers supply your credit history — the accounts, the balances, the repayments.

Fraud prevention agencies such as Cifas contribute as well. They add entries where you've been targeted by fraud, or where a marker has been raised against your identity.

Agencies can also gather data from your payment accounts through open banking. And in certain circumstances, information can come from gambling organisations, employers, utility suppliers and telecoms businesses.

Why accuracy matters so much#

Every application sets two things side by side: what you told the lender, and what the agencies already hold. The gap between them — or the absence of one — is what shapes their view of whether you'll repay.

Which is why small inaccuracies punch above their weight. A misspelled street on your Electoral Roll entry that no longer matches your application form, or a late payment recorded against you in error, can be the difference between a yes and a no.

And the decision isn't binary. The same information sets your limit and prices your interest rate.

What to do if something is wrong#

Spotted something that doesn't look right?

Start by contacting the lender directly. Tell them clearly which information you believe is incorrect, and share any evidence that supports your case.

If that doesn't resolve it, raise a dispute directly with the credit reference agency reporting the information. They have 28 days under law to respond.

How to check your report#

Each of the UK's three main credit reference agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — must give you a copy of your credit report free of charge. Here is how to ask each of them.

Your credit report and credit score change often, so checking in regularly is the best way to know where you stand and to prepare for future applications.

The key things to remember#

  • Your credit report covers the past six years and is built from third-party sources, not from you.
  • Lenders, banks, building societies and service providers supply your account and repayment history.
  • Public records and local authorities supply your Electoral Roll status, address and court judgments.
  • Fraud prevention agencies such as Cifas can add markers to your file.
  • Open banking, and in some cases gambling firms, employers, utility suppliers and telecoms companies, can also be sources.
  • Salary, religion, marital status and most account balances never appear.
  • Only hard searches affect your score.
  • If something is wrong, contact the lender first, with evidence.