Personal Finance & Estate › Credit, debt & mortgages
Credit scores & reports (FICO; FCRA dispute rights)
FICO 1989; FCRA 1970· Concept or strategy
Law or rule (2026)Set by statute, regulation or the agency; numbers change yearly.
A three-digit number, usually FICO's 300–850 scale, that lenders use to price loans, built from your credit reports.
See it on the Personal Finance & Estate map →How it works
A FICO score predicts your chance of falling 90 days behind on a bill. It weighs payment history (35%), amounts owed and utilization (30%), length of history (15%), new credit (10%) and credit mix (10%). It is computed from reports at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, free weekly at AnnualCreditReport.com. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you can dispute errors; bureaus generally must investigate within 30 days. Most negative items drop off after seven years.
Why it matters for you
Scores set rates on mortgages, HELOCs and car loans, and commercial lenders check guarantors' personal credit. Errors are common, so checking all three reports yearly is cheap protection.
Rules, limits and sources (2026)
An FTC study (2012) found about one in four consumers had a potentially material error on at least one report; FICO publishes its scoring weights.
Watch out for
Scoring is shifting: regulators approved VantageScore 4.0 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in 2025, and how scores should treat medical debt and rent is unsettled.
Connections (2)
▸Credit scores & reports (FICO; FCRA dispute rights) are overseen by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)Law or rule (2026)
How they connect
The CFPB supervises Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, enforces the Fair Credit Reporting Act alongside the FTC, and takes complaints when disputes go nowhere. It has fined bureaus over botched dispute handling, including Equifax in January 2025. Scoring models like FICO aren't directly regulated; the data feeding them is.
When it applies
The FCRA dates to 1970; the CFPB began supervising large credit bureaus in 2012, the first federal agency to examine them directly.
The rule
CFPB supervision reports and enforcement orders; credit reporting has been the top complaint category in its database for years.
Watch out for
A CFPB rule removing most medical bills from credit reports was struck down by a federal court in July 2025; states including California have their own limits.
▸Credit freeze (free at all three bureaus) blocks new lenders from pulling Credit scores & reports (FICO; FCRA dispute rights)Standard practice
How they connect
A freeze limits who can open the credit report, not what it says. New lenders can't pull it, so the score is unchanged but unusable for new accounts until lifted. Existing creditors still see it, and you can still check your own reports free each week.
When it applies
At Equifax, Experian and TransUnion; free weekly reports at AnnualCreditReport.com became permanent in 2023.
How sure?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended in 2018, governs freezes; FICO and the bureaus state that a freeze does not affect scores.
Watch out for
Some lenders, landlords and banks check other databases, such as Innovis or ChexSystems, which need separate freezes.