How Much Can a FICO Score Be Raised?

The FICO credit score system can be cruel -- you could try your entire life to achieve the perfect credit score and probably never get there, because points become increasingly harder to get as your score climbs. However, you can probably raise your score to anything up to the top score. How much you can raise your FICO score depends on where you are at now.

Highest Score

Technically, you can raise your score up to an 850 in the FICO system. Subtract your current FICO score and subtract it from 850 to find out how many more points you need. In all practicality, you probably won't see your FICO score rise above 800, because nobody knows the optimal values for all of the variables in the FICO algorithm. Even people who make it a life goal to get a perfect score usually do not get past the 820s or 830s, according to a March 2011 article on the online financial resource Wallet Pop.

Considerations

FICO scores rise the fastest when you have a low score and start the path to rebuilding your credit. If you have a score of 500, start a new account and pay every bill on time for several months, your score should inflate at a larger rate than somebody with a score of 700. Because of the secrecy of the FICO algorithm, you can only make generalizations about credit scoring and assume that good habits, such as paying debt, will increase a score -- sometimes they decrease a score.

Time Frame

Time is one of the most limiting factors in the FICO scoring model. Negative items stay for seven years, but Chapter 13 bankruptcy stays for 10 years and unpaid tax liens forever. The FICO algorithm treats negative marks during the first two years of their as the most serious items on a report. The worst negatives, such as foreclosure and bankruptcy, can affect a score heavily for several years until they leave the report. Until you get a highly negative account or item off your report, it may limit your score to somewhere in the low 700s.

Tip

Since you cannot predict anything in the FICO model on your own, spend your time improving your credit history and work on the areas that go into the FICO algorithm. The Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that created the algorithm, lists them on their website. If you have credit card debt, pay it off and use as little of your limits as possible. Never pay late and apply for credit sparingly -- the borrowers with the best scores usually have two or fewer hard credit checks each year.