What Information Is on a Third Party Credit Check?

Not every party that pulls your report can see all items in your credit history and some items only you can view. What information a third party can see depends on who checks the report and which credit bureau it uses. Just about any third-party can see what accounts you have, the details on them and some of your demographic data.

Exclusions

Privacy laws and credit bureau policy limit some of the information a third party can see when it runs a credit check. The bureaus, for example, don't let third-parties see your "soft inquiries" -- inquiries made without your consent. Employers who request a credit check cannot see your age and may not purchase your credit score from a credit bureau due to federal privacy law, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. When you apply for a federal education loan, the government performs a modest credit check. This type of check only shows payments late by more than 90-days.

Identification

A normal credit check includes loan payment history, as well as account balances and the monthly debt payment, public records such as judgments and tax liens, and demographic information you supplied on a credit application, such as address, telephone number and previous jobs. It also contains the times you applied for a loan -- called a "hard inquiry" -- and accounts that have gone to a debt collector. Only lenders that subscribe to Experian, Equifax and TransUnion can report data, so not all accounts will appear on your report.

What is Not Included

A credit check never contains banking history unless you have an overdrawn account that a bank sells to a collection agency. Any unpaid bill can go to a debt collector, such as parking tickets and library fines. The credit bureaus can collect data on criminal cases but not report it and can never report medical data other than unpaid bills. Rental history and utilities rarely appear on a credit report; rent because of the prohibitive cost to the landlord and utilities because of privacy laws in most states.

Tip

Check your credit report for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. The three national credit bureaus must reveal everything they have in your file. If you see any negative items that should not be listed -- most items have a seven-year reporting limit -- write a letter to the bureaus disputing the item or use their online forms. You may see different information from each of the national bureaus, but this is normal. However, make sure that you own all accounts listed on any report. The bureaus sometimes erroneously list a negative account.