How Often Do Creditors Report?

The information that appears on your credit report does not get there automatically. Each of your creditors reports account information regularly to the three major credit bureaus--Experian, Equifax and TransUnion--that gather information for your credit report. Most creditors send information to the bureaus once per month.

Timing

Each lender chooses which day during the month to report account information. The day is consistent month-to-month, so you will always have one month worth of new information each time the lender reports. Some credit card companies report your information on your statement date, while others might report in the middle of a billing cycle. Therefore, you can't count on your statement balance being the one that appears on your credit report.

Significance

Because your credit report will contain updated information about each account every month, your credit score might change each month. It could change even more frequently than that if you have multiple accounts and they report at different times of the month. The monthly reporting can help or hurt you. If you want to boost your score by paying down credit card debt, your score should reflect the new lower balance within a month. On the flip side, credit mistakes, such as missed payments and collection accounts, will also show up on your score within a month.

Less Frequent Reporting

If your account has not changed at all in the last month, your creditor might not report any information about the account that month. If an account goes for six months without an update, it is considered inactive. The FICO formula cannot calculate a credit score for you if all of your accounts are inactive. Therefore, you should use each account at least once every three months to keep them all up to date.

Faster Reporting

When you are applying for a big loan, such as a mortgage, and need to boost your credit score to qualify or get a better interest rate, the regular monthly report might not come soon enough for you. In this case, you might be able to use a rapid re-scoring service to update your credit report faster, usually within three days. For example, you can have a documented error removed or make a payment on a credit card and have the balance changed. You must go through a broker to use rapid re-scoring. The service will cost you, usually about $30 to $50 per credit report, but the benefits in terms of getting a loan with a lower interest rate will quickly make up the initial cost.