What Is the Fastest Way to Raise Your FICO Score?

A borrower's credit report is updated once every 30 days with information sent to it by your creditors, however, the credit score is updated each time it is pulled. To quickly increase your credit score, a borrower must comb through his credit report and look for ways to improve his overall credit health. While it can be done, it takes work, follow-through and maybe even an outlay of funds.

Instructions

1

Check your credit report through a free online service, such as AnnualCreditReport.com. You will be required to enter your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, address and credit card information to verify your identity. Your credit report will be free once a year, however, to find out your credit score you will have to pay a fee.

2

Check your report for any errors. Report any errors to the credit bureau immediately through the website. The credit bureau has 30 days to respond to your inquiry via email.

3

Note any negative items on your credit report, such as bankruptcies, judgments, collections and liens. If capable, pay any negative items in full. Keep all receipts from these transactions to prove payment if needed to update your credit report.

4

Note your credit utilization. Keep all credit balances less than 30 percent of their limit on credit cards or lines of credit to have the least impact on your score. Paying down these items to this level will quickly raise your credit score.

5

Make sure all payments on all loans are up to date. The best thing you can do to maintain a high credit score is to pay all debts on time.