Is a FICO Score the Same As a Credit Rating?

Many companies use credit reports to evaluate an individual's creditworthiness. The Fair Isaac Corporation score constitutes an imporatant component of the credit score. The FICO score serves as the credit rating.

Function

The FICO credit rating is a comprehensive score designed to measure someone's likelihood of repaying a loan. A higher FICO score indicates a better credit rating, while a lower FICO score implies a higher credit risk.

Time Frame

The FICO score takes into account an individual's credit activity over several years to determine his creditworthiness. According to the Lendingtree website, it can take years to raise a bad credit rating.

Considerations

Although many companies promise access to credit ratings, most do not provide a true FICO score. Instead, they provide "educational scores," which are rough estimates of a credit rating based on credit reports. Although these scores can give a general idea of a credit rating, they are no substitute for a FICO score, which is the only accepted credit-rating measure.