How Fast Can You Increase Your FICO Score?

The FICO credit score, developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation, is one of the most common measurements lenders use to assess your creditworthiness. Much of the score is based on your history of using credit, meaning increasing your score is not something you can do overnight. However, there are some things you can do that will bring your score up within a matter of weeks.

How Your Score is Calculated

Fair Isaac uses five factors in calculating your FICO score and gives different weights to each. Credit history is the most important factor, making up 35 percent of your score. The amount of debt you have is the second-most important factor, at 30 percent of your score. Credit history makes up 15 percent of your score, while the types of credit you have and how often you take out new lines of credit make up 10 percent each.

Correcting Errors

One of the fastest ways to raise your FICO score is to correct any errors on your credit report. Bankrate.com cites a 2004 study showing that up to 80 percent of credit reports contain some sort of error. While most are minor, some, such as showing accounts that are current as past due, can harm your score. When you dispute these errors to the credit bureaus, they have 30 days to act. You can try to speed up the process by contacting the bureaus by phone, but the most reliable way is to dispute the error in writing and provide copies of any corroborating documentation. Once the error is fixed, your FICO score should increase quickly.

Paying Off Debt

Because a big portion of your FICO score is based on how much you owe, you can improve your score relatively quickly by paying down debt. Liz Weston, writing for MSN Money, says that you can improve your credit score in 30 days or less by paying off a significant amount of credit card debt.

Considerations

Most actions you can take to increase your credit score take time. As stated on the MyFICO website, "Repairing bad credit is a bit like losing weight: It takes time and there is no quick way to fix a credit score." The best thing you can do to raise your credit score and keep it high is to pay your bills on time. If you have black marks on your credit report, such as a bankruptcy, foreclosure or debt sent to collections, it will take years before the items disappear. However, their effects on your credit score will dwindle over time if you use credit responsibly.