How to Figure Out FICO Score

Lenders use the FICO credit score to assess your credit risk. FICO stands for Fair, Isaac & Co., which markets the scoring system. A FICO score is between 300 and 850. Depending on the lender, a score of 680 to 700 and above is good while 620 to 580 or less is poor. You cannot calculate your FICO score precisely because the mathematical model is proprietary information and kept secret. But if you know the general structure of the FICO score (which is public knowledge) you can figure out scores well enough to identify problems and improve your credit rating.

Instructions

1

Look at your record of bill payments. This is the most important part of a FICO score and counts for 35 percent of the total. A rare late payment of a few days doesn't bring a FICO score down very much. But a single delinquency of 30 days or more can lower your score by 100 points.

2

Total the debts you owe. If a person owes too much for his or her income this counts off (this is 30 percent of the score). Debts are weighted differently, however. A home mortgage is usually the largest debt a person owes, but payments are a small percentage of the balance each month and the home is collateral. The FICO model takes this into account.

3

Evaluate the kind of debt you owe (other than a mortgage). The FICO system treats secured debt with low monthly payments as preferable to unsecured debt (such as personal loans with no collateral or excessive credit card debt). A good rule of thumb is to keep unsecured debt to a minimum. This counts for 10 percent of the total FICO score.

4

Look to see how often you have applied for credit or closed accounts in the past year. If you are constantly opening and closing accounts it counts against you (up to 10 percent of the total). There are legitimate reasons to apply for credit (or close old accounts), just don't do it too often.

5

Check your credit behavior for the past few years. Time is the final 15 percent of the FICO score. The two or three most recent years are weighted more heavily. But the longer you use credit responsibly, the more it will help raise your FICO score.

6

Take other factors into account. Certain events like bankruptcy or foreclosure can drastically lower a FICO score. In some ways this kind of problem is worse than any other because it must stay on your credit record for 7 to 10 years.