What Information Is Given Out on a Credit Check?

Credit checks are usually performed by lenders before issuing you a loan or line of credit such as a home equity line of credit or credit card. Lenders usually request your credit history from one of the three main credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. The information on your credit report is provided by creditors from around the country.

Identification

Basic identifying information such as your name, home address, birthday, Social Security number and employment history are part of your report. However, they do not affect your credit score. Lenders may use this information to determine how stable your employment situation is or to verify your income.

Payment History

Your credit report will include information about credit accounts that you have had including credit cards, auto loans and mortgages. Each account will show how long you have had the account, the credit limit of the account and will note whether your payment was on time or late each month as well as if the account is delinquent. If you have declared bankruptcy or defaulted on any loans, that information will also be on your report.

Inquiries

Each time you apply for a new loan or line of credit, an inquiry is noted on your credit report. These inquires remain on your report for two years.

Permission

You must grant permission for anyone to conduct a credit check. Usually your loan application will include you giving permission for the financial institution to conduct a credit check. Even though a company may require you to undergo a credit check, the employer must still have your signature authorizing the credit check.

Differences for Potential Employers

Some companies will require that you submit to a credit check as part of the application process. This is more common in jobs that require dealing with proprietary information that an employee could be bribed to give out or jobs that require employees to handle large sums of money that employees with debt issues may be tempted to embezzle. The report that the companies get differs from the report lenders get in only two ways: your birthday is not included to prevent age discrimination and your credit score is not included.