What Do the Codes Mean on My Credit Report?

Your credit reports contain a host of information about your financial history, such as what kind of credit accounts you have open, and your past behavior with those accounts. Each company that collects the data for these reports typically uses codes or abbreviations to represent data, and knowing what these mean is important if you want to understand your report.

Biographical Data

Each credit report details an individual consumer's past history of using credit As such, each report contains specific identifying information unique to each person. These codes are fairly obvious, such as "SSN" for your social security number, and "DOB" for your date of birth. Other information found on your report includes your phone number ("PH"), driver's license number ("DL") and whether you are a homeowner or a renter ("HM").

Trade Item

A trade item, often called a trade, is the main part of your credit report. Each loan or credit item you have is found under its own trade item listing on your report. These trade items have a lot of coded information in them that details your history with each item. For example, an Experian credit report trade item identifies each different lender with its own subcode, or "SUB." This is often followed by the borrower's account number, which is sometimes partially hidden by asterisks.

KOB Codes

Each lender is also identified by a "kind of business" code, or "KOB," which identifies what kind of business the lender is in. For example, a government lender is identified with a "V," while an automotive lender is identified with an "A." Credit reports contain credit history from anyone with whom you've interacted, and there are a wide variety of other KOB codes, including those for Banks ("B"), collection services ("Y") and uncategorized miscellaneous businesses ("Z").

Loan Details

Apart from the lender, your credit report also contains coded information about the loan. For example, an "AUT" loan is an auto loan, while an "REV" loan is a revolving account, like a credit card or bank line of credit. Each trade item also details your monthly payment history. For example, each month's payment in an Experian score is listed by a letter or number. A "C" means you paid the bill on time; an "N" means the account has a zero balance; a "1" means you were 30 days late on a payment; and a "9" means the loan was charged off by the lender.