Your FICO score determines whether you can get credit.
Your Fair Isaac Corporation score, or FICO score, often referred to as simply your "credit score," is a measure of your creditworthiness. In other words, your credit score tells others how trustworthy you are, to help them decide whether they want to lend you money. There are only three credit reporting agencies, and they all calculate the score differently. So in order to find your true score, or your composite score, you'll need to get all three scores and average them. Luckily for you, federal law mandates that you be provided with a free credit report once a year if you request it.
Instructions
1. Visit the AnnualCreditReport Web site, which is the only authorized source of free credit reports under federal law. (See Resources.)
2. Choose your state from the drop-down list and click the red "Request Report" button.
3. Fill out the Web form you are presented with and click "Continue." You will receive your credit reports from all three agencies.
4. Once you have the credit scores from the three agencies--Equifax, TransUnion and Experian--add them all up. For example, if your scores are 500, 600 and 700, their sum is 1800.
5. Divide your answer from the previous step by 3 to find your composite credit score. In the example, 1800 / 3 equals 600, a fair credit score.
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