How Often Does Your Credit Score Update?

If you're wondering how often your credit score updates, the answer is that it happens once per month. The exact date it updates varies, but it will always refresh at least once a month.

Your credit score doesn't change every time something on your accounts does. Your payment history, for example, can change often – but your score is typically updated about once a month.

This article explains how your score updates, why you might get different scores from different bureaus, and how you can improve your credit score.

How often is your credit score updated?

According to the Canadian government, credit monitoring bureaus update your credit report at least once a month.

Both credit monitoring bureaus – Equifax and TransUnion – have to receive new information about your accounts in order for your credit score to change. When they receive this information depends on both your financial institution and your lender reporting the changes. This is why there can sometimes be a lag between changes in your information and updates to your credit score.

How to check your credit score

You can pay to access your most recent credit score – but there are plenty of services that provide that information for free. Just be aware that if you go with a third-party, you might get flooded with promotional offers and marketing.

Here are several options for checking your credit score:

How does your credit score get updated?

When discussing how often your credit score updates, it's important to also cover what happens behind the scenes. It starts with your credit card issuer, who keeps track of your account activity, including:

• Whether you made on-time payments towards your credit accounts
• Your credit utilization ratio
• The length of time you've kept your credit accounts
• Whether you opened or applied for any new credit accounts
• Any kind of information that a credit bureau regularly uses to assess your creditworthiness

All of this information is then sent to credit bureaus every 30 days.

However, there's no specific day on which all card issuers submit their clients' credit data to credit bureaus. One card issuer may send that data in the second week of the month, another one the last day of the month, etc. And as that data is processed, your credit score is updated.

Regularly checking your credit score with Borrowell or a similar credit monitoring service, such as Credit Karma, can help you track changes. It's especially helpful if you're working on improving your score.

Why does my credit score fluctuate?

According to Equifax, your score may fluctuate due to your payment history, one of the biggest factors in determining it.

Payments you make on credit cards, installment loans, and other accounts can affect your credit score once they're reported to the credit bureaus.

In addition, your credit history can affect your current and future credit scores. For example, if you make a late credit payment, it will have an immediate negative effect on your credit score and could show up on your credit report for years.

Even a single late payment could drop your score by over 100 points. But as time goes by, the effects of that late payment will diminish until it's no longer a factor.

Although it's not a bad idea to check your credit score via soft credit checks, don't take those numbers as the absolute truth. These numbers are helpful guidelines that, while reasonably accurate, aren't exact.

Only a hard credit check can provide exact numbers. However, hard credit checks can hurt your credit score, so they should only be done when absolutely necessary.

Improving your credit score takes time

Don't be discouraged if your credit score doesn't improve as quickly as you hoped or if you see fluctuations. Improving your credit score takes time, patience, and good financial habits.

If your credit score dips a little, don't worry. What matters more is where your score is headed over time.

Keep up good habits, such as:

• Living within your means
• Paying your bills on time
• Avoiding carrying a balance from month to month
• Checking your score regularly

FAQ

How often is my credit score updated?

Your credit score updates at least once a month as credit bureaus receive new account information from lenders. The exact update date can shift monthly and vary by bureau, since there's no fixed deadline requiring lenders to report your information on a set schedule.

How fast can I add 100 points to my credit score?

There's no way to quickly guarantee an exact credit score. The fastest way to improve your credit score is to regularly make your monthly payments on time and in full. Do this for every single bill and account you're required to pay. If you can, prioritize paying down debt, which can also boost your credit score.

What day of the month does the credit score update?

There's no specific day of the month when your credit score updates, since both credit bureaus receive information from various financial institutions at different times throughout the month. At the very least, your score will update at least once per month, but the exact date will vary.

What's the best way to check my credit score?

The best way to check your credit score is to use whichever service is most convenient for you. Banks usually offer this service for free, and there are several other free services available, or you can take it a step further and subscribe to a monitoring service that provides very detailed information.