Updating your credit score

If you have a question, others likely have the same question, too. By sharing your questions and our answers, we can help others as well. Personal credit report disputes cannot be submitted through Ask Experian. To dispute information in your personal credit report, simply follow the instructions provided with it. Your personal credit report includes appropriate contact information including a website address, toll-free telephone number and mailing address. To submit a dispute online visit Experian's Dispute Center.

If you have a current copy of your personal credit report, simply enter the report number where indicated, and follow the instructions provided. If you do not have a current personal report, Experian will provide a free copy when you submit the information requested. Additionally, you may obtain a free copy of your report once a week through April at AnnualCreditReport. Editorial Policy: The information contained in Ask Experian is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice.

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Offer pros and cons are determined by our editorial team, based on independent research. September 7, 7 min read. Your credit scores are based on the information in your credit reports. And your credit scores—like your reports—can change over time. But how often do they change? The short answer: It depends.

Read on to learn about when your credit scores might change and to get tips for improving your scores and monitoring your credit. Since your credit scores are based on the information in your credit reports , your scores can be updated whenever your reports are updated. Every lender has its own schedule for reporting information to the credit bureaus.

But information is typically reported every 30 to 45 days. And your scores could change every time new information—like new accounts or changes to your account balances—is reported by a lender and reflected in your credit reports. Because every lender has its own reporting schedule and policies, your credit scores can change often—even multiple times a day.

And keep in mind that you have many different credit scores. And each formula is a little different. Formulas can use information from just one credit report or a combination of different reports. Then, each formula might assign different levels of importance to that information. And credit scores can change significantly over time. To file a dispute, select the information you'd like corrected and the reason it's incorrect, and then submit your dispute.

Before you proceed, however, understand that certain information, such as names and credit inquiries, can't be disputed using the online dispute center.

Credit bureaus generally have 30 days to investigate your claim and send you a response. If they find the information you disputed is incorrect, they may either correct and update the information or delete it.

To verify updated information as correct, you may need to provide additional proof backing up your claim. However, not every part of your credit report impacts your scores. For example, your name, address, phone number and employer information will have no impact on your credit scores. As a result, disputing this information won't affect your credit scores.

In contrast, if an account was fraudulently opened and has a past-due balance, it could be hurting your credit. Closing the account and disputing the information could help your credit when the negative account is removed from your credit history. Check Your Credit Report Regularly Before you update your credit report with new information, you'll want to review a recent copy of your report. You can get a free copy of your Experian credit report online, and you'll get alerts if there are any suspicious changes in your report that could be a sign of fraud.

Keep in mind, if you recently updated your personal information with a creditor, it may take a few weeks for the update to be reported and appear on your credit report.

What's on Your Credit Report? The purpose of this question submission tool is to provide general education on credit reporting. The Ask Experian team cannot respond to each question individually. However, if your question is of interest to a wide audience of consumers, the Experian team may include it in a future post and may also share responses in its social media outreach. If you have a question, others likely have the same question, too. By sharing your questions and our answers, we can help others as well.

Personal credit report disputes cannot be submitted through Ask Experian. To dispute information in your personal credit report, simply follow the instructions provided with it. Your personal credit report includes appropriate contact information including a website address, toll-free telephone number and mailing address. To submit a dispute online visit Experian's Dispute Center. If you have a current copy of your personal credit report, simply enter the report number where indicated, and follow the instructions provided.

If you do not have a current personal report, Experian will provide a free copy when you submit the information requested. Additionally, you may obtain a free copy of your report once a week through April at AnnualCreditReport. Editorial Policy: The information contained in Ask Experian is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice.