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What is a FICO score?

Last Updated: October 01, 2009

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Credit bureau scores are often called "FICO scores" because most credit bureau scores used in the United States are produced by Fair Isaac and Company, or FICO. A FICO score (which can range between 300 and 850) is a measure of creditworthiness. The higher the score, the lower the risk. Specifically, borrowers with high FICO scores generally show less indication of serious payment delinquency than borrowers with low scores.

FICO scores are provided to lenders by the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. It is important to note that your score may be different at each of the three main credit reporting agencies. The FICO score from each credit reporting agency considers only the data in your credit report at that agency. If your current scores from the three credit reporting agencies are different, it's probably because the information those agencies have on you differs.

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