The FICO score is a number that ranges from 300 to 850. It’s used by lenders to determine the interest rate you’ll be charged for loans and whether or not you get approved. If you’ve been trying different methods to improve your credit score, and are wondering how often your fico score updates, you’ve come to the right place.
I’ve had this happen to me several years ago when I was in the market for a new car. I had sold my previous vehicle and paid it off in full. This should have a significant impact on my overall credit score. However, my FICO score didn’t show any changes until nearly three months! The reason for the delay had to do with how FICO scores were updated.
How Often Does FICO Score Update?
FICO Scores are updated every 30 to 45 days depending on your account activity. Accounts with higher activity will get updated more frequently than dormant ones.
Your FICO score doesn’t change much over time either. It is only updated whenever a lender provides new information for your accounts.
In fact, according to myFICO.com; “Credit reports and other FICO Score versions will be updated based on the type of subscription you have – monthly for FICO® Basic or FICO® Premier and quarterly for FICO® Advanced. They will also be updated if you purchase additional credit reports that aren’t a part of your subscription.”
How Can I Get My Updated FICO Score?
You will need to wait several months before seeing the changes to your FICO score unless you have a subscription with myFICO.
However, if you don’t want to wait months at a time before seeing the changes to your FICO score, you can use myFICO’s services which will provide an updated version within five days.
MyFICO offers three options:
- Basic- updates every month (for $19.95)
- Advanced- updates every 3 months (for $29.95)
- Premier- updates every month (for $39.95)
Every time you log into your myFICO account, it will automatically show any changes to your FICOs score since the last check and provide a new updated version as well.
If you don’t want to sign up for the monthly service, you can try one of these alternative methods as well:
Is a FICO Score the Same As a Credit Score?
No, a FICO score and credit scores are not the same things. A FICO Score is just one part of your overall credit score which calculates other factors such as:
Payment history (35% of your score): This is the most important factor in the calculation of your credit score. It is based on your history of making payments on time, including late fees and penalties for missing a payment deadline.
Outstanding debt (30%): The amount you owe accounts for 30% of the overall score with this portion measuring how much money you currently owe compared to what you are allowed to borrow.
Length of credit history (15%): This portion is a measure of how long you have had credit and includes various aspects such as:
- the average time accounts have been open
- age of your oldest account
- number of recently opened accounts
- etc
New credit accounts (10%): The credit score calculates your number of recently opened accounts.
Types of credit used (credit mix) (the remaining 10%): This portion rewards you for using a variety of different types of credit including:
- installment loans
- retail cards
- mortgages
- car loans
It also looks at how many accounts are open compared to closed because lenders see this as an indicator of risk.
As you can see, your FICO score is just one small part of the equation. However, it’s an important number lenders look at when considering whether or not to offer loans and what interest rate will be charged for those loans.
Final Thoughts
I hope this article answered your questions about FICO scores and how often they update. However, if you have any additional comments or concerns please leave them in the section below.
