Credit reports contain a lot of financial information. The information is useful for mortgages, credit cards, renters, and much more because it gives individuals and businesses a way to evaluate someone’s ability to repay a loan or pay their bills. In fact, some jobs will even check your credit report before hiring you.
That said, some information may not be available to the public, or some agencies may withhold some information. So, what is a public record on your credit report? This article answers that question and more.
What Is a Credit Report?
A credit report is a detailed report of someone’s credit history. The information within a credit report is sourced by credit bureaus and compiled in extensive reports that calculate a credit score based on all of the information. This score is what many jobs, landlords, and lenders use to determine if someone is a good fit for a loan.
That said, credit reports also contain additional information. For example, if someone filed for bankruptcy or was evicted from an apartment, there’s a chance that it will show up on a credit report.
What Is a Public Record on a Credit Report?
Credit reports only contain public records about your credit history. This means that people who pull your credit report can only see your payment history, loans you’ve taken out, and other information related to your financial background.
Some examples of public records that show up on a credit report include:
- The type of loan you took out.
- Current status of your debts.
- When a debt was created.
- Judgments that have been filed against someone.
- The court that has legal agency over the case proceedings in bankruptcy or judgment.
- The dollar amounts of any debts that you have.
- The number of missed payments you have.
- Liens placed against you.
- Eviction records.
- Contract disputes with lenders.
These are some examples of the typical public records that you’ll find on someone’s credit report. Depending on the situation, more information may be available. For example, if someone has filed for bankruptcy, you’ll be able to view the liability amount and whether or not someone’s assets were exempt.
How Long Does Information Remain on Your Credit Report?
Information doesn’t stay on your credit report forever, and many federal and state governments have made sure of that. According to the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA), most public records on your credit report will become unavailable after seven to ten years.
While a record of that information may still be available, businesses, landlords, and anyone else who wants to lend you money can not use it against you. It will also stop impacting your credit score.
Some state laws impact the amount of time something remains on your record, so make sure you’re prepared for some slight deviations based on where you’re located.
How to Find Public Records on Your Credit Report
When it’s time to find public records on your credit report, you have two options. First and foremost, you can check your credit history. While this is effective, it doesn’t always give you the full story, so we also recommend running a general public records check. Learn more about both methods below.
Credit Check
One of the first things you can do is check your credit report with the three major credit bureaus. These bureaus are TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. The report should be consistent among the three bureaus, but the scores may be different.
The purpose of checking all three is to ensure that there are no inconsistencies. For example, if something should have come off your credit report and it is for TransUnion and not Experian, you can find out and contact them.
Public Records Search
Another way to find public records on your credit report is with a public records search tool. PublicRecord.com is the leading public record lookup tool for the job as it combs through millions of public databases to bring you comprehensive public records.
With this tool, you can dig deeper into your credit report and learn more about bankruptcies and dive deeper into court records.
So, What Is a Public Record on Your Credit Report?
Overall, financial records tend to be public records on your credit report. These financial records pertain to debt, rental history, and anything that may be helpful for lenders.
While this information is public, it’s important to note that you usually can’t look back more than seven to ten years. We also recommend checking your records often to prevent fraud and other inconsistencies.