Home > Consumer Information > Personal Finance > Consumer Credit Bill of Rights > What is a Credit Score? | ||
What is a Credit Score? | ||
A credit score is a single numerical score, based on an individual's credit history, that measures that individual's credit worthiness. The most widely used credit score is called FICO for Fair Isaac Corp., the company that developed it. |
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The model used to calculate your score looks at many factors. In general, these may include:
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NOTE: Credit scores are not stored as part of your credit history. Rather, scores are generated at the time a lender requests your credit report and then included with the report. | ||
Correcting Inaccuracies | ||
If you find an error, the credit reporting agency must investigate and respond to you within 30 days.
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How to Get Your Credit Score | ||
Credit scores are available through the credit reporting agencies. (Cost per score ranges from $15 to $40, depending on the agency.)
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FACT Act | ||
Under the recently enacted federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, a mortgage lender must disclose to a consumer the credit score obtained by the lender from a credit reporting agency used in making a lending decision. |
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OPRA is a state law that was enacted to give the public greater access to government records maintained by public agencies in New Jersey. | ![]() |
You will need to download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to correctly view and print PDF (Portable Document Format) files from this web site. |
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Copyright © 2011,
State of New Jersey New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance |