Everything You Need to Know About Credit Scores in India
What Does Your Score Actually Mean?
Loan approvals very unlikely. Only secured credit (against deposits) may be accessible. Requires significant rebuilding.
Some lenders may approve at high interest rates. Limited credit card eligibility. Improvement possible within 6–12 months.
Most lenders will consider you. Rates may be slightly higher than prime. Good foundation to build upon.
Competitive loan approvals. Access to most credit cards. Small improvements can unlock significantly better rates.
Best rates, highest limits, fastest approvals. Premium cards, large home loans, and top NBFC offers within reach.
The 5 Pillars That Build (or Break) Your Score
Whether you pay EMIs, credit card bills, and loan instalments on time. A single missed payment can drop your score by 50–100 points.
How much of your available credit limit you're using. Keep this below 30% — ideally under 10% — for maximum score impact.
The average age of all your credit accounts. Older accounts signal reliability. Never close your oldest credit card unless absolutely necessary.
A healthy blend of secured loans (home, auto) and unsecured credit (cards, personal loans) shows you can manage different types of credit responsibly.
Hard inquiries from lenders when you apply for credit. Each hard pull can lower your score by 5–10 points. Multiple applications in a short window signal risk.
How to Read Your Credit Report
Personal Information
Section 1 of your credit report
Full name, DOB, PAN — verify these exactly match your identity documents. Errors here can cause your report to merge with someone else's.
Address history — older addresses should list correctly. Multiple addresses are normal.
Employment — approximate income may be listed from credit applications. Doesn't directly affect score.
Account Information
The most important section — check each account
Account status — should show "Active", "Closed", or "Settled". "Written Off" severely damages your score.
Payment history (DPD) — Days Past Due grid. Every month should show "000" or "STD" (standard). Any number means late payment.
Current balance vs. sanctioned limit — this directly feeds your utilisation ratio.
Closed accounts — positive closed accounts remain for 7 years and continue to help your score.
Enquiry Information
Hard pulls from loan / card applications
Recent hard inquiries — each one slightly lowers your score. Many in a short period signals financial stress to lenders.
Soft inquiries (like Capora's monitoring pulls) do not appear on your report and never affect your score.
Inquiries older than 2 years have minimal impact on your score and may be ignored by most lenders.
Common Errors to Look For
Studies show 1 in 5 credit reports contains an error. Spotting and disputing these can deliver a score jump within 30–45 days.
Sometimes another person's account (same name, different PAN) appears on your report. Raise a dispute with the bureau immediately — this is the highest-impact error to fix.
Paid-off loans still showing as "Outstanding", or settled accounts marked "Written Off". File a dispute with the lender and bureau with your No Dues Certificate or payment proof.
An EMI marked late when you paid on time. Request your bank's payment records as proof and submit to the bureau's dispute portal.
Old addresses, wrong employer, incorrect date of birth. These rarely affect your score directly but can complicate loan processing.
The same loan listed twice — doubling your apparent outstanding debt. This artificially inflates your utilisation and suppresses your score.
CIBIL, Experian, Equifax, and CRIF all have free online dispute portals. Bureaus are legally required to respond within 30 days. Capora's dispute tool pre-fills the right form for you.