How long does it take to improve your credit score?

If you’re hoping to qualify for a mortgage, get approved for a personal loan*, or simply recover from a few financial mistakes, you’re probably wondering the same thing: How long does it actually take to improve your credit score? And when you find mixed information online, it can be frustrating. 

The truth is, it can take anywhere from about 30 days to several years to improve your credit, depending on what’s affecting your score. Here’s what to expect, and what you can do to move things along.

The short answer: Your timeline depends on what’s affecting your score

The biggest factors affecting how quickly your credit score improves include:

• How serious the issue is
• When your lender reports
• Which scoring model is used
• The rest of your profile and credit history

Here’s a general timeline for common situations:

What affects your credit score the most?

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to improve every part of your credit score to see progress. But knowing which factors affect your score the most can help you know where to focus your energy.

Why your score doesn’t change overnight

Even if you make all the right moves today, you probably won’t see your credit score jump tomorrow.

That’s because most lenders report your account information to the three major credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—about once a month. Your credit score updates only after that new information is reported and processed.

For example, if you pay off most of your credit card balance on the 5th, but your lender doesn’t report your account until the 22nd, your lower balance may not appear on your credit report until after that reporting date. Once it does, your score may begin reflecting the improvement.

Quick tip: Planning to apply for a mortgage, auto loan, or personal loan soon? Ask your lender for their monthly credit reporting date. Paying down your balance before that date—rather than your payment due date—could help lower your credit utilization sooner and help give your credit score before applying.

The fastest ways to improve your credit score

If you’re hoping to improve your score fast, these strategies have the best chance of making a noticeable difference within the next month or two.

Pay down your credit card balances

If there’s one strategy that can move your score relatively quickly, it’s lowering your credit utilization ratio on your credit cards¹.

Credit utilization measures how much of your available revolving credit you’re using. For example, if you have a $10,000 credit limit and a $5,000 balance, your utilization is 50%. Paying that balance down to $2,500 brings your utilization to 25%, putting you below the commonly recommended 30% threshold.

According to Experian, those with the best credit keep their utilization below 10%. 

Check your credit reports for errors

If you check your credit report, it could incorrectly show a late payment, a higher balance than you actually owe, or even an account that doesn’t belong to you. If inaccurate information is hurting your score, disputing it could result in an improvement once the error is corrected.

You can review your credit reports from all three major credit bureaus for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also freeze your credit to help prevent fraud or identity theft.

Catch up on past-due accounts

If you’ve fallen behind on payments, bringing the account current will stop additional late payments from being reported each month, which can prevent further damage while you begin rebuilding. It may take several months to rebuild your score, but the sooner you get current, the sooner your score can begin to recover. 

Ask for a higher credit limit

One of the easiest ways to lower your credit utilization ratio is to increase the amount of credit available to you. So, if your income has increased or you’ve paid your bills on time consistently, call up your credit card company and ask for an increase. 

For example, if your balance stays at $2,000 but your credit limit increases from $5,000 to $10,000, your utilization immediately drops from 40% to 20%. 

Become an authorized user on someone else’s card

If you have a trustworthy family member with good credit, you can ask to become an authorized user on their card, so you can piggyback off of their good score to boost your own.

Recovering from major credit mistakes takes longer

More serious negative marks can affect your credit for years.

That said, you may not be stuck with a low credit score until those items disappear. Credit scores reward positive habits over time, so as you make on-time payments, pay down debt, and avoid taking on unnecessary new credit, older mistakes could have less of an influence.

Here’s how long some of the most common negative items can remain on your credit report:

Be skeptical of quick credit fixes!

Be cautious of anyone promising to “fix” your credit overnight. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns that legitimate credit improvement takes time, and no company can legally remove accurate negative information from your credit report.

FICO vs. VantageScore: which updates faster?

Did you know that you have multiple credit scores? That’s why you can check your score on different websites and see different numbers. 

The two most commonly used credit scoring models are FICO Score and VantageScore. Here’s how they compare: 

Summary of how long it takes to improve your credit

Improving your credit score won’t happen overnight, but some simple tweaks could get things moving in the right direction sooner than you might think. If you’re paying down credit card balances or correcting an error on your credit report, you may see progress in as little as 30 to 45 days. More serious issues may take longer, but consistent on-time payments, good money management, and responsible credit use can gradually strengthen your credit profile.

*All personal loans made by WebBank.

¹The Prosper^® Card and Prosper Platinum Card are unsecured credit cards issued by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard^® International.