Lesson 5 · About 12 minutes
Read and Decode Your Credit Report
An account entry is sometimes called a tradeline. Read it as a group of facts—not as a single grade about you.
Five parts to check
Creditor name, partial account number, and account type.
Balance, credit limit or original amount, date opened, and last reported date.
Current status plus the month-by-month payment grid or symbols.
What do “1s” in payment history mean?
Some report formats use numbers in a payment grid. A 1 may indicate paid as agreed or current in certain rating systems. Other reports use words, check marks, blanks, or numbers that represent days late. Never assume: find the key or legend on the report and match the symbol to the month shown.
What can R9 or R09 mean?
In a North American account-rating system documented by the Government of Canada, R identifies revolving credit and R9 means a bad debt or an account placed for collection. A leading zero may be formatting. This code is not universal across U.S. consumer reports. If it appears, use that report’s legend and contact the reporting company or creditor if the meaning or status is unclear.
Practice account line
Community Card · Revolving · Balance $240 · Limit $1,000 · Status: Current · Last reported: August
This example says the account is revolving, the reported balance is $240, and the status was current when the creditor last updated it. It does not prove what the balance is today.