Delinquent or derogatory status on accounts is too recent

VantageScore code numbers

Code numbers can differ by bureau and score version. The wording of the statement is what to match.

What puts this reason on your score

This statement points at the date of the newest negative status anywhere in your file. VantageScore's explanation is one line: the event occurred too recently. A 30-day late from four months ago fits. So does a card that went to collection last quarter.

Recency gets its own code because a fresh problem predicts more trouble than an old one. The code can stay even after the account is paid and current, because the reported history still holds the late month. Note that 12 means something else on VantageScore 3.0, where it flags the age of your oldest account.

What to check on your credit report

• The most recent month marked late on any account, on all three reports
• Lates reported for months when you were in an approved deferment, forbearance or payment plan
• An old debt, sold to a new collector, that now shows a later delinquency date than the original. That's called re-aging and isn't allowed.

What you can do about it

• Keep every account current. This code improves only as clean months pile up after the last late.
• Dispute any late or date that's wrong, with proof such as a bank statement showing the payment posted on time.
• Watch small balances on cards you rarely use. A forgotten $15 bill that goes 30 days late resets the date this code reads.

The free drop off calculator can help with this step.

How soon a change can show

There's no quick change. Each month a lender reports the account as current pushes the last late one month further back. Expect the code to slide down the list over many months, not weeks.

If you are applying for a mortgage

A late within the last year can matter more to an underwriter than the points it costs. If one is on your file, keep everything current until closing and have a short written explanation ready.

Guides that go deeper

• How to recover from a late paymentA late payment fades, and what you do in the first months shapes how fast. A week-by-week, year-by-year recovery plan based on how FICO Scores work.
• How a late payment affects your credit score, using FICO's own numbersFICO's own simulation shows a 30-day late can cost a 793 score far more than a 607 score. Why that happens, and what FICO weighs about each late payment.
• How zombie debt and illegal re-aging bring old debts backZombie debts are old, paid, or wrong debts that resurface after a sale. Re-aging is reporting a newer delinquency date. How to spot and fight both.
• How to dispute a credit report error, step by stepA step-by-step guide to disputing credit report errors with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion: online vs. mail, what to include, and how to keep proof.
• What your credit score reason codes are telling youReason codes list what held your score back the most, in order. What the common ones mean, which you can act on, and which to leave alone.