Number of accounts with delinquency

FICO 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

FICO counts the number of past-due items on a report as part of payment history. Two cards that each went 30 days late during a job loss, plus a student loan late from last year, add up to three delinquent accounts.

Lates spread across several creditors look like a broader money problem than one missed bill. That's why a single bad month that hit every account can cost more than one account with a worse late.

What to check on your credit report

• Count the accounts on each report with any late rating in the payment grid.
• Include collections and charge-offs, which count as delinquent accounts.
• Look for the same debt reported by two collectors at once.

What you can do about it

• Keep every account current. Each new delinquent account adds to the count.
• Dispute any delinquent account that isn't yours or shows lates that didn't happen.
• For isolated accurate lates on accounts with a strong record since, ask the creditor for a goodwill adjustment.

How soon a change can show

Accurate lates can stay up to seven years. The count drops only as old delinquent accounts leave the report, so this code fades slowly.

If you are applying for a mortgage

If several lates trace back to one event, such as an illness or a layoff, a short written explanation can help the underwriter read them as one episode instead of a pattern.

Guides that go deeper

• How to read the payment history grid on your credit reportEach account on your report has a month-by-month strip of OK, 30, 60, 90, and other codes. What each one means, which marks are errors, and what to check.
• When the same debt shows up twice on your credit reportOne debt can legitimately appear as two tradelines, but only one should show a balance. How to tell a normal pair from a duplicate, and how to dispute it.
• How to write a goodwill letter, with a sampleA goodwill letter asks a lender to drop an accurate late payment as a courtesy. No law requires it and results are mixed. How to give yours a fair shot.
• 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.