Proportion of balances to credit limits on bank/national revolving or other revolving accounts is too high

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

The model divides reported card balances by card limits, across all your cards and card by card. Three cards with $10,000 in total limits and $7,000 in reported balances work out to 70% utilization. Equifax and Experian print this code as 'Ratio of balance to limit on bank revolving or other rev accts too high'. TransUnion uses the longer wording. All three use code 10.

FICO says a low utilization ratio helps more than using no credit at all. Classic mortgage FICO and FICO 8 read the balances on the report in front of them, so once lower balances report, the old ones stop counting. FICO 10T is different: it adds trended data covering 24 months or more of balances.

What to check on your credit report

• Write down each card's reported balance and limit from the report itself, not from your card app.
• Make sure every card shows its real limit. A card reporting no limit, or the wrong one, makes utilization look higher than it is.
• Find the card with the highest single ratio. One maxed card can trigger this code even when your overall total is moderate.

What you can do about it

• Pay balances down before each card's statement closing date. That statement balance is what most issuers send to the bureaus.
• If your total is already moderate, bring the highest single card down first.
• Ask for a limit increase on a card with a long clean record. Some issuers can approve one without a hard pull.

The free utilization planner can help with this step.

How soon a change can show

This is the quickest code to move. Once each card reports a lower balance, usually at its next statement date, the next score pulled reflects it.

If you are applying for a mortgage

Utilization is the usual target in the weeks before a lender pulls credit. If the pull already happened, the lender can request a rapid rescore once paid balances are documented, which Experian says is often done in two to five days.

Guides that go deeper

• Credit utilization, explained with the mathCredit utilization is card balances divided by card limits. See the math per card and overall, what counts, and why last month's ratio stops mattering.
• Per-card vs. overall utilization: why one maxed card still hurtsScores look at each card's balance-to-limit ratio and at all cards combined. See how one maxed-out card can drag down a healthy overall ratio, with math.
• Is there a best credit utilization percentage?Everyone quotes a different utilization target: 30%, 10%, 1%. What FICO and VantageScore say, and how to pick a target for your situation.
• 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.