Credit Scores

Within an Array credit report, the borrower's credit scores are brought back in the CREDIT_RESPONSE.CREDIT_SCORE entity. A report can contain more than one score:

If the report contains a single credit score, CREDIT_SCORE is a single credit score object.
If there are multiple scores, CREDIT_SCORE is an array of credit score objects. The object with a @CreditScoreID value of SCORE001 is considered to hold the most accurate assessment. If your application displays a single score to the customer, this is the score that you should display.

{
  "CREDIT_RESPONSE": {
    "CREDIT_SCORE": {
      "@BorrowerID": "Borrower01",
      "@CreditFileID": "TA01",
      "@CreditReportIdentifier": "2-thomas-friedman-1975",
      "@CreditRepositorySourceType": "TransUnion",
      "@CreditScoreID": "SCORE001",
      "<snip>": ""
    }
  }
}

{
  "CREDIT_RESPONSE": {
    "CREDIT_SCORE": [
      {
        "@BorrowerID": "Borrower01",
        "@CreditFileID": "TA01",
        "@CreditReportIdentifier": "2-james-holloway-1962-",
        "@CreditRepositorySourceType": "TransUnion",
        "@CreditScoreID": "SCORE001",
        "<snip>": ""
      },
      {
        "@BorrowerID": "Borrower01",
        "@CreditFileID": "TA01",
        "@CreditReportIdentifier": "2-james-holloway-1962-",
        "@CreditRepositorySourceType": "TransUnion",
        "@CreditScoreID": "SCORE002",
        "<snip>": ""
      }
    ]
  }
}

An example of a credit score object is given at the end of this document. Many of the object's properties are of limited use; the more important and useful properties are described in the following sections.

Credit Score, Date, and Bureau

The @_Value property contains the credit score. Like all values in the credit report, the credit score value is given as a string.

Credit score values range from 300 to 850. The following table maps numeric credit score ranges to user-friendly ratings.

Min Score	Max Score	Rating
300	499	Very Poor
500	559	Poor
560	669	Fair
670	749	Good
750	809	Great
810	850	Excellent

Some other basic credit score properties are:

@_Date is the YYYY-MM-DD date upon which the score was generated.
@CreditRepositorySourceType names the credit bureau that generated the score.

{
  "CREDIT_RESPONSE": {
    "CREDIT_SCORE": {
      "@_Value": "622",
      "@_Date": "2023-02-09",
      "@CreditRepositorySourceType": "TransUnion"
    }
  }
}

Credit Score Factors

The @_FACTAInquiriesIndicator boolean and the objects in the _FACTOR array describe the factors that had a negative impact on the credit score.

{
  "CREDIT_RESPONSE": {
    "CREDIT_SCORE": {
      "@_FACTAInquiriesIndicator": "Y",
      "_FACTOR": [
        {
          "@_Text": "The number of inquiries was also a factor, but effect was not significant",
          "@_Code": "84"
        },
        {
          "@_Text": "Available credit on your open bankcard or revolving accounts is too low",
          "@_Code": "39"
        },
        {
          "@_Text": "Lack of sufficient relevant real estate account information",
          "@_Code": "63"
        },
        {
          "@_Text": "The date that you opened your oldest account is too recent",
          "@_Code": "12"
        },
        {
          "@_Text": "Total of all balances on bankcard or revolving accounts is too high",
          "@_Code": "34"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

@_FACTAInquiriesIndicator indicates whether or not (as the value is Y or N) the score was affected by credit inquiries. The "FACTA" portion of the name is misleading: The inquiries have nothing to do with FACTA; the term is there as a reminder that inquiries could have FACTA consequences.
_FACTOR[][email protected]_Text contains user-friendly text that explains the factor.
You should ignore _FACTOR[][email protected]_Code: The value it takes depends on the scoring system (VantageScore or FICO).

Scoring Model

A borrower's credit score is calculated based on one of two broad scoring systems: VantageScore and FICO. Within these systems, there are a number of specific versions, or scoring models. A scoring model's name depends on the bureau, but all names include either "FICO" or "VantageScore"; as examples

ExperianVantageScore3.0
FICORiskScoreClassic04
TransUnionFICOAutoScore9

The name of the model that's used for a specific CREDIT_SCORE entry is brought back in the @_ModelNameType or the @_ModelNameTypeOtherDescription property:

You should check @_ModelNameType first: It will either contain the model name or Other.
If @_ModelNameType is Other, the model name is given in @_ModelNameTypeOtherDescription.

{
  "CREDIT_RESPONSE": {
    "CREDIT_SCORE": {
      "@_ModelNameType": "FICORiskScoreClassic04"
    }
  }
}

{
  "CREDIT_RESPONSE": {
    "CREDIT_SCORE": {
      "@_ModelNameType": "Other",
      "@_ModelNameTypeOtherDescription": "ExperianVantageScore3.0"
    }
  }
}

Credit Score Object Example

The CREDIT_SCORE example shown below lists the properties that the object contains without further explanation. Many of the properties are of limited use.

As mentioned in the introduction, the CREDIT_SCORE entity can appear as a single object or as an array of objects. The example depicts the single-object variation.

{
  "CREDIT_RESPONSE": {
    "CREDIT_SCORE": {
      "@BorrowerID": "Borrower01",
      "@CreditFileID": "TA01",
      "@CreditReportIdentifier": "2-dalton-lot-1955-01-0",
      "@CreditRepositorySourceType": "TransUnion",
      "@CreditScoreID": "SCORE001",
      "@RiskBasedPricingMax": "623",
      "@RiskBasedPricingMin": "619",
      "@RiskBasedPricingPercent": "23",
      "@_Date": "2015-06-09",
      "@_FACTAInquiriesIndicator": "Y",
      "@_ModelNameType": "Other",
      "@_ModelNameTypeOtherDescription": "TransUnionVantageScore3.0",
      "@_Value": "622",
      "_FACTOR": [
        {
          "@_Code": "34",
          "@_Text": "Total of all balances on bankcard or revolving accounts is too high"
        },
        {
          "@_Code": "4",
          "@_Text": "The balances on your accounts are too high compared to loan amounts"
        },
        {
          "@_Code": "32",
          "@_Text": "Balances on bankcard or revolving accounts too high compared to credit limits"
        },
        {
          "@_Code": "12",
          "@_Text": "The date that you opened your oldest account is too recent"
        },
        {
          "@_Code": "I",
          "@_Text": "Inquiries did impact the credit score"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}