 TITLE: Why Do My Credit Scores Differ Across the Credit Bureaus? CONTENT: Reasons Why Your Credit Scores Differ From Bureau to Bureau\n-----------------------------------------------------------\nIt's unlikely that you'll have the same credit score across each of the three credit bureaus. In fact, there are several reasons why your scores from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax are typically different.\nWhile it is possible for you to have only one credit score, it's unusual. Consumers normally do not have a single score but rather many credit scores. This is due to a variety of factors, such as the many different credit score brands, score variations and score generations in commercial use at any given time. These factors are likely to yield different credit scores, even if your credit reports are identical across the three credit bureaus—which is also unusual.\nFor example, if you checked your FICO® 8 score and your VantageScore 3 score, they would likely be different. This would probably hold true even if you checked those two scores with the same credit bureau and on the same date. Different credit scoring systems, even though they're generally designed to do the same things, aren't necessarily going to consider information the same way, have the same score range or yield identical numeric scores.\nThe three credit bureaus are different companies, and each one maintains its own credit report information. As such, it is likely that your three credit reports will be at least slightly different at any point in time.\nOne of the reasons your credit reports may vary has to do with the companies that report, or \"furnish,\" information to the credit bureaus. Many lenders furnish information to all three major credit bureaus, but some may furnish information to just one or two of them. This difference in data results in distinct credit reports with each bureau and can lead to differing credit scores across the bureaus.\nAnother example of how your three credit reports may contrast is by the number of hard inquiries that appear on them at any time. Hard inquiries, those generally made when you've applied for some form of credit, are seen by credit scoring models and can have an impact on your credit scores, albeit minor.\nIf you've applied for a credit card with a bank or credit union, it's very likely they will pull one of your credit reports as part of their underwriting process. However, they may not pull all three of your credit reports. That means one of your three credit reports will contain a record of a hard inquiry that does not appear on your other two reports. That can lead to a difference in your credit scores across credit bureaus.\nAnother reason you may see discrepancies in your credit scores has to do with when they are produced. Your credit scores are calculated at a specific point in time, often referred to in credit scoring vernacular as a \"snapshot\"—they are not a component of your credit report that change over time as your credit report data changes. Instead, they are a separate tool used to evaluate the information in your report and indicate the risk of lending to you. When your score is requested by a lender or other party (or by you), it is calculated at that time and reflects your credit history at that instant.\nCredit report data furnished by lenders with whom you have active accounts is generally updated on a monthly basis. While accounts are updated monthly, each lender may report updates at different times throughout the month. As a result, your credit reports can go through a series of changes every 30 days. If your credit score was calculated toward the beginning of the month and then again toward the end of the month, the two scores will likely differ because your credit report has been updated, possibly several times, in the interim.\nThis difference in scores over time can be more pronounced if new negative information is added to your credit reports. Negative information can include late payments, collection accounts, bankruptcy or defaults. Negative information can cause lower credit scores, so the addition of such information can result in a considerable score difference when compared with prior scores. END