 TITLE: Why Do I Have So Many Credit Scores With One Credit Bureau? CONTENT: Is It Possible to Have More Than One Credit Score per Credit Bureau?\n--------------------------------------------------------------------\nFor a credit score to be calculated, a credit scoring model is used to analyze the information in your credit report, including your debt payment history, account balances and credit applications. The most commonly used scoring models in the United States are those published by FICO® and VantageScore®.\nAll three major credit bureaus have relationships with FICO® that allow them to use FICO®'s scoring models. With respect to VantageScore, VantageScore Solutions is a subsidiary of the credit reporting companies, which allows all three of them to use the VantageScore branded scoring models as well.\nThere are currently four generations, or versions, of the VantageScore credit scoring model and more versions of FICO®'s credit risk scores currently available across the three credit reporting companies. On top of the multiple versions of scoring models suitable for general use, FICO® also builds what are formally called industry-adjusted scores, which are scoring models for use by specific types of lenders, such as auto lenders or credit card issuers.\nBecause there are so many scoring models available, you will have numerous credit scores even with one credit bureau. When you also consider that there are three bureaus and many versions of FICO® and VantageScore risk scores, you can start to see why it is almost a guarantee that you'll have many credit scores, and they won't be the same.\nTo fully understand why you have so many credit scores, it's important not to confuse credit scores with credit reports. Not only are credit scores and credit reports not the same thing, but you have considerably fewer credit reports than you have credit scores. You only have one credit report with Experian, one credit report with Equifax and one credit report with TransUnion. So, just because you may have dozens of credit scores, it certainly doesn't mean you have dozens of credit reports. END