How often does my credit score change?

“How often does my credit score change?” 

Nav customers often ask this question.

Most people assume their personal or business credit scores change once a month, but that’s not the full story.

The quick answer is that your scores can change any time new information is added to your credit reports, and that can happen multiple times throughout the month as your creditors report to credit bureaus. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

How often does my credit score update?

Your credit scores can change any time new information gets added to your credit reports. There's no fixed schedule that applies to everyone because credit bureaus generate scores using the data that is available at the time someone requests it.

To put it in context as a small business owner, think of a business like a coffee shop. That business accepts payments from customers and pays bills throughout the day, week, or month. Each time it does, the business’s cash position changes.

Similarly, when creditors send new information to credit bureaus such as Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion, that data becomes part of your credit profile immediately. The next time someone purchases your credit score, it will reflect the current information that’s available.

Why your credit score changes

Several specific events can trigger changes to your credit score:

Creditors reporting new balances 

When your credit card company reports a lower balance after you make a payment, your utilization ratio may improve, which can boost your scores. On the flip side, higher balances may mean high utilization which can lower credit scores. 

Making payments 

Payment history is the most important factor in credit score calculations. Late payments can cause immediate drops in your score. Business credit uses days beyond terms (DBT) to indicate how many days past the due date a payment is made. 

Applying for new credit

Hard inquiries from credit applications typically cause small decreases in credit scores. The impact may be weaker with business credit vs. personal credit. 

Closing old accounts

This can affect both your credit utilization and the average age of your accounts, especially with personal credit.

Negative information being added 

Public record information such as collections, charge-offs, or bankruptcies can cause significant credit score drops when they first appear on your reports.

The key insight is that your score reflects your credit history in real-time, not on a predetermined calendar schedule.

How long does it take for information to appear on my credit report?

Most updates appear on your credit reports within 30–45 days of the activity. Credit card payments and new balances typically show up fastest, often within a week of your statement closing date.

If you open a new account, it may take a couple of billing cycles before the new account appears on your credit reports, especially when it comes to business credit reports. 

Payments and balances are typically updated monthly by companies that report to credit bureaus.

Public record information like bankruptcies, tax liens or UCC filings (business credit only) can take 60–90 days to appear.

If you check your credit report using a credit monitoring service, you’ll usually get monthly updates when you log in. If a change you expected doesn’t show up immediately, it may appear in the next billing cycle. 

Any credit scores calculated after new information appears will reflect those updates immediately. This timing explains why paying down a high credit card balance may or may not improve your score right away, for example. The creditor must report the new, lower balance.

Factors that impact your credit score most

The following credit scoring factors affect your credit scores the most. This formula is often referred to as the “FICO Formula” and applies to personal FICO^® scores. VantageScore^® credit scores generally evaluate similar factors, while business credit scores are often heavily payment driven. 

Payment history (35%)

Whether talking about business or personal credit, payment history has the biggest impact on credit scores. It looks at whether payments were made on time, and if not, how late they were, and how recently those late payments occurred. 

Personal credit uses 30-day buckets to report payment history, while business credit uses DBT.

Credit utilization (30%)

Credit utilization considers how much of your available credit you're using, especially on revolving accounts like credit cards. This ratio compares the credit limit to the current balance. Business credit reports may not always include credit limits; in that case, a recent high balance is often substituted. 

Age of credit history (15%)

Credit age (or length of credit history) evaluates how long you've had credit accounts open and active. Personal credit scoring models usually consider the age of your oldest account, newest account, and average age of all accounts. 

Credit mix (10%)

Having different types of accounts like credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages can help build stronger personal credit scores. With business credit, a mix of tradelines (like net-30 vendor accounts or Nav Prime)¹ and financial accounts like business loans or business credit cards can be helpful. 

New credit (10%)

New credit and inquiries takes into account recent applications for credit and newly opened accounts. Hard inquiries will also contribute to this factor. 

Since payment history and credit utilization together make up around 65% of most consumer credit scores, changes to these factors are often behind the most noticeable score movements.

How to see changes to your credit scores

Credit monitoring allows you to keep tabs on changes in your credit scores and flag issues before they become costly problems.

Checking your credit report monthly at roughly the same time helps you spot trends. You can see major credit events like inquiries, new accounts, and late payments that may significantly impact your scores. 

With personal credit, there are lots of places to monitor your credit scores for free. Many credit card issuers and lenders offer free credit scores to their customers, and sites like 

With business credit, you won’t have as many choices. 

Nav offers free credit summary credit reports from major business credit bureaus to help your small business track your credit standing. 

D&B Credit Insights Free provides risk range indicators for four D&B credit scores & ratings, basic company information, summary information of legal events and business operations, and additional benefits. 

With Nav Prime, you get:

• Your business credit reports from three leading business credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Dun & Bradstreet, updated monthly. Understand what information companies are reporting about your business. 
• Business credit scores from multiple business credit bureaus. Monitor your progress in building a strong business credit history and view your scores updated monthly when you log in. 
• Personal credit reports and scores from Experian and TransUnion^®. (Scores provided are based on Experian™ VantageScore^® 3.0 and TransUnion^® VantageScore^® 3.0). Log in monthly to see updated reports. 
• Tradeline reporting. Nav submits your monthly payments as a tradeline to major business credit reporting agencies. 
• Credit health updates. Use credit trends, insights and score factors to position your business for growth. 

Whichever method you choose, the most important thing is consistency. Regular credit monitoring keeps you aware of your credit health and helps you make informed decisions about when to apply for financing.

Frequently asked questions