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What lenders can see on your credit file
When you apply for credit, the lender looks at the file a credit reference agency holds on you. Knowing what is on it helps you spot mistakes and understand a decision.
In short
Lenders who check your credit file see your name, date of birth and addresses, whether you are on the electoral register, your credit accounts and how you have repaid them, court judgments and insolvencies, fraud markers, links to people you share credit with, and the hard searches other firms have made. They do not see soft searches. Each lender then applies its own scoring and makes its own decision.
- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion each hold their own file on you, so what one lender sees can differ from another.
- Lenders see your credit accounts, your balances and limits, and any late or missed payments.
- Court judgments, bankruptcies, IVAs and Debt Relief Orders appear as public records.
- Hard searches are visible to other lenders. Soft searches are only visible to you.
- People you share a joint account or joint credit with can be linked to your file.
- The agencies say the lender, not the agency, decides whether to accept you.
Where the information comes from
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion publish a joint notice explaining what they hold and why. It says their main sources are public records, such as court judgments and the electoral register, and financial information from the firms you have accounts with.
Banks, building societies, credit card companies, hire purchase firms and buy now pay later firms report how you repay. So do utility companies, mobile phone networks, retail and mail order companies and insurers.
Each agency gets its data from different places, so the agencies say they often hold information that differs to some degree from the others. A lender usually checks one or more of them. That is why your files can tell slightly different stories.
See your file the way a lender does
CheckReport combines your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion data in one report, so you can see what each agency holds before a lender looks.
You also have a legal right to a free statutory report from each agency. Equifax says you are entitled to a free statutory credit report for life, through a free Equifax Basic account or by post. Experian offers its statutory report online or by post, and says you can view it online with a passkey it sends by post within 5 working days. The agencies’ joint notice says you have the right to a copy of the data each of them holds. Each report covers only that one agency’s file, so ask each agency separately.
What a lender sees on your file
- Who you are: your name, date of birth, and current and previous addresses, plus links to other names you have used, such as a maiden name.
- Electoral register details. GOV.UK says the full version of the register can be used for checking applications for loans or credit.
- Your credit accounts: the lender’s name, when the account was opened, how much you owe, any credit limit or overdraft limit, and your repayment history, including late and missed payments. This can include buy now pay later.
- Rent payments, where your landlord or a rent reporting service shares them with an agency.
- Current account information from some banks, such as your balance and money paid in.
- Court judgments: the court, the amount and whether the judgment has been paid.
- Insolvencies: bankruptcies, IVAs, Debt Relief Orders, and in Scotland sequestrations, trust deeds and the Debt Arrangement Scheme, with their start and end dates.
- Fraud markers, for example from Cifas, including a marker added when someone has been a victim of identity fraud.
- Search footprints: the name of the firm that searched, the date and the reason.
Searches: hard and soft
Every time a firm checks your file, the agency records a search footprint. Experian explains that a hard search happens when you apply for credit and the firm makes a complete search of your report. Each hard search is recorded, so any company searching your file later can see you have applied for credit. Too many in a short time can make you look a higher risk.
A soft search, such as an eligibility check or you checking your own report, is only visible to you. Experian says soft searches have no impact on your score, however many there are.
Equifax keeps most search footprints for one year, and searches made for debt collection for two years. The agencies’ notice warns that some firms may draw a negative conclusion from debt collection searches.
People you are financially linked to
The agencies link you to someone when you appear to share finances, for example through a joint account, a joint credit application or a joint county court judgment. A lender checking your file can look at that person’s credit history too, because it may affect your ability to repay.
When you stop being financially connected to someone, Equifax says either of you can write to it or ask for the link to be removed. Do this with each agency.
How long things stay visible
| Entry | How long Equifax uses it |
|---|---|
| Payment history on a credit account | Up to four years of monthly history, kept for up to six more years after the account closes |
| Court judgments | Six years from the court date, unless paid within one calendar month or set aside |
| Bankruptcy and other insolvencies | At least six years from the court date, or until discharge if later |
| Search footprints | One year, or two years for debt collection searches |
| Cifas fraud markers | Six years for people suspected of fraud, two years for victims of fraud |
GOV.UK says a county court judgment stays on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for 6 years. If you pay it in full within one month, you can ask the court to remove it. If you pay later, it is marked as satisfied, so anyone searching can see you paid, but it stays for the full 6 years.
The end of a bankruptcy or an IVA is not always reported automatically. Equifax advises telling it when this happens so your file is updated.
What lenders do not see
Lenders do not see the score shown in your own credit app. Equifax says the scores it produces for lenders are worked out at the moment they search and are not kept. Lenders can also build their own scores from agency data and other sources.
Soft searches are hidden from lenders, and so are your own checks of your report. The agencies also say they do not make the lending decision. Once a search is done, it is for the lender to decide.
Landlords, employers and others can search your file for their own purposes, such as checking your identity or whether you can afford the rent. Experian says employers will not see your full report.
If something on your file is wrong
Tell the agency that shows the mistake. Under the Consumer Credit Act, if you tell an agency an entry is wrong and likely to harm you, it must reply within 28 days to say whether it has removed it, changed it or left it. If it stays, you can add a notice of correction of up to 200 words, which is sent with that entry in future.
If missed payments on your file reflect real money problems, free, confidential debt advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange, National Debtline or Citizens Advice can help you deal with the debts behind them.
Common questions
Can a lender see my salary?
Sometimes. The agencies say a search can include the income you declared on a credit application, and some lenders look at current account data or, with your permission, open banking data to check affordability.
Can lenders see that I was turned down by another lender?
They can see the hard search the other lender made, which shows you applied. The agencies’ notice says they may draw inferences about whether an application was accepted or declined, but a search footprint records the firm, the date and the reason, not the outcome.
Will my partner’s bad credit show on my file?
Only if you are financially linked, for example through a joint account, a joint application or a joint court judgment. If you no longer share any finances, you can ask each agency to remove the link.
Can lenders see my credit score?
Not the score you see in an app. Lenders take the information in your file and apply their own scoring. Equifax says the scores it calculates for lenders are produced at the time of the search and not kept.
How do I see exactly what lenders see?
CheckReport shows your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion data in one report. You can also ask each agency for its free statutory report.
Sources
Every fact in this page was checked against these official sources on 3 November 2026.
- Credit Reference Agency Information Notice (CRAIN) Experian, Equifax and TransUnion
- Data retention summary Equifax
- Searches on your report: soft and hard credit checks Experian
- Statutory credit report Experian
- Statutory credit report Equifax
- CCJs and your credit rating GOV.UK
- The electoral register and the open register GOV.UK
- Consumer Credit Act 1974, section 159 legislation.gov.uk
Written and fact-checked by the PiggyBank editorial team. Last reviewed 3 November 2026. This guide is general information, not financial advice. How we write and check our guides.
Keep reading
How to check your credit report in the UK
See what lenders see. How to check your credit report with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, what the free options cover, and how to fix mistakes.
Why was my credit application declined, and what can I do?
Lenders decide for different reasons. How to find out why you were refused credit, check your credit files for mistakes, and what to do before applying again.
Does checking your own credit score lower it?
No. Checking your own credit report or score is a soft search that lenders cannot see. What does affect your score: hard searches when you apply for credit.
Why is my credit score different at Experian, Equifax and TransUnion?
Each credit reference agency uses its own scale and holds different information about you. Why your scores differ, and what lenders actually look at.
Where to get free debt advice in the UK
Free, confidential debt advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice, with phone numbers, opening hours and what they can do.