Credit Denial Codes

You would think that its is the credit lender that comes up with the reasons why it does not want to grant your credit application.  Wrong.  The lender makes the decision but it is the credit bureaus that provide the reasons why your credit application is denied to the lender which the lender then inputs on the adverse action letter they send you informing you that your application was denied.  Every time a credit bureau sends out your credit report to a third party, it includes four reasons why you should be denied credit, no matter how good your credit history is.  Even if your payment history is flawless and you have a "perfect" credit score, the credit bureaus still provide 4 reasons you shouldn't get credit.  Crazy, right?

The four reasons come in the form of four code numbers.  Here is a list of what those code numbers mean -

EQUIFAX – BEACON Score Codes


39 – serious delinquency

38 – serious delinquency, and derogatory public record or collection filed

34 – amount owed on delinquent accounts

33 – proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high

32 – lack of recent information on installment loan accounts or lack of installment loan accounts

31 – too few accounts with recent payment information

30 – time since most recent account opening is too short

28 – number of accounts established

24 – no recently reported revolving balances

23 – number of bank or national revolving accounts with balances

22 – accounts not paid as agreed, public record, or collection agency filing (FORECLOSURE)

21 – amount past due on accounts

20 – length of time since derogatory public record or collection is too short

19 – too few accounts currently paid as agreed

18 – number of accounts with delinquency currently or in the past not paid as agreed

17 – no non-mortgage account balances or non-mortgage balances not recently reported

16 – lack of recent revolving account information

15 – lack of recent bank revolving information

14 – length of time accounts have been established

13 – time since delinquency is too recent (or unknown) or trade narrative reported

12 – length of time revolving accounts have been established

11 – amount owed on revolving account is too high

10 – proportion of balances to credit limits is too high on bank revolving or other revolving accounts

09 – too many accounts recently opened

08 – too many inquiries last 12 months

07 – recent payment history is too new to rate

06 – too many consumer finance company accounts

05 – too many accounts with balances

04 – too many bank or national revolving/open accounts

03 – too few bank or national revolving/open accounts

02 – level of delinquency on accounts

01 – amount owed on accounts is too high

O – beacon not available, no recently reported account information

FA – number of inquiries adversely affected the score, but not significantly

TRANS UNION – EMPIRICA Score Codes

42 – length of time since most recent consumer finance company account established(**factor not currently in use)

41 – no recent retail balances (**factor not currently in use)40 – derogatory public record or collection filed

39 – serious delinquency

38 – serious delinquency, and public record or collection filed

36 – payments due on accounts (**factor not currently in use)

31 – amount owed on delinquent accounts (**factor not currently in use)

30 – time since most recent account opening is too short

29 – no recent bankcard balances

28 – number of established accounts

27 – too few accounts currently paid as agreed

26 – number of bank revolving or other revolving accounts (**factor not currently in use)

24 – no recent revolving balances

23 – number of bank or national revolving accounts with balances

22 – serious delinquency derogatory public record or collection filed (FORECLOSURE)

21 – amount past due on accounts

20 – length of time since derogatory public record or collection is too short

19 – Date of last inquiry too recent

18 – number of accounts with delinquency

17 – no recent non-mortgage balance information

16 – lack of recent revolving account information

15 – lack of recent bank revolving information

14 – length of time accounts have been established

13 – time since delinquency is too recent or unknown

12 – length of time revolving accounts have been established

11 – amount owed on revolving accounts is too high

10 – proportion of balances to credit limits is too high on bank revolving or other revolving accounts

09 – too many accounts recently opened

08 – too many inquiries last 12 months

07 – account payment history

06 – too many consumer finance company accounts

05 – too many accounts with balances

04 – lack of recent installment loan information

03 – proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high

02 – level of delinquency on accounts

01 – amount owed on accounts too high

00 – no adverse factor

MODEL NOT SCORED: INSUFFICIENT CREDIT message occurs when a credit file does not contain
a trade line opened for at least 6 months and trade line updated within the last 6 months.

FA – in addition to the factors listed above, the number of inquiries on the consumer’s credit file has adversely affected the credit score.

MODEL NOT SCORED: DECEASED message occurs when the subject’s Social Security Number matches the Social Security Administration’s deceased Social Security Number file, or is reported as deceased by a credit grantor.

EXPERIAN – FAIR ISAAC Score Codes

40 – derogatory public record or collection field

39 – serious delinquency

38 – serious delinquency and public record or collection filed

37 – number of finance company accounts established relative to length of finance history

36 – length of time open installment loans have been established

33 – proportion of current loan balance to original loan amount


32 – no recent installment loan information

31 – too few accounts with recent payment information

30 – length of time since most recent account established

28 – number of accounts established

26 – number of revolving accounts

25 – length of installment loan history

24 – lack of recently reported balances on revolving/open accounts

22 – account(s) not paid as agreed and/or legal item filed (FORECLOSURE)

21 – amount past due to accounts

20 – length of time since legal item filed or collection item reported

18 – number of accounts delinquent

17 – no recent (non-mortgage) accounts balance information

16 – insufficient or lack of revolving account information

15 – insufficient or lack of bank revolving account information

14 – length of time accounts have been established

13 – length of time (or unknown time) since account delinquent

12 – length of revolving account history

11 – current balances on revolving accounts

10 – proportion of balance to high credit on bank revolving or all revolving accounts

09 – number of accounts opened within the last 12 months

08 – number of recent inquiries

07 – Unable to evaluate recent payment history

06 – number of finance company accounts

05 – number of accounts with balances

04 – Too many bank revolving accounts

03 – Too few bank revolving accounts

02 – delinquency reported on accounts

01 – current balances on accounts

Exclusion Messages

9003 – Experian/Fair Isaac Score Not Available Due to Lack of Credit History – The Profile report does not contain any trade lines which have been open for at least six months

9002 – Experian/Fair Isaac Score Not Available Due to Model Exclusion Criteria – The Profile report does not contain any trade line which satisfies both of the following:

1. Status date within the last six months, or a balance within the last six months if the status code is not “11″ (“Current account”)

2. Does not contain disputed information

9001 – Experian/Fair Isaac Score Not Available Due to Report of “Deceased” Status – The Profile report contains a subscriber transaction with a status code of “21″ or an association code of “X” indicating the consumer is deceased

9000 – Experian/Fair Isaac Score Not Available Due to System File Size Parameters – The Profile report contains more than 100 subscriber trade and inquiry transactions