35% - Payment History

The history most specifically evaluated within credit reports are:

1. Primary trade line accounts including credit cards, retail store accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts, mortgage loans, etc.;

2. Whether your late payments are 30, 60 or 90 days overdue.

3. The amount owed during delinquency time and if account still has an outstanding balance;

4. Collection items and public records, including judgments, bankruptcies, suits, liens and wage attachments. This can highly affect your rating even though older items will affect the score less than the most recent ones;

5. Number of negative items compared to total amount of available credit. For example, 5 accounts with 3 late payments are worse than 10 accounts with 4 late payments. Accounts with no late payments will increase your rating substantially.

30% - Outstanding Debt

Most importantly is how many accounts have balances and how much of the total credit line is being used on credit cards and other "revolving credit" accounts. Balances above 80% of the credit limit can be detrimental to your rating.

15% - Credit History

The longer the credit history, the better your credit score is.

10% - New Credit

Applying for too much new credit can inadvertently drop your credit score. How many new establishing accounts you have, how long since you last opened an account and how many recent credit inquiries made by credit reporting agencies are all evaluated and considered.

10% - Credit Types

Reviews the mix of mortgages, credit cards, installment loans, retail accounts and finance company accounts.