A credit report is the record Equifax and TransUnion keep of your borrowing: the accounts you have, how you’ve paid them, who has checked your credit, and any collections, judgments, bankruptcies or consumer proposals. Lenders don’t always report to both bureaus, so the two reports can differ, and it’s worth reading both. This page explains what each section shows. It’s one of our credit score guides; how the score itself is worked out from the report is covered in how credit scores are calculated, and the difference between the two in credit score vs credit report.
Both bureaus let you see your report online for free (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada); checking your credit score for free covers the online, mail, phone and in-person options.
The sections of a report
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Personal information | Name, date of birth, current and past addresses, sometimes employers |
| Accounts (trade lines) | Each credit card, loan, line of credit and mortgage, with its limit, balance and payment rating |
| Inquiries | Lenders and others who’ve checked your credit |
| Public records and collections | Judgments, bankruptcies, consumer proposals and debts sent to a collection agency |
| Consumer statement | A note you’ve asked the bureau to add, for example to explain a dispute |
Your credit score isn’t part of the report itself; it’s calculated from it.
Reading an account
Each account shows the lender, the date it was opened, the credit limit or original loan amount, the balance at the last update, the date of last activity, and a rating made of a letter and a number (Equifax):
| Letter | Account type |
|---|---|
| R | Revolving, such as a credit card |
| I | Instalment: a fixed number of payments, such as a car loan |
| O | Open account, due in full in 30 or 90 days |
| C | Line of credit |
| M | Mortgage |
| Number | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Too new to rate; approved but not used |
| 1 | Paid within 30 days of the due date, or not more than one payment past due |
| 2 | Paid 30 to 60 days late, or two payments past due |
| 3 | Paid 60 to 90 days late, or three payments past due |
| 4 | Paid 90 to 120 days late, or four payments past due |
| 5 | At least 120 days overdue, but not yet rated 9 |
| 7 | Making regular payments under a consolidation order or similar arrangement |
| 8 | Repossession |
| 9 | Bad debt, placed for collection, or moved without leaving a forwarding address |
So an R1 is a credit card paid on time, and an I9 is a loan written off or sent to collections. The balance and limit on revolving accounts are also what credit utilization is calculated from.
Inquiries
A hard inquiry is recorded when you apply for credit and a lender checks your report; it can lower your score. A soft inquiry, such as checking your own report, doesn’t affect your score and isn’t seen by lenders. Equifax keeps lender credit checks for 3 years and TransUnion for 6 years. See how long a hard inquiry stays.
How long negative items stay
Negative items drop off after set periods. Late or missed payments stay up to 6 years, judgments 6 years at Equifax (longer at TransUnion in some provinces), and a debt management plan 2 years after completion, according to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Bankruptcies and consumer proposals have their own periods by bureau and province, set out in how long bankruptcy and consumer proposals stay on your report.
What to check for
- Accounts you don’t recognize, or addresses you’ve never lived at, which can be signs of identity theft.
- Late payments you made on time, or balances that are wrong.
- Debts included in a bankruptcy or consumer proposal still showing as owing.
- Negative items older than the periods above.
Errors are disputed with the bureau that shows them, and separately with the other bureau if both do; how to dispute a credit report error walks through it. If you suspect fraud, see finances after being scammed for fraud alerts.
Related guides
- Equifax vs TransUnion: why the two reports can differ.
- Why did my credit score drop: what to look for on the report after a drop.
- How to build credit from scratch, if the report is empty or thin.
- Rent reporting services, which can add rent payments to a report.
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on September 25, 2026. How we check facts.
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: How long information stays on your credit report