How Long Does It Take To Improve Your Credit Score?

Improving your credit score can help you qualify for better financing and lower costs. If your credit needs work, find out how long it typically takes to see improvement.

How Is Your Credit Score Determined?

To understand how long it takes to improve your credit score, you first need to understand what goes into it. Your FICO score is calculated using several weighted factors.

Payment History (35%)

Payment history is the most important factor in your credit score. It reflects whether you pay bills on time, how often payments are late by 30 days or more, and whether you have serious negative marks, such as bankruptcies.

Credit Utilization (30%)

Credit utilization measures how much of your available credit you’re using. It’s calculated by dividing your total balances by your total credit limits.

High utilization — especially above 30% — can negatively affect your score. Because balances change frequently, utilization can cause short-term score fluctuations.

Credit History Length (15%)

Credit history length refers to the age of your accounts. Long-standing accounts in good standing help your score, but this factor improves slowly and isn’t a quick fix.

Credit Mix (10%)

Credit mix looks at the types of credit you use, such as credit cards, loans, and lines of credit. A diverse mix can help your score, though it’s a smaller factor.

New Credit (10%)

New credit reflects recent hard inquiries and newly opened accounts. Too many hard pulls in a short period can temporarily lower your score.

How Long Does It Take To Improve Your Credit Score?

Once you understand what affects your credit score, the next step is knowing how long it takes to recover from negative actions. Recovery time depends largely on the severity of the issue and your starting credit score.

According to VantageScore, minor negative actions may affect 10%–30% of your score, moderate actions up to 50%, and major actions as much as 90%. Below are the key factors that influence how quickly your score can rebound.

Starting Credit Score

Higher credit scores are harder to rebuild after a setback. For example, FICO estimates that someone with a 680 score may recover from a 90-day mortgage delinquency in about nine months, while someone with a 780 score could take up to seven years to fully recover.

Higher-score borrowers also tend to see larger point drops from the same mistake, making recovery slower.

Missing A Payment Or Defaulting On A Loan

Late or missed payments can impact your credit for months or years. Recovery may take less than a year for minor delinquencies, or seven years for serious defaults, depending on how late the payment was and your credit profile.

Short Sale, Deed-In-Lieu, Settlement, Or Foreclosure

Real estate-related credit events typically require a longer recovery period. In most cases, credit recovery takes three to seven years, with foreclosures having the longest-lasting impact.

How Bankruptcy Impacts Your Credit Score

Bankruptcy has one of the most severe effects on credit, often requiring five to ten years to recover. It can significantly lower your score regardless of where it started.

In rare cases, borrowers with already poor credit may see short-term improvement if bankruptcy eliminates ongoing delinquencies. However, it remains on your credit report for years and should be considered carefully.

How To Improve Your Credit Score Fast

While improving your credit score usually takes time, a few targeted actions can produce faster results. Make sure to check out our guide to improving your business credit score after reviewing these quick tips.

Pay Down Your Credit Card Balances

Reducing high credit card balances can quickly improve your credit score. Keeping utilization below 30% not only helps your score but also reduces interest costs.

Schedule On-Time Payments

Late payments can significantly hurt your credit. Setting up automatic payments helps ensure bills are paid on time. Just be sure your account has sufficient funds to avoid overdrafts.

Keep Old Credit Accounts Open

Older accounts contribute positively to your credit history length. If there’s no compelling reason to close them, keeping accounts open — even  unused ones — can help your score.

Request An Increase In Credit Limits

Increasing your credit limit can improve your utilization ratio, as long as your spending doesn’t rise at the same time. This can result in a quick, modest score boost.

Consider Linking Alternative Payments

Most credit reports don’t include rent, utilities, or subscriptions. Some services, such as Experian Boost, allow you to voluntarily report these payments, which may result in a small score increase. Fees and data-sharing requirements may apply.

Get A Secured Credit Card

If you can’t qualify for a traditional credit card, a secured credit card can help you rebuild credit. These cards require a refundable deposit that typically matches your credit limit and offer a lower-risk way to establish positive payment history.

Check out our picks for the best business cards for bad credit to get started.

Monitoring Your Personal & Business Credit Scores

Monitoring your credit helps you track progress and catch issues early. Free tools like Credit Karma and WalletHub provide basic credit scores, though results may vary since each uses different data and scoring models.

You can also request a free annual credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. While these reports don’t include a score, they show your full credit history and can help you identify errors. Disputing inaccuracies may lead to a score increase, though the process can take several weeks.

The Bottom Line On Increasing Your Credit Score

Improving your credit score takes time, not overnight fixes. With consistent, responsible credit use, you can steadily raise your score and put yourself in a stronger financial position.

As your credit improves, you’ll gain access to better cards and lower-cost loans, making it easier to grow your business.