Missing a payment, or paying beyond your due date, can hurt your credit score. As a credit reporter to the Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs), we are required, per the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to report your pay history accurately. If your payment is more than 30 days beyond your due date, we may report this to the CRAs, meaning the late payment could appear on your credit reports. A CRA generally can report most negative information for seven years.

Payment history reported to the CRAs becomes part of your overall credit report. The CRAs use your credit history to develop a credit score. Your credit score is then used by creditors to make decisions surrounding whether to extend you credit. Even one late payment may have negative consequences to your credit score.