How Many FICO Credit Score Models Are There?

The Fair Isaac Corporation, better known as FICO, is the most commonly used credit score model by lenders and other creditors. Since its inception in the 1960s, the credit scoring company has developed and implemented several iterations of the FICO credit score, many of which are still used in evaluating credit applications today.

As consumer behaviors change and lending requirements shift, so do the credit scoring methods used to assess new credit applications. Because of these updated criteria and countless algorithmic changes, you have more FICO scores than you may think.

20+ FICO Scores

According to FICO, more than twenty FICO credit scores are in the marketplace today. The newest and most predictive FICO Score is FICO Score 10, which was made available to the public in early 2020. Consumers who practice good habits, such as consistently paying bills on time, lowering their debt as much as possible, and only applying for credit when needed, can acquire a good FICO 10 Score.

There is also the new FICO Score 10 T, which builds on FICO Score 10 by assessing “trended credit bureau data” when determining a person’s credit score. Scoring models that don’t utilize trended data usually rely on the most recently reported month of data to influence certain score components. Those scoring models look more heavily at Items such as the latest reported balance and credit limit on an account. The FICO Score 10 T considers the previous 24 months or longer to get a better indication of credit risk.

Previously, the FICO Score 9 version of the FICO Score, which appeared in 2014, changed slightly from the widely used FICO Score 8 method in how medical collections, paid collections, and rent payments are analyzed and calculated.

Medical bills sent to collections under the FICO Score 9 model, and now the FICO Score 10 model, do not have as significant an impact as non-medical debt, benefiting individuals with unpaid healthcare expenses across the board. Paid collection accounts under newer models are also treated differently than previous versions, ignoring any collections paid in full by the consumer.

Finally, rent payment history is factored more when a landlord reports payment information to the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These changes are all beneficial to consumers over time.

Other FICO Scores in Play

In addition to the different versions of the FICO score used by lenders, FICO has also created various scoring methods specific to industries. There are auto industry, credit card decisioning, and mortgage lending versions of the FICO score, all of which treat certain credit history factors differently based on the creditors that use them to evaluate an applicant.

When you apply for a mortgage loan with a specific lender, that potential creditor will likely use FICO Scores 2, 4, or 5, which help mortgage lenders determine how high a risk you pose related to repaying a mortgage balance. Auto industry lenders will likely use the FICO Auto Score version, versions 10, 9, 8, 5, 4, or 2, which pull in different factors that calculate the risk of defaulting on an auto loan. Credit card issuers will likely use the FICO Bankcard Score, versions 10, 9, 8, 5, 4, or 3, which puts more weight on indicators such as credit card repayment trends.

Having separate industry-specific FICO Score versions is one thing, but what makes the variance in scores so high for consumers is the three different credit bureaus interacting with each scoring model in unique ways. Below is a chart of the number of current FICO Score versions used by credit reporting agencies and industries.

Number of FICO Score Versions Widely Used by Credit Bureau and Industry

If you’re keeping track, that’s potentially 40 customized FICO Score versions in use today! But before you concern yourself with how to monitor each FICO Score version out there in the world, know that your main task is keeping your credit healthy. No matter which FICO scoring model is used to evaluate you for new credit, making on-time payments to each of your accounts, carrying small credit balances, and taking it easy when applying for new credit over time will all help you achieve the best FICO Score.

These basic words of wisdom also apply to improving and maintaining a good credit score with the VantageScore credit scoring models. But that’s for another article.