What is the Difference between CIBIL Score and CIBIL Report?

Planning on taking a loan? Chances are, you might have come across terms like CIBIL score and CIBIL report. Infused with your financial history, these handy metrics help lenders and financial institutions gauge your creditworthiness and loan repayment capability.

Your CIBIL report and CIBIL score – both generated by the Credit Information Bureau India Limited (CIBIL) – convey essential information regarding your credit history. However, they are not the same.

Let’s explore more about the CIBIL score, report,link between the two, and the differences.

What is a CIBIL report?

Your CIBIL report or credit information reportcontains the following:

1. Your personal details and contact details like name, age, address, phone etc.
2. Loan details, such as:
   ● The number of loans you have availed of till date.
   ● Your ongoing loans and their repayment timelines.
   ● Defaults on loans, if any.
   ● Loan settlements, if any.

3. Credit card details, such as:
   ● The number of credit cards you have availed of to date.
   ● Your active credit cards and the timeline of your credit card bill payments.
   ● The number of times you have exceeded your credit limit.
   ● The number of credit card cancellations.

4. Enquiries made about your credit report or credit score
5. Your CIBIL score.

Additional Read: Myths Related to CIBIL Score

What is a CIBIL score, and how is it different from a CIBIL report?

CIBIL feeds your credit information collected over a while (at least six months) into an extensive algorithm to generate a numeric value. This value is your CIBIL score. In a nutshell, your CIBIL score report is used to calculate your CIBIL score. 

In India, the typical CIBIL score lies in the range of 300-900. If your CIBIL report reflects a clean repayment record with no defaults, you’ll have a high CIBIL score. With a substantial CIBIL score, you’ll not only increase the chances of getting your loan approved but also make yourself eligible for preferential interest rates.

Difference between CIBIL score and credit score

You may have seen the terms ‘CIBIL Score’ and ‘credit score’ used interchangeably. However, there’s a subtle difference.

CIBIL is one of India’s four major credit bureaus, the other three being Equifax, CRIF Highmark and Experian. All four credit bureaus have their algorithms to calculate a credit score, and the credit score generated by CIBIL is eponymously called CIBIL score. Essentially, all CIBIL scores are credit scores but not the other way around.

Additional Read: How to Check Your CIBIL Score Online?

Final thoughts

Now that you know all about CIBIL score, credit score, CIBIL report and credit report and their importance, make it a habit to check yours regularly. Use Tata Capital’s free tool to get your CIBIL score report.

Lenders use your credit score to assess if you are a worthy candidate for a loan. Therefore, your credit score must always remain high. The fastest way to get there is by making timely EMI repayments, paying your credit card bills punctually, and avoiding heavy credit utilization.