Data reporting frequently asked questions
Find answers to common data reporting questions
The FurnisherHub is a self-service, web-based user interface to provide visibility into the multiple stages of submitted Metro 2 files as well as offering direct experience for reconciling activity. You can also access your monthly Metric Report™ via the FurnisherHub.
The Metric Report provides a comprehensive summary of Metro 2® submissions, helping identify and correct inaccuracies in trade lines. It also includes statistics from previous file submissions and details on rejected records.
Experian can assist furnishers with Metro 2® data quality evaluation and improvement and instill confidence that the changes being made meet Metro 2 guidelines and reflect best practices.
BullseyeSM is a free service that allows our data furnishers to verify previously reported credit data quickly and easily. Inquiries will not be displayed on a client view report or a consumer’s Experian Credit Profile, or any other credit monitoring service.
To initiate a tradeline investigation request for accounts not displaying, not displaying accurately or mixed consumer files, the consumer’s personally identifiable information (PII), account details and/or Bullseye℠ screenshot is required.
Please complete this form. Email the completed form to datareporting@experian.com and remember to follow an encryption procedure when submitting sensitive information.
If you deleted an account accidentally via the e-OSCAR® ACDV (automated consumer dispute verification) or AUD (automated universal data) process, you’ll need to submit a reinsertion/correction form to reinstate the account in the database. This type of correction can’t be accomplished via e-OSCAR® or your regular monthly credit data file reporting. Once the account has been reinstated in the database, you can start updating it on your monthly credit data files.
Please fill out the Reinsertion/Correction Form and fax to (972) 390-3900. If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Experian e-OSCAR® Help Desk at (800) 525-0689 and they will assist you with re-instating the deleted account.
A final account status code must be reported when an account is paid, settled or transferred, and would show one of the following final status codes:
13 = Paid or closed account/zero balance
61 = Account paid in full, was a voluntary surrender.
62 = Account paid in full, was a collection account.
63 = Account paid in full, was a repossession account.
64 = Account paid in full, was a charge-off.
65 = Account paid in full, foreclosure was started.
Once an account is reported with one of these status codes, it can no longer be updated on the Experian® database. The balance amount won’t display, and the balance date and account condition will be frozen as of the date the final status was reported. A final status account shouldn’t be re-reported on future monthly credit update files since re-reporting a final status is both redundant and unnecessary.
Experian doesn’t recommend reusing account numbers for consumers. When you have multiple consumer accounts with the same account number on a credit report, it can be confusing and may cause processing errors. Therefore, it’s recommended to report unique account numbers for each record.
When a new open status account is reported with a previously held account number that’s in our database as paid, our system will create a separate tradeline for this account. There will be two tradelines with the same account number on the consumer’s report — one paid and one open. This is our default process.
If you plan to reuse account numbers, we can adjust our processing instructions to have the new account update the old paid account to an open status. There would be one tradeline on the credit report with an open status. The drawback to this option is that the previous history from the old account would still be a part of the new tradeline. Therefore, if your credit data software allows it, it’s preferred to retain separate tradelines for separate accounts. Additionally, there’s the potential for an increase in consumer disputes due to the consumer becoming confused about the previous tradeline’s missing account history.
Experian can advise how to report certain account scenarios using the codes of the Metro 2® credit reporting format. However, we can’t predict how specific accounts will display in tradeline format on a credit report. There’s a variety of factors that impact the display of a tradeline on a report, so it’s impossible to accurately predict how a specific account scenario may display.
To confirm how a specific consumer tradeline appears in the Experian database, you can pull a Bullseye℠ report. Bullseye℠ is a service for viewing or researching previously reported credit data under your subscriber code. Inquiries won’t be displayed on a client view report or a consumer's personal credit profile through Experian or any other credit monitoring service. If you have further questions about Bullseye℠ or wish to obtain this product, please contact Experian Client Care at 1 800 831 5614.
Per FCRA regulations, Experian purges delinquent and derogatory tradeline information seven (7) years from the date of first delinquency. This is the date of the first delinquency that led to the delinquent or derogatory status being reported on the tradeline. To ensure that Experian maintains compliance with the FCRA, we begin our purge cycles at 6 years 9 months to ensure that all data is removed at the 7-year term.
Outside of the FCRA rules, Experian does have some internal business rules that are also applied: Tradeline data:
Tradeline Data
Public Record
Bankruptcy (Chapters 7, 11 and 12) = 10 years from the filing date (petition and discharged).
Bankruptcy (Chapters 7, 11 and 12) = seven (7) years from the filing date (dismissed).
Bankruptcy (Chapter 13) = seven (7) years from the filing date.
Inquiry Data
When a consumer is reported with ECOA 'X' (Consumer Deceased), Experian will require at least 2 sources to confirm a deceased indication before displaying the ECOA = X on a tradeline. Valid sources include:
The Metro 2® reporting format is used by all credit reporting agencies (CRAs) and was built to accommodate each CRA system, but not all CRAs use all fields. For example, Experian doesn’t use the date closed field, but instead, our system uses the activity date/date of account information associated with the reporting of the “paid” status code or “closed” special comment code/compliance condition code to build the status date of the paid/closed account condition.
For instance, if an account is reported with status 13 (paid), compliance condition code XA (account closed at consumer’s request), and a date of account information of 8/30/2009, the account would display on the database as closed with a balance date of 8/30/2009.
Experian builds the payment history grid of a tradeline from the monthly credit data files you transmit to us. Every month you report an account, we store that month’s status to build the payment history grid. This grid will display up to 25 months of history on a credit report. The first grid character (25th position) representa the last status reported, which is related to the balance date. For example, if you report an account status (current account) for May 2024, the first grid character will present as C, as defined on page 3 of the glossary of account conditions and payment status.
For instance, if you’ve been reporting an account monthly for the past 18 months, regardless of the open date of the account, you’d expect to see 18 months (or 18 grid characters) in the payment history grid of the tradeline on a credit report.
In the Metro 2® format only, you have the option of reporting up to 24 months of account history in the payment history profile (field 18). If you prefer, Experian can use the data in your reported grid to build the payment history grid instead of building your own. This is a good option if you want to use your grid to correct payment history on file or provide the history on an account prior to when you first began reporting it to us. You can’t report more than 24 months of history, as the payment history profile is a 24-byte field. If you do decide to populate and report a payment history grid, Experian must verify that the grid information is accurate prior to using the grid.
If the account on our database has already been updated as “paid” or “closed,” it can no longer be updated via the payment history profile. Our system won’t allow updates to accounts with a “paid” or “closed” status because these are final statuses. You’ll have to update “paid” or “closed” accounts via e-OSCAR® if needed.
When your file is received, the processing system will make a comparison between what Experian has on file in our database for your payment history grid and your incoming 24-month payment grid. If the processing system finds that the payment grid doesn’t match, Experian will populate your incoming payment grid for open accounts contained in your submission.
Please refer to exhibit 5 of the Metro 2® Credit Reporting Resource Guide® on reporting the payment history profile field for additional information. If you have questions on setting up your payment history profile to report on your Metro 2® credit files, please contact your credit data software vendor.
The consumer name fields can contain a maximum of four words. If a consumer’s name contains more than four words, our system will reject the entire record. You should adhere to the following guidelines from the Credit Reporting Resource Guide® (www.cdiaonline.org) when reporting consumer names.
If reporting Hispanic names, hyphenate the two surnames: paternal name-maternal name. The minimum length for a surname is two-letters — a one-letter surname will be rejected.
The maximum number of words in a full name for reporting purposes is four. For example, a consumer named John Michael-David Van Dyke would qualify as four words because the two middle names are hyphenated.
To correct a consumer’s identification information, such as name, SSN or address, report the correct information on your next monthly credit data file. Please make sure the consumer’s information has been updated in your internal loan system before you create your credit file.
Unfortunately, this information can’t be corrected via the e-OSCAR® system. If you’d like to correct this before you send your next monthly credit file, you can send a request on company letterhead to the Profile Maintenance department at:
Experian
PO Box 9558
Allen, TX 75013
Attn: Profile Maintenance
You may contact the Profile Maintenance department at 1 800 525 0689 if you have any questions.
Please note that the incorrect information that’s currently displayed on the consumer’s credit report may continue to display after the correction is made. The consumer identification information section of a credit report will display a certain number of name variations, SSN variations and different addresses. Over time, as the incorrect information is no longer reported to Experian, it will begin to fall off the consumer’s report, and the information that’s reported most frequently will rise to the top.
Records reported with either a blank, partial or otherwise invalid SSN won’t be rejected and will be loaded into our database. However, reporting an invalid SSN without reporting a date of birth (DOB), will cause the account record to be rejected since either a valid SSN or DOB is required. Experian uses consumer name, address, DOB and SSN to match consumer information on our database. It’s recommended to always provide complete and accurate data to Experian so that we can match data to the correct consumer.
If there’s a need to delete an incorrect SSN on file, you’ll need to fax a signed letter on company letterhead to our Profile Maintenance department at 1 972 390 3900. If you have further questions, you may contact our Profile Maintenance department at 1 800 525 0689, and they’ll be able to assist you. Also, please ensure you’re reporting the consumer’s correct SSN on your monthly credit update files to prevent this issue from reoccurring.
Please note, if a consumer wishes to dispute an SSN or any other identification information on their credit report directly with Experian, they must first pull their personal credit report from www.experian.com or www.annualcreditreport.com. The consumer may also call Experian at 1 888 397 3742 to request a credit report via U.S. mail. Once the consumer has obtained their Experian personal credit report, they can call the phone number listed in the contacts section of the report and dispute any items they deem to be incorrect. Experian’s My Customer Experience (MCE) (ncacspecialists@experian.com) will collaborate with the consumer to correct these items.
Reporting a consumer with an ITIN won’t cause the consumer account record to be rejected. The account will update the Experian database, but the ITIN won’t be added to the consumer’s identification information because this isn’t considered a valid SSN. Reporting an ITIN without reporting a DOB, however, will cause the account record to be rejected since either a valid SSN or DOB is required.
According to the Credit Reporting Resource Guide® (http://www.cdiaonline.org) reporting an SSN greatly enhances accuracy in matching to the correct consumer. You should report valid SSN in the SSN field for each consumer. If the consumer does not have an SSN or one is not available for reporting, zero-fill or 9-fill all positions of the SSN field.
ITINs or employer identification numbers (EINs) shouldn’t be reported because they don’t prove identity outside the tax system and shouldn’t be offered or accepted as identification for nontax purposes.
From a reporting perspective, if the consumer’s current address is a non-U.S. address, report that address with a valid country code in field 39. If the consumer has both current U.S. and non-U.S. addresses, you should report the U.S.-based address to ensure that the information is loaded to our database. Exhibits 12, 13 and 14 of the Credit Reporting Resource Guide® (www.cdiaonline.org) provide additional guidelines on reporting addresses, country codes and state codes.
As for processing a consumer’s foreign addresses, Experian accepts consumer addresses from the United States and its territories, Canada, and Mexico. Addresses from countries other than the United States and its territories, Canada or Mexico won’t be added to the consumer credit database.
Tradelines established in the database with a U.S. address that are later reported with a foreign address will be processed. Experian will update the existing tradeline with the current balance and payment information but won’t add the foreign address to the consumer’s identification information. If the tradeline hasn’t been established in the database and the record is being reported for the first time with a foreign address, Experian will reject the entire account record.
Experian won’t display a credit report for any consumer under the age of 18. This isn’t tradeline specific, but instead is consumer specific. If a credit report inquiry is submitted on a consumer under the age of 18, the user will receive an error message that states “consumer is a minor.”
Experian doesn’t recommend reporting data on minors. However, whether or not you report data for minors is up to your internal legal counsel. If you do report the information to Experian, it won’t display on a credit report regardless of the consumer’s ECOA code. When the consumer turns 18, any tradelines and history reported while the consumer was a minor will display on a credit report.
An authorized user is defined by the Metro 2® Credit Reporting Resource Guide® as a “person permitted by a credit card holder to charge goods and services on the cardholder's account but isn’t legally responsible for payment of the charges incurred.” To indicate that a consumer is an authorized user, report the consumer with ECOA code 3 (authorized user). Authorized users can only be reported on credit cards or retail charge accounts. This code isn’t applicable for installment loans, lines of credit, student loans, mortgages, sales finance loans, utility accounts or collection accounts.
Regarding displaying authorized user tradelines, to protect consumers who are authorized users but aren’t contractually responsible for repayment of the account, only authorized user tradelines with a positive status will display on a credit report. For tradelines with an authorized user ECOA code and a negative status (e.g., account status not equal to 11), Experian will suppress the tradeline from the authorized user’s credit report. Also, the trade would be blocked from being used in any Experian-generated scores.
When dealing with a mixed file for two consumers, the best course of action is to provide Experian with all available personally identifiable information for each consumer, which should include at a minimum their name, address, SSN and DOB, along with the account numbers that belong to each consumer. Once Experian receives this information, a request will be created for the File Research team to assign the appropriate account numbers to the appropriate individual consumers. This process takes approximately one to two weeks to complete.
When an account is reported with a consumer information indicator (CII), the bankruptcy information will be displayed in the account condition field of Experian's Credit Profile report. The balance date, payment status and payment history are frozen the month in which the bankruptcy indicator was first reported. Chapters 7, 11, and 12 bankruptcies display a zero balance on all accounts included in bankruptcy. Effective Feb. 16, 2018, Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition trade balances have also been set to blank.
As an example, if an account was reported with CII A (petition Chapter 7 BK) in August 2018, the account condition will show ‘BK7PETITION’, the balance date will be 08/2018 and the payment status will display as whatever status it was during that month (e.g., current, delinquent 90). The current balance amount will be zero and the payment history will reflect the history of the account with the first grid character representing the status of the account in August 2018.
Experian won’t display any status or history changes that are reported after the bankruptcy petition date, which is August 2018 in our example, for the consumer on whom you report the bankruptcy indicator.
If the bankruptcy is dismissed or withdrawn, and the removal code Q is reported, the tradeline will resume normal display and all account updates, including payment history profile, will display. Effective January 2020, accounts that indicate the bankruptcy has been dismissed or withdrawn (CII values I-P) won’t display the CII.
If you’re reporting a joint account and only one borrower files bankruptcy, the rules detailed above apply only to the borrower on whom you report the bankruptcy indicator. For the borrower who didn’t file bankruptcy, the account will display normally with the balance amount and all other updates you’re reporting.
For borrowers reported with a bankruptcy CII prior to display, Experian’s system will check for the presence of a public record bankruptcy. If the public record bankruptcy is on file, the above rules are followed. If there’s no public record bankruptcy on file, the bankruptcy CII won’t be used in the display of the trade; in other words, the indication of a bankruptcy on the trade will be suppressed from display. Further, if the only displayable status on the account is “included in bankruptcy,” the trade will be completely suppressed.
If the account wasn’t included in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy agreement (payment plan), you’d continue to report that account like you normally would. There’s no need to report a CII bankruptcy code on the consumer.
If the account was included in the payment plan, you’d report the consumer with the appropriate CII to indicate what stage of Chapter 13 bankruptcy the consumer is in and report a declining balance amount to indicate that the consumer is paying.
Ultimately, Experian can’t provide data reporting advice that’s outside of the recommendations of the Credit Reporting Resource Guide® (www.cdiaonline.org). You may need to consult with your internal legal counsel to determine what’s best for your consumer and your business, as well as compliant with your state laws and the FCRA.
Pursuant to a federal court order (“the White Order”) all three of the major CRAs have developed an assumption-based “bankruptcy scrub.” Experian’s bankruptcy scrub, designed to comply with the White Order, makes assumptions about certain qualifying accounts opened prior to the filing of the bankruptcy petition. When a public record bankruptcy is present on a consumer credit file, those qualifying accounts are updated to reflect the status of included in or discharged in bankruptcy, as applicable. Regarding accounts reported by collection agencies and bad debt buyers, when those account types are on a credit file with a bankruptcy public record and meet certain criteria, Experian chooses to remove the collection account from display on the consumer’s credit file.
The date of first delinquency is the date of the first delinquency that led to the delinquent or derogatory status being reported. This date represents the first time the consumer went 30 days delinquent. In the Metro 2® format, it’s reported in the FCRA compliance/date of first delinquency field (field 25). This date field is required when a delinquent or derogatory status code is reported. Delinquent or derogatory accounts reported without a valid date of first delinquency will be rejected by our system.
This date is used to determine when delinquent or derogatory information is purged from our database. Per FCRA regulations, Experian purges delinquent or derogatory tradeline information seven (7) years from the date of first delinquency. Once an account has purged, due to FCRA regulations, it can’t be updated or reestablished on the Experian database. Incoming transactions that attempt to update an on-file tradeline whose date of first delinquency is older than seven (7) years will be rejected by our system.
Please refer to exhibit 9 of the Credit Reporting Resource Guide® for more information on FCRA compliance and the date of first delinquency.
Bullseye℠ is a free service for viewing or researching previously reported credit data under your subscriber code. Inquiries won’t be displayed on a client view report or a consumer's personal credit profile through Experian or any other credit monitoring service.
Bullseye℠ should be used to verify how data is presently displaying on a consumer’s file or to verify completion of an e-OSCAR® update request on an account. A Bullseye℠ report acts as written confirmation of how an account is displaying on the Experian database. If the Bullseye℠ report reflects your request, no further action is required.
If the Bullseye℠ report returns a “no record found” message, the account can’t be found using the information provided to pull the inquiry. Check to ensure you’re supplying complete and correct consumer identification information for the Bullseye℠ inquiry.
If you have further questions about Bullseye℠ or wish to obtain this product, please contact Experian Client Care at 1 800 831 5614 or your assigned account executive.
Experian provides a monthly Metric Report™ to data furnishers. This report is generated after an internal data quality check to ensure the reported Metro 2® file can be processed by our update system. This report will contain statistics from the previous month’s file submissions, along with any records that were rejected. Some reasons that records could be rejected include, but aren’t limited to, reporting of foreign addresses, incorrectly formatted consumer names or addresses, reporting of ITINs, or accounts have reached their FCRA retention limit. This report is transmitted via the securetransport service (STS), which would include account number examples for the records rejected by category of reject. If you have questions about Metric Report™, you can contact the Data Validation team (datareporting@experian.com).
If you aren’t reporting monthly, or stop your reporting altogether, this will result in stale data being created in our database. Consumer accounts Experian’s database that have an outstanding balance amount and haven’t been updated in 60 days or more are referred to as stale data. If credit data isn’t updated for over 90 days, Experian’s data management department may suppress your data from displaying on credit reports until an update can be received.
If, and when, you do resume reporting, there will be dashes in your history grids during the months you didn’t report. Also, accounts that were paid, closed or transferred during the months you didn’t report may never be updated and will remain stale in the database. All of these consequences of not reporting could lead to an increase in consumer disputes on your credit data.
Therefore, you should report to Experian on a consistent monthly basis to ensure that your data is both fresh and accurate and to reduce consumer disputes.
If you’re having issues accessing your secure transport services account, you’ll want to contact the technical support team at 1 800 854 7201, option #3. Please remember that passwords expire every 90 days, and your account can become locked for inactivity, so logging into your account monthly is a good practice.
The first step in reporting a new portfolio is to contact either your account executive or Experian Client Care at 1 800 831 5614, option #3, to have a separate subcode created to report the accounts. If you’re going to be reporting through a third-party processor or the portfolio will be a different or incompatible industry, you’d want to consider creating a new vendor ID. Once either or both steps have been completed, you’ll start working with the Data Management team to start your new portfolio reporting.
If you have questions or concerns about inquiries, you can direct them to the Client Care team by emailing them at CSDAClientCare@experian.com or contacting them at 1 800 831 5614, option #3.
When an account has been previously reported with an assigned credit limit amount greater than zero dollars, Experian is unable to change the credit limit to zero dollars, but we accept a lower assigned credit limit amount being reported via Metro 2® reporting. Once it has been established, it can’t be changed even when the portfolio type is changed from revolving to open line. If you wish to make this change, you’ll need to either submit an AUD form or contact your assigned data analyst to have a maintenance request submitted on your behalf to make this update.
Please remember that Experian is unable to alter or modify any data contained in a Metro 2® submission file because, as the data furnisher, you’re the owner and responsible party for the quality and accuracy of the data being reported on your consumer’s behalf. Experian is only able to make modifications with your approval to the records existing on our database.
The provider of a tri-bureau merged credit report has access to the same raw Experian data that you’d see on a Bullseye℠ report. If a tri-bureau report is displaying Experian’s data differently than the Bullseye℠ report, you should speak to your tri-bureau credit report vendor. If your tri-bureau report vendor would like to speak with someone at Experian regarding this display issue, they can contact our reseller support at 1 888 400 8989.
Unfortunately, Experian is unable to assist you with this issue other than to confirm how the account is displaying on a Bullseye℠ report. A tri-bureau credit report isn’t an Experian product. It’s generated by a reseller company. How a credit reseller merges, presents or manipulates Experian's raw data is out of our control.
The Credit Reporting Resource Guide® (CRRG®) can provide the necessary guidelines to report most credit reporting scenarios. Data furnishers can download a free copy of the guide from their CDIA account. Please click here for instructions on how to download the CRRG®.
AUD/ACDV questions: Contact Experian e-Oscar® support group at 1 800 525 0689, option 2, or ncacspecialists@experian.com.
e-OSCAR®: For admin support, contact experian.e-oscar@experian.com
Current commercial data contributors: bisdatasupport@experian.com
New commercial data contributors: bisdatareporting@Experian.com
For STS technical assistance (e.g., accessing our system to upload your data, resetting your password, account unlock), contact 1 800 854 7201, option 3, or experianaccesstechsupport@experian.com
Subscriber code maintenance, product and billing questions: Submit a case through My Experian Portal. To establish a My Experian account, contact Client Care at 1 800 831 5614.