What credit score do I need for a mortgage in the UK?

There is no single score, because lenders do not share one. Each lender combines data from Experian, Equifax or TransUnion with its own scorecard and policy rules, so the same file can be approved by one lender and declined by another. The scores shown in consumer apps are those companies' own products and no lender sees them.

How long do defaults stay on your credit file?

Six years from the date of default, after which they drop off automatically whether or not the debt was repaid. The same six year period applies to county court judgments, bankruptcies, IVAs and debt relief orders. A satisfied entry generally reads better than an unsatisfied one, and older entries carry much less weight than recent ones.

Do mortgage applications hurt your credit score?

A full application creates a hard search that other lenders can see. One or two hard searches in six months is unremarkable. Four or more can suggest financial pressure and lead to a decline on policy grounds. Checking your own report is a soft search and is invisible to lenders, as are most eligibility checkers and some decisions in principle.

How can I improve my credit file before applying for a mortgage?

Register on the electoral roll, check all three agency reports and dispute any errors, reduce credit card balances so utilisation is below about 30 per cent, set every commitment to direct debit, and stop applying for new credit for at least six months. Do not close long-held accounts, as account age counts in your favour in most scorecards.

Can I get a mortgage with bad credit?

Often yes, through specialist lenders that price for risk. How close you get to mainstream terms depends mainly on how old the adverse entry is and how large your deposit is. A four year old default with a 25 per cent deposit is a very different case from a recent default with a 5 per cent deposit. Sometimes waiting for an entry to drop off is the cheapest option.

Does my partner's credit rating affect my mortgage application?

Only if you are financially associated, which happens through joint accounts or joint borrowing rather than through marriage or living together. On a joint mortgage application both files are assessed and the weaker one usually sets the terms. If you have separated from a former partner and no longer share accounts, ask the agencies for a notice of disassociation.

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6 min read · Updated 30 August 2026

Credit score and mortgages: what lenders actually check

The three credit reference agencies, why there is no single score lenders share, which entries do the most damage, the fixes that work in three to six months, and how many applications is too many.

Written and reviewed by the MortgageMatch editorial team. How we research and review our guides.

There is no single national credit score that UK lenders share. Each lender pulls data from one or more of the three credit reference agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, then runs it through its own scorecard alongside its own policy rules. The number you see in a credit app is that agency's own product, not something a lender sees or uses. What lenders actually look at is your payment history, how much you owe, how long your accounts have been open, your address and electoral roll record, and any defaults, county court judgments or insolvency. Adverse entries stay on file for six years.

The three agencies, and why you need all of them

Bar chart showing indicative borrowing on a £45,000 income as monthly credit commitments rise from zero to £500, with the amount lost labelled against each bar. — Roughly £5,400 of borrowing disappears for every £100 of monthly commitment. Clearing a car finance agreement before applying can be worth more than saving the same amount.

Experian, Equifax and TransUnion each hold their own file on you. Lenders do not all report to all three. It is entirely normal for a default or a missed payment to appear on one file and not another, and for an account to show a different balance on each.

That means checking one agency is not enough. Check all three before applying. Statutory access is free, and each agency also offers a free consumer product: Experian has a free account, Equifax data is available free through ClearScore, and TransUnion data through Credit Karma. Whichever route you use, you are looking at the underlying report, not the score attached to it.

The scores those services show are marketed products. They are calculated differently, are on different scales, and no lender sees them. A person can be "excellent" on one and "fair" on another with an identical file. Ignore the number and read the entries.

What lenders actually assess

A mortgage lender combines three things.

The first is credit reference agency data: your payment history over six years, current balances, credit limits, account ages, search history, address links, financial associations and public records such as CCJs, bankruptcies, IVAs and debt relief orders.

The second is the lender's own scorecard, a statistical model built on its own past lending. This is proprietary and no two lenders' models agree. It is why one lender declines you and another approves you on the same file.

The third is policy rules, which are absolute. A lender may simply not accept an applicant with a default in the last three years, whatever the scorecard says. Policy rules explain most declines that feel arbitrary.

If the lender already banks you, it will also look at how you run your current account: overdraft use, returned direct debits, gambling transactions and general balance behaviour. Bank statements are requested on most applications anyway.

The entries that do the most damage

Roughly in order of severity.

Bankruptcy, an IVA or a debt relief order. Most mainstream lenders want these discharged and several years behind you.
A county court judgment. Very damaging, particularly if unsatisfied. Satisfied is better than unsatisfied, and older is much better than recent.
A default. Six years on file from the default date. Recent defaults, especially in the last 12 to 24 months, push you to specialist lenders.
Missed payments on a mortgage or rent. Weighted more heavily than missed payments on a catalogue account.
Payday loans. Some lenders still treat recent payday borrowing negatively even when repaid on time.
Persistent overdraft use, particularly being at the limit every month.
High credit utilisation. Using most of your available limit signals strain. Keeping utilisation well below 50 per cent, and ideally under 30 per cent, generally reads better.
Not being on the electoral roll, which makes identity verification harder and is one of the easiest things to fix.

Things that do not do the damage people expect: having a credit card is fine and having none can actually be a mild negative because there is nothing to assess. Checking your own report is a soft search and is invisible to lenders. Your partner's credit history does not affect yours unless you have a financial association through a joint account or joint borrowing.

Hard searches and soft searches

A hard search is recorded and visible to other lenders. It happens when you formally apply for credit. A soft search is not visible to other lenders and includes checking your own report, most eligibility checkers, and many mortgage decisions in principle.

That last point matters. Some lenders run a decision in principle as a soft search and some as a hard search. Ask before you consent, because collecting several hard searches while shopping around is genuinely unhelpful.

As a rough guide, one or two hard searches in the six months before a mortgage application is unremarkable. Four or more, particularly across different types of credit, starts to look like someone under financial pressure and can trigger a decline on policy grounds regardless of your payment history. Full applications to multiple mortgage lenders at once is the worst version of this. Apply to one properly chosen lender rather than several speculatively, which is precisely what a broker is for.

Quick wins in the three to six months before applying

Ordered by effect for effort.

1. Register on the electoral roll at your current address. Free, and it can take a few weeks to appear. 2. Check all three reports and dispute errors. Errors are common. Agencies must investigate, and a wrong default removed is worth more than any other single action. 3. Reduce credit card balances. Getting utilisation down below 30 per cent typically shows within one or two reporting cycles. 4. Set every commitment to direct debit for at least the minimum, so nothing is ever missed while you are busy. 5. Stop applying for credit. No new cards, no car finance, no buy now pay later agreements in the six months before you apply. Some lenders now see buy now pay later use on file and take a dim view of it. 6. Do not close old accounts. A credit card you have held for eleven years is an asset in the account-age element of most scorecards, even if you rarely use it. 7. Add a notice of correction to explain a specific adverse entry with a genuine cause, such as illness or a disputed bill. This can help with manual underwriting, though it may slow an automated decision. 8. Break financial associations with an ex-partner if you no longer have joint accounts, by asking the agency for a notice of disassociation. 9. Keep your address history consistent and complete, and make sure all your accounts show your current address.

If your file is already damaged

You are not shut out. Specialist and adverse credit lenders exist and price for risk. As a general pattern, the older the adverse entry and the larger your deposit, the closer you get to mainstream terms. A default that is four years old with a 25 per cent deposit is a very different case from a default six months old with a 5 per cent deposit.

The honest advice is often to wait. If a default drops off in eight months, waiting eight months can move you from a specialist rate to a high street one, which on a 200,000 pound loan can be worth thousands of pounds a year. Work out the exact dates from your credit report before deciding.

Since lender scorecards and policy rules are invisible from the outside, this is an area where placement matters more than preparation alone. The MortgageMatch directory lists FCA-authorised brokers who can review your credit files with you and approach a lender whose policy actually fits your history.

Frequently asked questions

What credit score do I need for a mortgage in the UK?: There is no single score, because lenders do not share one. Each lender combines data from Experian, Equifax or TransUnion with its own scorecard and policy rules, so the same file can be approved by one lender and declined by another. The scores shown in consumer apps are those companies' own products and no lender sees them.
How long do defaults stay on your credit file?: Six years from the date of default, after which they drop off automatically whether or not the debt was repaid. The same six year period applies to county court judgments, bankruptcies, IVAs and debt relief orders. A satisfied entry generally reads better than an unsatisfied one, and older entries carry much less weight than recent ones.
Do mortgage applications hurt your credit score?: A full application creates a hard search that other lenders can see. One or two hard searches in six months is unremarkable. Four or more can suggest financial pressure and lead to a decline on policy grounds. Checking your own report is a soft search and is invisible to lenders, as are most eligibility checkers and some decisions in principle.
How can I improve my credit file before applying for a mortgage?: Register on the electoral roll, check all three agency reports and dispute any errors, reduce credit card balances so utilisation is below about 30 per cent, set every commitment to direct debit, and stop applying for new credit for at least six months. Do not close long-held accounts, as account age counts in your favour in most scorecards.
Can I get a mortgage with bad credit?: Often yes, through specialist lenders that price for risk. How close you get to mainstream terms depends mainly on how old the adverse entry is and how large your deposit is. A four year old default with a 25 per cent deposit is a very different case from a recent default with a 5 per cent deposit. Sometimes waiting for an entry to drop off is the cheapest option.
Does my partner's credit rating affect my mortgage application?: Only if you are financially associated, which happens through joint accounts or joint borrowing rather than through marriage or living together. On a joint mortgage application both files are assessed and the weaker one usually sets the terms. If you have separated from a former partner and no longer share accounts, ask the agencies for a notice of disassociation.

This guide is general information about how UK mortgages work, not a personal recommendation. Only an FCA-authorised adviser can recommend a product for your circumstances. Tax and scheme rules change, so check the relevant government source before you budget.

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