How do I check my credit score for free in India?

India has four RBI-licensed credit information companies, and lenders use different ones, so a loan can be refused on the basis of a report you have never seen. Checking all four at least once is worth doing.

The free annual full report is a regulatory entitlement, not a promotional offer. Request it on each bureau's own site rather than through third-party apps, which typically show a score without the underlying report and often monetise the data.

Checking your own report is a soft enquiry and has no effect on your score. Only hard enquiries — where a lender pulls your report because you applied for credit — are recorded and can affect it, which is why scattering loan applications is counterproductive.

Read the report rather than just the score. Look for accounts you do not recognise, which is the earliest signal of identity misuse; loans shown as open that you closed; incorrect amounts or dates; and enquiries you did not initiate.

Errors are common and disputes are free. Raise a dispute with the bureau, which must investigate with the lender, and RBI rules require credit information companies to resolve complaints within a prescribed period and to compensate for delay beyond it.

Your score is built mainly from repayment history and credit utilisation, with the age of your accounts, the mix of credit and recent enquiries also counting. Paying on time and keeping card utilisation low are the two things that matter most.

There is no legal minimum score, and lenders set their own thresholds. A thin file — no credit history at all — is often harder than a low score, because there is nothing to assess.