How long it takes for scores to go up depends on your overall credit history

Dear FSU,

It is impossible to say precisely how much a credit score will change or how quickly because credit scores consider your entire credit history. How long it will take for your credit scores to improve and by how much depends on the information that was removed and how it related to your overall credit history.

There could be significant improvement quickly if there is no other negative information remaining. However, you could see very little change if there still are late payments or public records – court judgments, tax liens, or bankruptcy – in your credit history, especially if the remaining negative information is more recent.

Your credit report does not indicate if an application was approved or declined. There may be an inquiry indicating you applied for credit. The only evidence of approval would be the appearance of a new account. However, if a new account is not added, it does not necessarily mean you were declined. You simply could have chosen not to accept the loan. Lenders do not interpret the appearance off an inquiry without a new account as a declination.

Thanks for asking.