SCHUFA and credit checks in Germany

SCHUFA collects data from its contract partners, mainly banks, savings banks, telecommunications companies, retailers and online shops, plus public debtor registers. Typical entries are:

• Positive or neutral data: current accounts, credit cards, loans and leasing contracts and how long they have existed, loans that were repaid as agreed.
• Negative data: unpaid bills reported after the legal conditions are met, loan defaults, court judgments, entries in the debtor register and insolvency proceedings.

Only SCHUFA's contract partners can report data. Private landlords, for example, cannot report a rent debt to SCHUFA directly. A company may only report an unpaid claim under strict conditions, including at least two written payment reminders, a waiting period of at least four weeks and advance notice that it may report you.

Negative entries for settled debts generally have to be deleted three years after they were settled. Information on a discharge of residual debt after insolvency is deleted after six months.

Since 17 March 2026 SCHUFA uses a new score on a scale from 100 to 999 points. It is based on twelve published criteria, including payment problems, the age of your accounts and contracts, credit card and current account activity, loan terms, credit enquiries and whether an identity check has been carried out. The score classes are:

• outstanding: 776 to 999 points
• good: 709 to 775
• acceptable: 642 to 708
• sufficient: 100 to 641
• insufficient: no score because of outstanding payment defaults

You can see the points for each criterion in your free SCHUFA account and recalculate the score yourself. Not all companies have switched yet: SCHUFA states that around a quarter of its business customers used the new score at launch, with a transition period until the end of 2028, so some companies still use older industry scores. The decision to offer you a contract is always made by the company, not by SCHUFA.

Other credit agencies, such as CRIF, Creditreform Boniversum and Experian (infoscore), keep their own data and calculate their own scores, which can differ from SCHUFA's.

Under Article 15 of the GDPR you are entitled to a free copy of all data a credit agency holds about you, at least once a year and again after a correction.

• Data copy by post: order the "Datenkopie (nach Art. 15 DS-GVO)" on meineschufa.de. It is sent by post and shows your stored data and the new score.
• SCHUFA account: the free online account (web or SCHUFA app) shows your data and the score with explanations. Registration requires identification with an ID card with online function (eID) or a PIN letter sent by post.

Several providers sell credit reports for a fee, and the Verbraucherzentrale warns that the free option is often hidden behind paid offers. For other agencies, use their free self-disclosure (Selbstauskunft) or the Verbraucherzentrale's template letter.

Before renting out a flat, landlords often ask applicants for proof of creditworthiness. According to the German data protection authorities (DSK), landlords may only request information that is necessary for the tenancy and that applicants obtain from a credit agency themselves. They may not demand the full GDPR data copy, because it contains far more financial information than a landlord needs.

In practice this means presenting a tenancy-specific credit certificate from a credit agency, which SCHUFA and others offer, sometimes for a fee. Check the current options in your SCHUFA account before paying for anything. If you have only just arrived and have no SCHUFA record yet, explain this and offer other evidence, such as your employment contract, recent payslips and a rent payment history from your previous country. See the guide on rental application documents for details.

When you arrive, SCHUFA usually knows nothing about you, which can make your score less informative or leave you without one. A record builds up as you use ordinary contracts responsibly:

• Open a current account in Germany; it is stored as positive information.
• Pay every bill on time, including phone, internet and electricity direct debits, and keep enough money in your account so that debits do not bounce.
• Keep long-term products: SCHUFA says longer contract relationships improve the new score and recommends one larger loan rather than several small ones.
• Bundle applications: if you need a new account, card or contract, apply within a short period, because enquiries and transactions within 28 days are counted only once.
• Keep your address up to date with banks and providers so that bills and reminders reach you.

According to SCHUFA, the new score improves more quickly with reliable payment behaviour, which it says particularly benefits people about whom little information is available so far.

If your data copy contains an error, contact SCHUFA and ask for correction or deletion, and contact the company that reported the data. While the dispute is being checked, the entry must be blocked. If SCHUFA does not resolve the issue, you can turn to the SCHUFA ombudsperson or the data protection authority responsible for SCHUFA, the Hessian Commissioner for Data Protection. Ask for a new free data copy afterwards to confirm the correction.

• "Checking my own data lowers my score." Your own data copy is a GDPR request, not a credit enquiry by a company. The enquiry criteria in the new score concern requests by banks and other businesses.
• "SCHUFA is a government agency." It is a private company. Its data processing is supervised by the data protection authorities.
• "My address alone decides my score." A score calculated only on the basis of where you live is not allowed.
• "Paid debts disappear immediately." Settled negative entries generally remain for up to three years after settlement.
• "My landlord can report me to SCHUFA." Only SCHUFA's contract partners report data; a private landlord generally cannot.
• "I need a paid report to see my score." The data copy and the SCHUFA account are free.