Your credit history
Understanding your credit history and why it matters
Your credit history is a record of your borrowing and repayments. In Ireland, the Central Credit Register collects information on loans of €500 or more – including credit cards, personal loans, mortgages and hire purchase agreements.
Lenders use this information to decide whether to approve your application. Missed payments or unpaid loans can stay on your credit history for up to five years, affecting your ability to borrow. You can request your free credit report from the Central Bank of Ireland’s website.
What is the Central Credit Register and how does it work?
The Central Credit Register is operated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Every month, they collect and store personal and credit information from lenders, including licensed moneylenders and local authorities. Only loans of €500 or more are included. Loans under €500 are not recorded.
What information is held on the Central Credit Register?
The Central Credit Register includes details of loans such as credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans and mortgages. It also includes hire purchase, PCPs and similar types of finance for loans of €500 or more.
When you apply for credit, lenders must request a credit report for these types of loans if the amount is €2,000 or more.
Types of loans included on Central Credit Register
- Credit cards
- Mortgages
- Overdrafts
- Personal loans
- Business loans (where you are personally named as a borrower or guarantor)
- Local authority loans
- High-cost credit providers
- Hire purchases
- PCPs
- Asset finance
What is not included?
- Utility bills
- Pawnbrokers
- Income/Salary information
- Tax liabilities
- Deposit accounts
- Insolvency Service of Ireland
- The Courts Service records
How long does the Central Credit Register keep your credit information?
The CCR keeps credit information for up to five years after a loan is repaid, written off, or discharged. Here’s the detail:
- Loan agreements: Information stays on the CCR for a maximum of five years after the loan is cleared. The five-year clock starts only when the loan is fully repaid or written off.
- New loan applications: Application data is kept for six months.
- Credit report details: Lenders see the most recent two years of detailed payment history, plus key repayment indicators covering the last five years.
- If you default and never settle the loan: The five-year period does not start, so the record remains active until the lender reports it as discharged.
Credit applications and lender decisions
When you apply for credit, the application itself is recorded on the Central Credit Register for a period of time. This means lenders can see when and how often you have applied for credit, even if no loan was approved and all your repayments on existing loans are up to date.
Making several credit applications in a short period can affect how a lender views a new application. Even where your repayment history is good, multiple recent applications may raise questions about affordability or borrowing patterns.
Lenders consider this information alongside your income, outgoings and overall credit history, and assess applications on a case‑by‑case basis.
How can you check your credit report?
Steps to Request Your Credit Report
- Go online to the Central Credit Register: Start your application. Your credit report is free (subject to fair usage).
- Provide identification: You’ll need proof of identity (passport or driving licence), proof of address (utility bill or Revenue letter), and your PPS number.
- Submit your request: Applications can be made online or by email. Postal applications are not currently accepted.
- Receive your report: It’s free of charge (subject to fair usage) and usually issued within 3 working days as a PDF or by post.
Why check your credit report?
- Spot missed payments or errors before applying for a loan.
- Correct inaccurate information.
- Add an explanatory statement (up to 200 words) if needed
Why is your credit history important?
When you take out a mortgage, personal loan, credit card, overdraft or hire purchase/PCP loan of €500 or more, your lender sends information about your repayments to the Central Credit Register. This record forms your credit history.
Your credit history shows:
- Your name, date of birth and address
- Names of lenders and account numbers for any loans you currently have or have closed in the last five years after the loan was repaid, written off or discharged
- A history of all repayments made or missed for each month on each loan, including any loans or credit cards you did not pay off completely
- A record of any legal action taken by a lender, such as court proceedings to recover a debt
Legal action is considered a serious negative marker on a credit history. It can have a greater impact on future borrowing decisions than isolated missed payments, as it indicates that a debt was not resolved through normal repayment.
If you miss repayments, don’t clear a loan or credit card, or settle a loan for less than you owe, this will appear on your credit history for five years after the loan is closed. This can make it harder to get another loan.
Your credit report gives a full picture of your credit history, showing both positive and negative records. A history of missed payments may mean you are refused a loan, even if you have the income to repay it.
Where can you get more help with borrowing?
Borrowing is all around us, find out what visitors to our Money Clinic asked and learn more. The CCPC answers your borrowing questions on credit cards, car loans and buy now pay later.
