Does Being a Co-signer Show Up on Your Credit Report?

When you co-sign a loan, that financial commitment appears on your credit report. This reflects the legal responsibility you assume for the debt and can influence your financial standing and future borrowing capacity.

How Co-signing Appears on Your Credit Report

A co-signed account is fully listed on your credit report, just as it is on the primary borrower’s report. This means the specific type of account, such as an auto loan, mortgage, personal loan, or student loan, will be detailed. The report will include the original loan amount, the current balance owed, and the name of the creditor who extended the credit.

The entire payment history for the co-signed account is also reflected on your credit file. This includes both on-time payments and any missed or late payments, typically noted if they are 30, 60, or 90 days past due. Lenders report these details to the major credit bureaus, ensuring the account’s status is visible to future creditors.

Impact on Your Credit Score

The information from a co-signed loan directly influences your credit score. When the primary borrower consistently makes timely payments, this positive payment history can help build and maintain your credit score.

Conversely, if the primary borrower makes late payments or defaults on the loan, your credit score can be significantly harmed. A single payment reported as 30 days or more overdue can negatively impact your credit, and repeated late payments can cause more severe and lasting damage. Should the loan go into default or be sent to collections, this adverse event will appear on your report and can severely impair your ability to obtain new credit.

The co-signed debt contributes to your overall debt burden, which impacts your credit utilization ratio. Even if the primary borrower makes all payments on time, the outstanding balance of the co-signed loan is considered part of your total debt. A higher debt-to-income ratio, which includes this co-signed obligation, may make it more challenging to qualify for additional loans or credit lines in the future.

Accessing Your Credit Report

To review how a co-signed account appears on your credit file, you can obtain free copies of your credit report. Federal law grants you the right to a free report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These reports are accessible through AnnualCreditReport.com, which is the only authorized source for these free reports.

The credit bureaus have also permanently extended a program allowing weekly access to your reports from each agency through this same website. When reviewing your report, navigate to the “accounts” or “tradeline” section. Here, you can identify the co-signed account by its type, the creditor’s name, the original loan amount, and the detailed payment history. Looking for any unfamiliar accounts or those showing negative information is also important to ensure accuracy.