Understanding Your Empirica Credit Score: A TransUnion Guide

Disputing mistakes on a credit report can lead to quick improvements.

Empirica is the trademarked brand name for the credit score provided by reporting bureau TransUnion. TransUnion is one of the three major U.S. reporting bureaus that uses the FICO scoring model as the basis for its consumer credit ratings system.

Empirica Basics

TransUnion produces three basic credit score reports. Two are available to consumers looking to receive a report of their own credit ratings. Empirica is a score that TransUnion only provides to lenders, according to AAA CreditGuide. Empirica is based on FICO. Lenders use the Empirica score as one of the tools in evaluating a borrower's credit worthiness. In general, the higher the credit score the better the borrower's potential. The report also identifies any specific issues, such as late payments or defaults.

Scoring Range

The Empirica score ranges from 150 to 934, reports AAA CreditGuide. This is slightly different from the basic FICO scoring model, as TransUnion makes adjustments to suit its reporting structure. Therefore, breaking down the Empirica system into specific ranges is challenging. Lenders would compare Empirica scores to conventional FICO scores, where 760 and above on an 850 point scale is considered excellent. Scores from 700 to 759 are considered great and scores from 660 to 299 are good.