How Late Payments Affect Your Credit Score

One late payment can drop your credit score significantly. Here's exactly what happens — and what you can do about it.

When Does a Payment Get Reported as Late?

Creditors typically report a payment as late when it's 30 days past due. A payment that's 1–29 days late may incur a fee but usually doesn't appear on your credit report. However, once you cross 30 days, it gets reported — and it can stay on your report for 7 years.

How Much Does a Late Payment Hurt?

Note: Score impacts are estimates. Actual impact varies based on your full credit profile.

What to Do If You Miss a Payment

Pay immediately. If you're under 30 days late, paying now prevents it from being reported at all.

Call the creditor. If it's your first late payment, many creditors will waive the fee and agree not to report it if you pay right away and have a good history.

Try a goodwill letter. After the fact, a goodwill letter requesting removal of an isolated late payment sometimes works — especially with creditors you've had a long positive relationship with.

Dispute if inaccurate. If the late payment is reported incorrectly — wrong date, wrong amount, or a payment you actually made on time — you can dispute it as inaccurate under the FCRA.

The impact of a late payment diminishes over time, especially as you build positive payment history. CreditGM can help you challenge inaccurate late payment notations and send goodwill requests to creditors on your behalf.