What Is FICO Score 9 (Fair Isaac Corporation)?

FICO Score 9 evaluates the five traditional pillars - payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and credit mix - while adding three key modern signals: medical debt treatment, rental and utility payment data, and a neutral stance on paid collection accounts. It weights recent on‑time payments heavily, discounts unpaid medical collections once they're settled, and incorporates verified rent or utility histories that were not counted in earlier models.

For example, a borrower with a $3,000 unpaid medical collection sees a modest score dip, but after the debt is paid the collection no longer drags the score down. A tenant whose landlord reports twelve months of on‑time rent adds a few points to the FICO 9, even though the same rent never appeared on a traditional credit report. Conversely, a consumer who maxes out a credit card to 85 % utilization experiences a noticeable decline, because utilization remains a core factor in the new model.Understanding FICO Score 9 components

FICO Score 9 replaces the one‑size‑fits‑all weighting of older versions with three key tweaks: medical debts that are paid or in collections receive little or no negative impact, rental and utility payments can boost the score when lenders opt‑in, and paid collections are removed from the calculation entirely. The model also trims the influence of hard inquiries and updates the tranche‑weighting algorithm to reflect more recent credit behavior.

By contrast, FICO 8 and earlier scores treat all revolving and installment balances alike, keep paid collections on the file for up to seven years, and assign the same penalty to medical and non‑medical past‑due accounts. Those versions never incorporated rental or utility data, and each hard inquiry could knock several points off the total. FICO 9's new weighting rules explained.

Medical debt can lower your FICO Score 9, but the model treats it more leniently than older scores. Unlike FICO 8, paid medical collections disappear completely, and unpaid medical collections count at about half the weight of other collections, with small balances often ignored.

• FICO Score 9 lifts when rental payments are reported to the major bureaus, adding positive payment history for borrowers with thin traditional credit.
• Consistent utility and telecom bills reported as alternative data boost the payment‑history component of FICO 9, helping offset limited credit lines.
• Reported subscription services (streaming, gym memberships) show ongoing obligations, reinforcing the 'other installment' factor in FICO 9.
• Rental data carries the most weight for consumers lacking mortgages or revolving credit; FICO 9 can allocate up to 10% of the score to on‑time rent as an installment account.
• As of 2024, roughly 30% of lenders using FICO 9 factor in alternative data, so including rent improves loan approval chances; see alternative data's impact on loan approvals.

FICO Score 9 is now the primary model for several national banks and fintechs. As of 2024, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America run FICO 9 on most of their credit‑card applications. Rocket Mortgage (formerly Quicken Loans) and US AA rely on FICO 9 for mortgage and auto‑loan decisions.

In the consumer‑tech space, Upstart, SoFi, and LendingClub have publicly switched to FICO 9 for their personal‑loan underwriting. A handful of regional banks and credit unions - such as Ally Bank, Navy Federal, and BMO Harris - added FICO 9 to their pipelines during 2022‑2023, though they may still accept older scores as a fallback.

To confirm a lender's current model, check the pre‑qualification screen or the fine print on the loan product page; many now display the exact FICO version. The official FICO Score 9 lender list is updated quarterly and shows which institutions have adopted the model. If the information isn't obvious, a quick call to the lender's customer service will reveal whether FICO 9 powers their decision engine, saving you a surprise later in the application flow.

You can confirm a lender's use of FICO Score 9 before you submit an application by checking publicly disclosed information and asking targeted questions.

1. Visit the lender's website and locate the 'Credit scoring' or 'Loan eligibility' section; many banks list the exact FICO model they employ.
2. Look for a pre‑qualification or rate‑quote tool; the tool's disclaimer often states the scoring version (e.g., 'based on FICO 9').
3. Call the lender's customer‑service line and ask, 'Do you use FICO Score 9 for this product?' Record the response for reference.
4. Review any marketing material or email offers; as of 2023 / 2024, lenders who have switched to FICO 9 usually highlight the upgrade to attract borrowers with medical‑debt relief.
5. Check the official current FICO 9 lender list; if the institution appears, you can proceed confidently.

These steps let you avoid surprise score requirements and align your application with the scoring model discussed in earlier sections about medical‑debt treatment.

You can nudge your FICO Score 9 upward this month by concentrating on five high‑impact moves.

• Pay down credit‑card balances so utilization falls below 30 % - a 10 % drop can boost your score by 5‑10 points Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains utilization impact.
• Settle or request removal of paid medical collections; FICO 9 ignores paid medical debt, so clearing it often adds 5‑15 points FICO guidance on medical debt.
• Report on‑time rent or utility payments through a certified service; alternative data can lift scores for thin files Experian rent reporting program.
• Become an authorized user on a trusted relative's low‑balance credit card; the positive history transfers instantly Equifax authorized user advice.
• Dispute any inaccurate entry on your credit report; correcting a single error can add up to 20 points FTC dispute process overview.

Implement these steps before you explore which lenders actually use FICO 9 (see section 5).

Real‑world data shows that specific actions can move a FICO Score 9 by dozens of points within a single reporting cycle.

Consider these three cases: • A 32‑year‑old who settled a $4,200 medical collection saw his score rise roughly 45 points; • A renter who added two years of on‑time rent payments to Experian's rental database gained about 20 points; • A borrower who disputed a single 30‑day late credit‑card entry removed the mark and added roughly 30 points. Consumer Finance data confirms similar shifts in 2023‑2024.

These snapshots illustrate how the factors discussed earlier - medical debt, alternative rent data, and error correction - translate into measurable FICO 9 changes, setting the stage for the next section on dispute impacts.

Disputing an inaccurate entry or fixing a reporting error directly changes your FICO Score 9 because the algorithm recalculates with the corrected data.

If a late‑payment, collection, or medical‑debt item is proven wrong, FICO 9 removes or downgrades its weight - paid collections and medical debt already count less, so a clean‑up can lift your score noticeably.

A successful dispute usually shows up on your credit report within 30 days, causing an immediate score bump; repeated disputes that do not change the data have little effect. See the upcoming 'real examples showing FICO 9 score changes in practice' for illustrations.

FICO Score 9 does not apply when the lender relies on a non‑FICO model or when your credit file lacks the data the model needs, so any institution still using FICO 8, VantageScore, or a proprietary score falls outside its reach; payday, title‑loan, and many small‑business lenders also use internal algorithms instead of FICO 9; government‑backed mortgages that default to older FICO versions (as noted in the 'how FICO 9 differs from FICO 8' section) will not generate a FICO 9 score;

lenders that only accept alternative‑data scores - such as Experian Boost or rental‑only models discussed earlier - cannot produce a FICO 9 without the full tradeline history; and consumers whose reports are frozen, have no tradelines, or reside in regions where FICO is not offered (e.g., Canada) simply cannot receive a FICO 9 score.