You are most likely here because you have been asked to get a Schufa report to rent an apartment in Germany, or buying a car, or heard about credit score for applying for a Credit card. So here is everything you wanted to know about Schufa, and more!
A credit score is a value based on an analysis of a person’s credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of an individual. This is used by lenders to evaluate the potential risk or how likely you are to pay back the loan, or rent, or credit card bill. A credit score is primarily based on a credit report information from credit bureaus.
In Germany, the credit score is tracked and maintained by the credit agency Schufa Holding AG, which is an abbreviation of “Schutzgemeinschaft für allgemeine Kreditsicherung”, roughly translated in English to “general credit protection agency.” So the terms such as “Schufa score”, “Schufa report”, or “Schufa rating”, refers to your credit information also called as “Schufa Auskunft” in German.
When are applying for an apartment, you will likely be asked to provide a Schufa Auskunft to determine if you are creditworthy and capable of paying your monthly rents.
A Schufa record is automatically created for every resident in Germany at the time of registering in Germany for the first time, or when you open a bank account or sign up for a mobile phone contract.
Now comes the chicken and the egg situation. You might not be able to open a bank account without a registered address, and you cannot get an apartment without a Schufa, and you won’t have a Schufa record without a bank account. So how can you overcome this problem?
Try to explain to the landlord that you are new to Germany and there might not be a Schufa record on you. Otherwise, try to register the address of your temporary accommodation hotel / Airbnb / friends apartment and open a bank account. Once you are able to open an account, you will have a Schufa record which you can use to get an apartment.
How to get a Schufa report
There are different ways to obtain the Schufa report depending on how much information you need.
To order a Schufa report, have these documents handy:
Bank account details
Your residence registration (Anmeldung)
Passport (and a copy if you apply by post)
For renting an apartment, the landlord needs something called a “SCHUFA-BonitätsAuskunft” which will provide only the relevant basic information of credit score which is needed for renting apartments and will protect other entries which include private information. For your personal use, you can order a complete report including all the private information as well as every entry which is on your credit score.
Basic Schufa Report
You can get your basic Schufa Bonitätsauskunft using one of the options below:
Order at meineschufa.de. They send the certificate via post to your registered address, so it will take a couple of days to get your report. Alternatively, you can fill a paper form in English (pdf) and send the form by post along with a copy of your passport and address registration certification.
Online at ImmobilienScout24: You can get the Schufa Bonitätsauskunft online from the flat-finding service ImmobilienScout24. You can download and print the report yourself. You will need to pay using your bank account so that they can verify it is you before giving you the report. It will take a few hours to a couple of days depending on if you used SOFORT bank payment, transfer or other debit instruction for your payment to go through and you get the report.
In-person at one of the participating Branches of Postbank and Volksbank : You will need your Address registration certificate and your Passport. They will verify your details and give you a report that will be printed for you.
Complete Schufa Report
Free Schufa Report: You are entitled to a free Schufa Report once a year. You will have to fill an online form in German and upload a copy of your passport and your address registration certification.
Online Account atMeineschufa.de: You can keep a track of your Schufa record with a paid online account at meineschufa.de and check it anytime you wish.
Using the free Schufa report instead of the Schufa Bonitätsauskunft?
The Schufa Bonitätsauskunft has security features that indicate it is an original document in order to avoid tampering. Therefore, the landlords prefer this version instead of an online printout or a paper copy of your free report.
Also, the free Schufa Report you get once a year has all the information Schufa has about you. This includes your credit score, personal information such as past addresses, number of bank accounts including account numbers, ID numbers, loan accounts or other telephone accounts. But the Schufa Bonitätsauskunft only indicates if it is positive or not, it does not include personal information or the credit score. Therefore, providing the information on the free report to an unknown third party is risky and can lead to identity theft.
How to order free Schufa report?
It’s your right to get your complete Schufa credit report free once each a year
Estimated time 14 days.
Free Schufa Report: You are entitled to a free Schufa Report once a year. You will have to fill and upload a copy of your passport and your address registration certification.
Select the correct application
In the Schufa website Meineschufa.de, look for the option “Datenkopie (nach Art. 15 DS-GVO)” at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, you can go directly to the online form in German.
Note: Careful not to select a paid option, as Schufa would try to upsell you their paid services.
Fill the form
Enter your personal details, including your registration address and your previous address.
Upload documents
To verify your identity, you will need to upload a copy of your passport and your address registration certification. The documents are sent only to your registered address.
Keeping track of your Schufa
It is always good to keep track of your credit score. It’s your right to get your complete Schufa credit report free once each year. You should use free right to keep a tab on your report any incorrect information.
But if you are planning to get a mortgage, it is recommended to apply for an online account at Meineschufa.de and keep a track of your record. You can see the requests which on your credit report, sign up for email notification whenever a request is made, and immediately report any false report. This will not only ensure that your credit requests are up to date, but you can also see if any identity theft occurs.
The advantages of having an account at Meineschufa.deare:
SCHUFA information online anytime: Check the information that is stored relating to your creditworthiness and identity at SCHUFA
Immediate Notification by email on any credit-related inquiries or changes to your own creditworthiness and identity.
Discount or free Schufa Bonitätsauskunft.
MySchufa online service
There are three mySCHUFA products (compact, plus, and premium) and it costs either €3.95, €4.95 or €6.95 each month depending on which option you select. All the three has a one-time set-up cost of €9,95.
1. mySCHUFA Compact:
This is the basic version of the online account and is recommended for single people.
Costs €3,95 per month
Check your information online anytime and free notification of any changes
SCHUFA processes the following categories of personal data (personal data, payment behaviour and contract loyalty):
Personal data, eg name (possibly also previous names, which will be provided on separate application), first name, date of birth, place of birth, address, previous addresses
Information on the acceptance and contractual execution of a transaction (eg checking accounts, instalment loans, credit cards, garnishment protection accounts, basic accounts)
Information about undisputed, due and repeatedly demanded or titled claims and their settlement
Information about abusive or another fraudulent behaviour, such as identity or credit ratings
Information from public directories and official announcements
Score values
Positive information: Positive information is information on contractual behaviours, such as
Current Accounts
Credit Cards
Mobile contracts with the term
Leases
Loans
Mail-order shopping accounts
This information is evidence that companies trust a person and have provided credit. More than 90% of the people have only positive contract information.
Negative information: Notes for non-contractual behaviour are, for example,
a loan that was written off by the bank due to an inability to pay
defaults of loan payment
information from public debt directories. These entries are made when you fail to pay a bill (e.g., doctors bill or lawyers) or a fine (e.g., public transport or police fine) even after they get a court order (a Mahnbescheid).
SCHUFA has no information about:
Wealth and income
Marketing data (buying behaviour or similar)
Job details
Life attitudes and memberships (for example, religious, political)
Marital status
Nationality
How long does the entry remain on SCHUFA record?
It depends on the type of entry on the report, some stay longer than the other.
Information entry
How long it stays in your record
Wrong, incomplete or outdated entries
Should be deleted immediately upon request
Ongoing contracts or accounts (such as mobile phone contracts, Bank accounts etc.)
Once the account has been closed
SCHUFA inquiries or credit check made by other companies (hard check)
12 months
Paid off loans
3 years after repayment
Credit card accounts
3 years after ending the contract
Late bills/credit payment
3 years (end of the calendar year), 4 years if not resolved.
A Schufa record is automatically created for every resident in Germany at the time of registering in Germany for the first time, or when you open a bank account or sign up for a mobile phone contract.
How can I order a free Schufa Credit Report?
You will have to fill an online form in German and upload a copy of your passport and your address registration certification.
Can I download my free Schufa Credit Report?
Yes, but due to the confidentiality of personal data, you can only download your data once you have received them by post. In the post, you will be provided with information that can be used to retrieve a digital copy of your credit report from the website www.elektronische-datenkopie.de.
How often can I order a free Schufa Credit Report?
You are entitled to a free Schufa Report once a year.
How long does it take to get a free Schufa Report?
If you ordered a free Schufa Report, it will take about 3 weeks
Can I give my free Schufa Report instead of Schufa Auskunft to the landlords?
The Schufa Bonitätsauskunft has security features that indicate it is an original document in order to avoid tampering. Therefore, the landlords prefer this version instead of an online printout or a paper copy of your free report.
What is a good SCHUFA score?
In order for you to be able to better interpret the SCHUFA scores and their significance, SCHUFA has based the probability of fulfillment on a uniform assignment in the following risk categories: > 97.5% very low risk 95% – 97.5% low to manageable risk 90% – 95% satisfactory to increased risk 80% – 90% significantly increased to high risk 50% – 80% very high risk <50% very critical risk A compliance probability of 95% indicates that the likelihood that a customer makes payments in accordance with the contract is 95%. In other words, according to statistics, 95 out of 100 people would pay reliably.
What data are used to calculate SCHUFA score?
The SCHUFA Scores is calculated based on the data stored about a person at SCHUFA which includes, the number and type of credit activities, any defaults, or information about when you have experience in dealing with credit transactions.
SCHUFA has no information on your nationality, your income, your marital status or your financial circumstances. Therefore, these data are not included in our scores.
Why is a paid out loan still on SCHUFA record?
Paid out loans without payment defaults remain for a period of exact day three years to the date.
Example:If you have paid the last loan installment on 20.01.2015, it will be delete on 19.01.2018.
For you as a consumer, this can be an advantage to take a new load as the bank would notice and appreciate you have already paid a loan properly and on time.
In case of a premature or contractual settlement of loans, it identifies you as a reliable borrower.
