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There is no fixed credit score you need for a mortgage. Mortgage lenders don’t work from a pass mark on a credit app. They look at your full credit report, your income and outgoings, and apply their own scoring and criteria, which vary from lender to lender. A score that one app calls “poor” might still sit alongside a mortgage offer from a lender who weighs things differently.
Why there’s no single credit score for a mortgage
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the UK’s three main credit reference agencies, each calculate their own score using their own scale. A score of, say, 600 means something different depending on which agency produced it. On top of that, mortgage lenders don’t automatically see the score you see in a banking or credit-checking app. They pull their own version of your credit report from one or more agencies and run it through their own internal scoring model, then add their own lending criteria on top.
That’s why two lenders can look at the same person and reach different conclusions. One might decline an application that another is comfortable with, entirely aside from what any single “score” says.
What’s actually on your credit report
Rather than one number, your credit report is a record of your borrowing and repayment history. It typically includes:
- Current and past credit accounts, and whether payments were made on time
- Missed or late payments
- Defaults, County Court Judgments (CCJs), or insolvency such as an IVA or bankruptcy
- How much of your available credit you’re using
- Your address history and whether you’re on the electoral register
- Hard searches from previous credit applications
Lenders read this detail directly. A generic score is a summary; the underlying report is what a mortgage underwriter actually assesses, alongside your income and outgoings.
Does a low score rule out a mortgage?
Not necessarily. A low score, or negative marks like a default or missed payment, can narrow your options and may affect which lenders are willing to consider you, but it doesn’t automatically mean no lender will. Some lenders and specialist advisers deal specifically with bad credit and adverse credit remortgages, and assess applications on the full picture rather than a single figure.
What tends to matter more than the number itself:
| What lenders look at | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What’s on your report, and when | A recent CCJ or default is viewed differently to one from several years ago |
| Your income and committed outgoings | Affordability is central to every mortgage decision, and lenders stress-test against higher rates |
| Loan-to-value (LTV) | A lower LTV, where you’re borrowing less against the property’s value, generally widens your options |
| Whether issues are resolved | A satisfied CCJ or settled default can look different to an unresolved one, even though both stay on file for 6 years |
| Your employment type | Self-employed applicants may face extra document checks regardless of score |
How lenders see your file versus how you see it
When you check your own credit report or score, it’s a soft search, invisible to other lenders and to your score itself. When you formally apply for a mortgage, the lender carries out or requests a hard search, which is visible to other lenders and is recorded on your file. This is one reason advisers often recommend a mortgage in principle first, though some lenders use a hard search even at that stage, so it’s worth asking.
Being on the electoral register at your current address also helps a lender verify who you are, which can smooth an application along.
Why the apps don’t tell the full story
Free credit-checking apps are useful for keeping an eye on your file, but the score they show is usually calculated using that app’s own model, built for its own purpose, often to sell you products rather than to mirror how a mortgage lender thinks. A “good” score in one app doesn’t guarantee a smooth mortgage application, and a “poor” one doesn’t rule everything out either. Treat the number as a rough guide to your general credit health, and read the report underneath it for the detail that actually matters: what’s recorded, when, and whether it’s been resolved.
This is also why it rarely helps to fixate on raising a score by a set number of points before applying. Time is often more useful than any quick fix: a default or missed payment marker becomes less recent with every month that passes, and lenders can and do take that into account.
Checking where you actually stand
Because the number in an app isn’t what a lender sees, it’s worth looking at the report behind it. Everyone is entitled to a statutory credit report free from each agency, and it’s worth checking with more than one, since they don’t always hold identical information. If you know the date of a CCJ, default or missed payment, the credit file date calculator shows when it’s due to drop off your file.
If you want to take active steps before applying, see our guide on improving your credit score before a remortgage.
What this means if you’re remortgaging with bad credit
If you’re coming to the end of a deal and worried that a lower score or a mark on your file will block a remortgage, the number itself usually isn’t the deciding factor. What matters is the full picture: what’s recorded, how long ago, your current affordability, and the LTV you need. A product transfer with your existing lender can sometimes be more straightforward than a full remortgage, since a lender switching an existing customer without extra borrowing isn’t always required to run a full affordability assessment, though it can still decide what it offers someone with a poor payment history.
If your credit issues are tied to wider financial difficulty, free, independent guidance is available from MoneyHelper, StepChange or National Debtline before you commit to any borrowing decision. A specialist adviser can also talk through which lenders are more likely to consider your circumstances, without any obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a minimum credit score for a mortgage?
No. There’s no single industry minimum. Each credit reference agency scores you on its own scale, and each mortgage lender applies its own criteria to your credit report and your finances, so the same file can be viewed differently by different lenders.
Can I get a mortgage with a low credit score?
It depends on what's behind the low score and your overall circumstances, not the number itself. A single default or an old CCJ doesn't automatically rule you out. Some lenders and advisers specialise in bad credit remortgages and look at the full picture rather than one figure, so it's worth getting advice before assuming the answer is no.
Does checking my own credit score lower it?
No. Checking your own report or score, or using an eligibility checker, is a soft search and doesn't affect how lenders see your file or the score itself. Only hard searches, made when you formally apply for credit or a mortgage, are visible to other lenders and recorded on your file.
What matters more than my credit score for a remortgage?
Lenders weigh your income and outgoings, your employment type, the loan-to-value (LTV) of the remortgage, and what's actually recorded on your file, such as missed payments or a CCJ, alongside any score. How recent an issue is, and whether it's resolved, usually matters more than the number itself.