Understanding the SCHUFA score: what your number really means.
Since March 2026 the score has been a number between 100 and 999 — from twelve published criteria, in five classes. Here is the table, every criterion with its points, the levers behind it and the route to getting rid of wrong entries.
The score table: five classes
776 to 999 excellent (around 62 % of people), 709 to 775 good (around 20 %), 642 to 708 acceptable (around 8 %), 100 to 641 sufficient (around 2 %), no value with an open payment default — insufficient (around 8 %). Source: SCHUFA, retrieved 2 September 2026. Every bank still sets its own thresholds.
The twelve criteria
Payment defaults 264 points, account and card enquiries 117, enquiries outside banking 99, age of address 94, oldest credit card 81, oldest bank contract 69, instalment loans taken out 66, longest remaining term 61, mortgage loan 55, identity check 38, most recent credit line 36, credit status 19 — 999 in total.
What moves the score
No open payment default, bundled enquiries, old contracts kept, a stable address, loans in moderation, wrong data out. FIAON obtains the reports, checks every entry against Section 31 BDSG and the deletion deadlines and handles the correspondence. Nobody can seriously promise a particular number.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good SCHUFA score?
Since March 2026 the scale runs from 100 to 999 points. From 776 points the credit standing counts as “excellent”, from 709 to 775 as “good”, from 642 to 708 as “acceptable”, below that as “sufficient”. Anyone with an open payment default gets no points value but the class “insufficient”. According to SCHUFA, around 62 per cent of people are in the best class.
Where can I see my SCHUFA score free of charge?
Since 17 March 2026 digitally and free: in the SCHUFA account (app.schufa.de) or via the bonify app — with all twelve criteria and the points per criterion. Alongside, the data copy under Art. 15 GDPR by post remains free; only it shows which body reported what. FIAON orders the data copy for you as part of the credit report.
What has become of the base score and the industry scores?
The base score (0 to 100 per cent) was replaced on 17 March 2026. The six industry scores — for banks, savings banks, cooperative banks, telecommunications, retail and mail order — are replaced by the one new score; for companies a transition period applies until the end of 2028. The consumer advice centre found in June 2026 that only about a quarter of contractual partners were using the new score — your bank may temporarily still work with an old value.
How often is the SCHUFA score recalculated?
The new score is calculated from the currently stored data at every enquiry — no longer quarterly like the old base score. A deletion or correction therefore takes effect at the next retrieval, as soon as the credit bureau has changed the data.
Why do I get different decisions from two banks with the same score?
Because the SCHUFA score is only ONE building block. Banks run their own scoring with their own thresholds and weigh in income, account management and product type. The same 720 points can be enough for a card at one bank and not at another — that is why the bank statement is often more decisive than the number.
How quickly does the number change after a deletion?
The entry disappears from the report with the deletion; at the next retrieval the score calculates without it. A settled payment default does, however, count with reduced weight for up to three years after settlement under the published criteria — unlike a deleted one that should never have been reported. Nobody can seriously promise that a particular number will be reached.