Reading a credit report is easy if you know what you are looking for. Consumer credit reports are broken down into four different sections:

Identifying Information

This section is easy to read because it contains basic information about your identity. You should find your name and social security number listed, and may also see your current and previous address, telephone numbers, your driver's license number, and information about your spouse. It is important to look over all of this information for accuracy. It isn't unusual for mistakes to appear.

Credit History

Next you will find information about your different credit accounts. The name of each creditor will be listed along with the date you opened the account, the credit limit or loan amount, the balance owed, and detailed payment history. There will also be a notation indicating the status of the account—whether it is opened, closed, inactive, paid, etc.

Public Record

Preferably, this section of your credit report will be completely blank. If anything does appear here, it will most likely be a record of bankruptcy, judgments, or liens on your property. The items that are in the public record section are most devastating to your credit score. If you find inaccuracies in this section it is imperative that you get them corrected.

Inquiries

The final section will be a record of inquiries that have been made on your credit report. Inquiries may have been made by credit card companies, banks, potential employers, or various creditors. Having multiple inquires within short periods of time can look bad, but most parties pulling your credit report won't think anything of multiple mortgage inquiries or multiple auto loan inquiries. Both indicate you were merely shopping around for a good deal.