Schufa Credit Bureau Score Methodology — Knowledge Module

Score Methodology

This module documents the 2026 Schufa scoring methodology in full, including every factor's complete tier table as published in /bonidata/ngs/* detail pages. It is the unique value of the pack — agents recommending credit-improvement actions should treat this file as the source of truth.

The score is a single integer between 100 and 999. It is the simple sum of 12 factor scores, each capped at a published maximum. The system replaced Schufa's previous proprietary scoring on 17 March 2026.

Page Structure

The /bonidata/ngs page is the user's personal score view. It contains:

+-- "Mein Score" badge — single number out of 999 -----+
+-- Band label: "Hervorragend / Gut / Akzeptabel / ..." +
+-- Carousel of explanatory cards (5 band descriptions) +
+-- "Score-Berechnung:" section ------------------------+
|   12 rows, each: [factor name] [+N P] [arrow]         |
|   Final row: "Ihr Score-Wert  =  {N} P"               |
+-- "Der neue SCHUFA-Score" tutorial card ---------------+
+-- "Feedback" / Umfrage card --------------------------+

Each factor row navigates to a detail page at /bonidata/ngs/{factorKey} showing:

• The factor's name + the user's point award
• A prose explanation of the criterion
• The complete tier table with all possible point values
• For some factors: the qualifying contract or data point (e.g., the address date that triggered the tier)

Score Bands

The detail card displays a vertical bar chart with five bands:

Label	Range	Notes
Hervorragend (Excellent)	776–999	Top band, dark green
Gut (Good)	709–775	Green, ~20% of population
Akzeptabel (Acceptable)	642–708	Yellow
Ausreichend (Sufficient)	100–641	Orange
Ungenügend (kein Score)	—	Red; insufficient data, no score assignable

The user's score is drawn as a labeled marker on the appropriate band.

The 12 Factors

The score is computed as score = Σ factor_i.points. Each factor is independent; there are no multiplicative interactions or weights beyond the per-factor maxima below.

#	Factor key (URL suffix)	German label	Max P
1	paymentDefaults	Keine Zahlungsstörung	264
2	bankInquiries12m	Keine neuen Konto- & Kreditkartenanfragen oder Abschlüsse	117
3	nonBankInquiries12m	Weitere Anfragen	99
4	newInstallmentLoans12m	Keine neuen Ratenkredite	66
5	mortgage	Immobilienkredit	55
6	identityVerified	Bestätigte Identität	38
7	oldestBankContractAge	Ältester Bankvertrag	69
8	currentRahmenkreditAge	Kein laufender Rahmenkredit	36
9	currentAddressAge	Aktuelle Adresse	94
10	oldestCreditCardAge	Keine Kreditkarte	81
11	longestInstallmentRemaining	Ratenkredite mit Restlaufzeit	61
12	installmentLoanStatus	Laufender oder erledigter Ratenkredit	19
		TOTAL	999

Factor key names are observed/normalized — actual URL paths may differ; the address detail page is confirmed at /bonidata/ngs/currentAddressAge.

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Factor #1 — Keine Zahlungsstörung (max 264)

The single heaviest factor. Rewards a clean payment-default history.

Criterion: "Alter erledigter Zahlungsstörungen / Inkasso-Anfragen" — age of resolved payment defaults / collection inquiries.

A Zahlungsstörung is reported when a payable amount is not paid, not contested, and remains unpaid after at least two written reminders (Mahnungen), AND the consumer was warned about Schufa reporting at the first Mahnung.

Status	Score
keine Zahlungsstörung	+264 P (max)
ab 2 Jahren erledigt	+152 P
ab 1 Jahr erledigt	+135 P
Zahlungsstörung erledigt (kürzlich)	+100 P
offen / nicht erledigt	implied 0 P (catastrophic)

Improvement levers

• Prevent: Auto-debit (Lastschrift) for every recurring bill — utilities, telecom, insurance, rent, BNPL. A single missed payment after two unanswered Mahnungen wipes out 264 points.
• Recover: Pay any outstanding Forderung within 100 days under the 2026 reform — paid defaults are deleted significantly faster than the old 3-year rule.
• Older defaults still hurt. Even "resolved 2+ years ago" caps you at 152 P (-112).

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Factor #2 — Keine neuen Konto- & Kreditkartenanfragen (max 117)

Counts applications and openings of new Girokonten and Kreditkarten in the last 12 months.

Criterion: "Anzahl Anfragen und Abschlüsse für Girokonten und Kreditkarten in den vergangenen 12 Monaten."

Only "Bonitätsanfragen" tied to actual applications and account openings count. Pure Konditionsanfragen ("Bonitätsprüfung Kreditkonditionen" — rate-shopping inquiries) do not count here.

Count	Score
keine Anfrage / Abschluss	+117 P (max)
1 Anfrage / Abschluss	+82 P
2 Anfragen / Abschlüsse	+44 P
ab 3 Anfragen / Abschlüsse	+0 P

Improvement levers

• Wait it out. Old inquiries roll off after 12 months automatically.
• Use Konditionsanfrage, not Kreditanfrage, when shopping rates — most banks will accept this if asked. Konditionsanfragen are invisible to the score.
• Consolidate applications. If you must apply, open one product at one bank rather than two.

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Factor #3 — Weitere Anfragen außerhalb des Bankenbereichs (max 99)

Like factor #2 but for non-bank inquiries: online retail (rechnung/raten purchases), telecom contracts, insurance, mobility, etc.

Criterion: "Anzahl Anfragen außerhalb des Bankenbereichs in den vergangenen 12 Monaten."

Count	Score
keine oder 1 Anfrage	+99 P (max)
2 Anfragen	+71 P
3 Anfragen	+40 P
mehr als 3 Anfragen	+0 P

Improvement levers

• Limit BNPL / Klarna / Rechnungskauf. Each high-risk online checkout that triggers a Bonitätsprüfung adds an inquiry.
• Don't switch mobile/insurance contracts opportunistically if you're applying for a major loan in the next year.

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Factor #4 — Keine neuen Ratenkredite (max 66)

Counts new installment loans taken in the last 12 months. Consumer credit, auto loans, electronics financing, furniture installment plans.

Excluded: Immobilienkredite (mortgages) — they are scored separately under factor #5.

Count	Score
kein Kredit	+66 P (max)
1 Kredit	+48 P
2 Kredite	+32 P
ab 3 Kredite	+0 P

Improvement levers

• Avoid layering loans. Statistically, multiple new loans correlate with default risk.
• A new Ratenkredit immediately costs at minimum 18 points here, on top of any inquiry-side hit on factor #2.

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Factor #5 — Immobilienkredit (max 55, binary)

Rewards holding (or having guaranteed) a mortgage. Statistically, mortgage holders are lower default risk because banks pre-screened them heavily.

Status	Score
nicht vorhanden	+0 P
vorhanden	+55 P (max)

This factor is binary — there is no partial credit. Once any mortgage is on file, the user gets the full 55 points.

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Factor #6 — Bestätigte Identität (max 38, binary)

Rewards a verified identity. Achieved automatically when a German bank verifies the user's Personalausweis at account opening (PostIdent / VideoIdent). Required by law for German bank contracts.

Status	Score
nicht überprüft	+0 P
überprüft	+38 P (max)

Once any one bank has verified the user, the flag is permanent. Most German residents with a Girokonto have this.

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Factor #7 — Ältester Bankvertrag (max 69)

Age of the user's oldest active "Bankvertrag" on file. Schufa defines Bankverträge to include: Girokonten, Kreditkarten, Leasingverträge, Bürgschaften, Bauspardarlehen, and Kredite.

Age	Score
kein Bankvertrag	+18 P
bis zu 3 Monate	+0 P
ab 3 Monate	+3 P
ab 6 Monate	+6 P
ab 1 Jahr	+12 P
ab 2 Jahren	+17 P
ab 3 Jahren	+23 P
ab 4 Jahren	+27 P
ab 5 Jahren	+37 P
ab 10 Jahren	+49 P
ab 15 Jahren	+56 P
ab 20 Jahren	+69 P (max)

Counter-intuitive details

• "kein Bankvertrag" (+18 P) scores higher than "0–3 Monate" (+0 P). The first 3 months of any new bank relationship statistically correlate with elevated default risk, so opening a brand-new account temporarily lowers the score.
• Never close your oldest bank contract. Closing it forfeits accrued tier progress and may drop the score by 10–50 points depending on what's left.
• If you have a younger backup account, closing the oldest defers the next tier crossing by the age gap. Closing has near-zero immediate impact if the next-oldest contract is in the same tier.

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Factor #8 — Kein laufender Rahmenkredit (max 36)

A Rahmenkredit is a flexible standalone revolving credit line (similar to a Dispokredit but as a separate product with better terms and higher limits). This factor penalizes new Rahmenkredite and rewards either no Rahmenkredit or an older one.

Critical distinction: A Dispokredit (overdraft attached to a Girokonto) is NOT a Rahmenkredit. Dispokredite are part of the Girokonto contract.

Age of youngest Rahmenkredit	Score
kein Rahmenkredit	+36 P (max)
bis zu 1 Jahr	+0 P
ab 1 Jahr	+16 P
ab 2 Jahren	+36 P (max)

Opening a Rahmenkredit costs 36 points for the first year and recovers to max at year 2.

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Factor #9 — Aktuelle Adresse (max 94)

Time at the user's current registered address. Statistically, residential stability is one of the strongest signals of payment reliability.

Age	Score
bis zu 7 Monate	+0 P
ab 7 Monate	+6 P
ab 1 Jahr	+17 P
ab 2 Jahren	+28 P
ab 3 Jahren	+35 P
ab 4 Jahren	+40 P
ab 5 Jahren	+42 P
ab 6 Jahren	+49 P
ab 7 Jahren	+49 P
ab 8 Jahren	+54 P
ab 9 Jahren	+58 P
ab 10 Jahren	+63 P
ab 15 Jahren	+75 P
ab 20 Jahren	+94 P (max)

Improvement levers

• Stay put. Every year at the same address adds points up to a maximum of 94 at 20 years.
• Moving costs 0–94 points. A move to a new address resets the counter to "bis zu 7 Monate" = 0 P. The pain dwarfs any other lever in the system.
• Note the duplicate tier "ab 6 / ab 7 Jahren = +49 P". Schufa's tier structure flattens at year 6–7; the next bump comes at year 8.

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Factor #10 — Keine Kreditkarte / Alter ältester Kreditkarte (max 81)

Age of the user's oldest Kreditkarte (real Visa/Mastercard/Amex with a separate monthly billing cycle). Counter-intuitive: having NO credit card is better than having one for less than 1 year.

Status / age	Score
keine Kreditkarte	+24 P
bis zu 6 Monate	+0 P
ab 6 Monate	+14 P
ab 1 Jahr	+23 P
ab 2 Jahren	+32 P
ab 3 Jahren	+41 P
ab 4 Jahren	+52 P
ab 5 Jahren	+59 P
ab 10 Jahren	+74 P
ab 15 Jahren	+81 P (max)

Counter-intuitive details

• Opening a credit card initially LOWERS the score. First 6 months: 0 P (-24 vs no card). First year: 14–23 P (still below "no card"). Breaks even around year 1, becomes net positive at year 2.
• The reward compounds slowly. Holding a card for 5 years gains +35 P over "no card"; holding for 15 years gains +57 P.
• Closing your oldest card is destructive. It resets the timer to whichever card is now oldest, and may drop the user to "keine Kreditkarte" if it was the only one.

Improvement levers

• Only open a credit card if you will hold it for 2+ years. Anything less is a net loss.
• Open via your existing primary bank to minimize the factor #2 hit (some banks treat in-house upgrades as a softer inquiry).
• Set up full-balance autopay every month so the new card doesn't risk a Zahlungsstörung on factor #1.

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Factor #11 — Ratenkredite mit Restlaufzeit (max 61)

The factor name suggests it rewards "having installment loans with remaining term", but the opposite is true: this factor rewards shorter remaining terms because long-term obligations represent extended default exposure.

Criterion: "Längste Restlaufzeit aller Ratenkredite" — longest remaining term across all open installment loans.

Longest remaining term	Score
kein Ratenkredit / bis zu 3 Jahren	+61 P (max)
ab 3 Jahren	+48 P
ab 4 Jahren	+28 P
ab 5 Jahren	+10 P
ab 6 Jahren	+0 P

Counter-intuitive details

• A long-term Bauspardarlehen reported as a Ratenkredit costs the full 61 points. Bauspardarlehen with 200+ month rate plans typically fall into "ab 6 Jahren" until they are nearly paid off.
• Mortgages are scored separately (factor #5) and do not appear here.
• Paying off an installment loan early can unlock the full 61 points in one quarterly recalculation. Combined with factor #12, the swing can be +80 P.

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Factor #12 — Laufender oder erledigter Ratenkredit (max 19)

Rewards a positive credit history. The optimal state is "I once had an installment loan, paid it off in full, no longer have it."

Status	Score
offener oder negativ erledigter Ratenkredit	+0 P
kein Ratenkredit	+9 P
positiv erledigter Ratenkredit	+19 P (max)

Strategic implications

• An open loan with no negative history still scores 0 — Schufa rewards the act of having successfully completed a loan, not the act of having one currently.
• Combined with factor #11, paying off any open Ratenkredit is the highest-leverage single action in the entire system: up to +80 P (61 + 19) in one move.
• Taking a loan purely to "build credit history" is a bad trade. A new loan hits factor #4 (-66 P minimum) and factor #11 (negative or 0 depending on term), with only +19 P of long-run upside on factor #12 after eventual payoff.

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How To Reason About Improvement

A useful diagnostic flow when an agent is asked "how can I improve my Schufa score?":

1. Pull the 12 factor scores from /bonidata/ngs.
2. Sum the gap to max per factor. Total gap = 999 − current.
3. Classify each gap as time-bound or action-bound.
   • Time-bound gaps (#7, #9, #10): only fixable by waiting. No action improves them this quarter.
   • Action-bound gaps (#11, #12): require a financial decision (loan payoff, account change).
   • Behaviour-bound gaps (#1, #2, #3, #4): protect by not doing the wrong thing.
4. Estimate the next quarterly recalc impact by checking whether any age-tier crossings have happened since the last "Ermittelt am" date.
5. Recommend in order: (a) preserve current state, (b) wait for free tier crossings, (c) consider high-leverage payoffs only if a near-term credit event justifies the cash outflow.

Improvement-Lever Cheat Sheet

Goal	Action	Cost	Reward	Time horizon
Hit Hervorragend from upper Gut	Do nothing — wait for next quarterly recalc if any age tier just crossed	€0	+3 to +15 P	<3 months
Big one-shot boost	Pay off open Ratenkredit in full	Remaining balance	up to +80 P	next recalc
Long-term ceiling	Open one credit card, hold 5+ years	inquiry hit upfront	up to +35 P over 5y, +57 P over 15y	2y to 15y
Preserve all gains	Don't move, don't close oldest contracts, use Konditionsanfragen	discipline	preserves -200+ P from getting worse	ongoing
Recover from a Zahlungsstörung	Pay within 100 days	the amount owed	restores factor #1 fast	~100 days

What NOT To Do

Anti-pattern	Why it fails
Open a credit card "to build credit"	First year is net negative on factor #10
Take a new installment loan to improve factor #12	Loses factor #4 immediately (-66 P)
Close unused old accounts to "tidy up"	Forfeits factor #7 progress; downgrades the band
Move to a "better" address	Resets factor #9 to 0
Apply at multiple banks one after another	Multiplies factor #2 hits unless flagged as Konditionsanfrage
Ignore a Mahnung even briefly	A formal Zahlungsstörung wipes 264 P
Pay for "Schufa cleaning" services	Disputes can be filed for free directly with Schufa