What is SCHUFA: all about your credit rating in Germany and how to keep it high.
Among all the hurdles I had to conquer when moving to Germany, I never thought one of the tallest ones would be a credit rating institution. Yes, the first time I heard of it, I also asked myself: what is SCHUFA? And why does it represent such a challenge for newcomers to Germany?
This post aims at answering all that, based on personal experience and additional research.
What is SCHUFA: a somewhat intrusive credit record
SCHUFA Holding AG is a company acting as a central place where information about you (as a consumer) is sourced from utility suppliers, banks, internet providers & more. The company will track all bills or fines over time. Using this raw data and parsing it through an algorithm of their own, they create and record a credit rating score for all German residents. That’s why people say “SCHUFA”, they mean the record held by the company.
The company is basically rating your ability to pay bills. This record (called SCHUFA Auskunft) will follow you everywhere as consumer in your everyday life, you‘d better keep it clean. Otherwise, consequences could be serious.
Its impact on everyday life
Your SCHUFA record will play a role at almost every major step of way in your new life in Germany. Your record will be checked by companies like Deutsche Telekom when opening a phone line or by your bank when you apply for a loan. They will then be able to tell if you have debts or not and if you can be trusted as a customer.
Most crucially for newcomers; landlords will require to see your SCHUFA score to be able to sign the lease. This can be challenging because newcomers often don’t have a SCHUFA score to start with! This often why we tend to move into flat share, sublets or short-term accomodation first.
It can also be a lot more trivial: I was not able to buy my phone as part of my mobile phone contract because my SCHUFA score was non-existent at the time.
That sounds awful, but is it really all that bad?
What is SCHUFA: an efficient way to limit your debts
The cleanest SCHUFA score (called “Basisscore” you get at the beginning is rated at 100%, in theory however. If you don’t pay your bills, this score will decrease accordingly to how much you have been naughty. If it does, it can limit your ability to undertake other contracts which can be frustrating. However, this system is preventing that you become overwhelmed by debts overtime. However, even if you pay all your debts, your score will go down a few percents for some reason. It is completely fine to have score down to 95% for example.
To give you perspective, here are the different “Basisscore” tiers and what they mean. It measure the probability with which you will honor your bills, credits, contracts, etc.
| Score value | Risk assessment – Level of risk |
|---|---|
| > 97,5 % | Very low |
| 95 % – 97,5 % | Low to negligible |
| 90 % – 95 % | Satisfactory to elevated |
| 80 % – 90 % | Fairly elevated |
| 50 % – 80 % | Very elevated |
| < 50 % | Critical |
That’s not all bad you see. Schufa actually stands for : “Schutzorganisation für Allgemeine Kreditsicherung” which roughly translates to “Organisation for general credit safety protection”
How to get a free SCHUFA record
Any German resident has a legal right to review the data contained in their SCHUFA score, as per defined by law (§ 34 Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG)) This is why you can request at least one free copy once a year. SCHUFA calls it “Datenübersicht” (Data overview) or “Datenkopie“. This free record contains all the necessary information for landlords.
This is how you get a free SCHUFA record:
- Browse to SCHUFA’s website and find this page.
- Look for the right column titled “”Datenkopie (nach Art. 15 DS-GVO)“” and click “Jetzt bestellen”.
- The next screen contains several fields to input your personal information. Fill them in. You can also upload a copy of your ID card, passport & Meldebescheinigung (residence registration certificate).
- Once you have submitted a request, you will receive a paper copy by mail after several days.
How to get a SCHUFA record fast
You might need your SCHUFA record faster than what the free method allows. In this case you can turn to another option.
You can order a BonitätsAuskunft record for a 29,95€ fee, directly from SCHUFA’s website on this page.
- Click on “Jetzt bestellen” and follow the screens, requesting your personal information.
- Fill in the payment method/information.
- Download your SCHUFA report right away.
Alternatively, you can also queue at one of the Postbank branches to obtain a printed copy for the same price.
FAQ
Your SCHUFA record is the German credit score. It contains all the data you generate as a consumer, together with an overall rating.
You can order a record from the company directly on the following website. It costs 29,95€. (click on Bonitätauskunft on the homepage) : https://www.meineschufa.de/. Some Postbank centers do offer to print one for you on the spot as well for the same fee. No need to be a Postbank customer. This report is the preferred by landlords, because it contains all the details.
However, you are entitled to a few free requests per year that you can also get from the same website here. On this page, click “Jetzt bestellen” on the right “Datenkopie (nach Art. 15 DS-GVO)“ column. Enter your data on the page that follows. You will be able to upload a copy of your passport (“Dokumentupload” > “Kopie des Reisepasses”) and a copy your Meldebescheinigung with it.
This is typical chicken-&-egg situation for many foreigners moving to Germany: landlords ask for a SCHUFA record for you to rent their flat, but you don’t have one since you are not registered (Anmeldung) and can’t open a bank account… because you don’t have a place yet. If you are in this situation, you might want to go for a flat share (WG) and register there until you find your own place. You can also turn to services like Wunderflats, which lets you rent furnished flats without a SCHUFA record.
To keep a good SCHUFA score (above 95%), those are the few recommended things:
Don’t open too many bank accounts in different banks and limit the amount of credit cards you own.
Don’t switch bank account too often.
If possible, try to keep healthy reserve in the accounts you own.
Pay your bills on time.
Check your SCHUFA-score once a year and correct any mistakes you might see.
Not at all. Your current employment situation is not relevant for your SCHUFA score. Making use of unemployment benefits is also not relevant.
However, if through that loss of income, you run into trouble paying your expenses on time, this will be reflected negatively and lower your score.
As it turns out, there are several. SCHUFA remains the most important and influential one but other ones can hold data about you. That is a bit scary i know, and quite unexpected from a country so strict about data privacy. You can find out about them and request a record from each via this website for free.
It’s not possible to use foreign sources to influence your current rating unfortunately.
As a newcomer, it will be automatically created when you have completed your Anmeldung at the Bürgeramt, opened a bank account, and paid a few bills with an internet access provider for example.
Their FAQs on the matter is not giving any magic formula unfortunately. The only thing you can do is try to resolve the cause of that negative entry as soon as possible and keep the rest of your financial related affairs in order. This mainly means paying all your bills and credits in time, and never use your overdraft possibilities if possible.
Negative records are impacting your score up to 3 years after you resolved your unpaid bills case and it can be kept as a “FYI side note” for up to 6 years overall. See a detailed table hereafter.
If you go for the paid version in the form of a subscription, you have access to your data at any time. If you want to order the free version, you can request it a few times per year. There is no clear number on this, only that it should be “appropriate”, as per EU law. I guess 2-3 times a year is all you will need anyway.
| Information entry | How long it stays in your record |
|---|---|
| Entries about credits / loans | 3 years after paying it back |
| Credit / loan requests | 12 months after request |
| Entries about your current bank accounts and credit cards | When closing the account |
| Requests from third-party companies | 12 months after request at the latest. |
| Entries about paying your bills late | 3 years or 4 years in case of unresolved disputes or longer sometimes. |
| Entries coming from the Amtsgericht concerning your possible debts | 3 years or sooner if debt has been declared resolved by the Amtsgericht. |
| Customer accounts with third-party companies | 3 years |
2 more important things
The SCHUFA will hold information about you long after you leave Germany and at a European level too. If you plan to leave unpaid bills behind and then come back to Germany, you might have to think twice before doing it. It could become harsh back fire in the near future.
This system makes that your personal wealth, your personal property or yearly income doesn’t have any influence on your record ! You could be the richest man in the world but still have the worst record if you didn’t pay your bills. Just bear that in mind.
I hope this introduction to a very German institution cleared things up fro you. Feel free to ask questions in the comments.
Hi, thanks for the information. After paying for my Schufa, how often can i request a copy? I need a flat and every landlord is requesting for a Schufa. Is this information possible to be gotten online?
Hey Stanley. You can request one original record. You can then submit copies of that to each landlord.
Hey, PLEASE HELP.
My friend ordered a gift for me (ordering using my name and address) on zalando and paid with SEPA-directdebit. The payment declined but she doesnt wanna pay it. Will it affect my SCHUFA?
Hey Gabriella. I don’t get it. If it was declined then the story ends there. What is the worry?
Hi and thanks for the informative website. I have an outstanding postpaid mobile bill from my previous stay with work permit in Germany. An year later Now, I have applied for work permit again. will this affect anyway in getting my Visa?
Hey Peggy. From my knowledge, only criminal offenses may impact your chances.
Hi, you run an amazing website. Your article taught me a lot today. I have one question though. In countries like the US you can add someone as an authorized user in order to speed up their credit score and history but since Germans use schufa, is there a way you can add someone e.g (foreigner new in berlin) as an authorized user in order to help their history also? If so how? Thank you.
Hey Nonso. This doesn’t exist in Germany, afaik.
Hi, I left Germany about 8 years ago.
I recently wanted get my Schufa however appears you can only pay from a German bank account, is that correct ? How would I go about getting from overseas ?
Hey Kendell. It seems that only bank accounts supporting SEPA can purchase a record. That would be the case of all EU based bank accounts.
My boyfriend bought something online as a loan and forgot to return it and was therefore charged for the purchasing of the item. I now got my SCHUFA and it has been negatively effected because of this one thing. If i claim that i did not make this purchase will my boyfriend be charged with fraud or will the overdue credit just be switched to his SCHUFA report? THanks!
Hey Marcel. I have no idea what’s going on: your boyfriend made a mistake and your SCHUFA score suffers for it? Why would that be?
Hello Bastien,
Thanks for running this website. Very helpful!
My current situation is that I want to leave Germany for couple of months and work from my home country for a while.
I have already informed landlord (living in WG) about my leave. What I am concerned of it, whether “paying rent” is absolutely necessary for the Schufa? Do they check those kind of payments? I will still remain my Anmeldung, already agreed with landlord and flatmates to still get post on this address and not to cause any issues in future. Hope this approach works 🙂 Thanks in advance
Hey Sophie. Not paying rent in Germany does not lead to a negative penalty on your SCHUFA score, if this is what you ask.
Hi, does SCHUFA checks the ‘ARD Radio’ bill?
Hey Sai. If you don’t pay them, yes it will impact your SCHUFA score negatively.
Hi . I have question: I moved from Netherlands in April. And when I ask my Schufa score for the first time was like 400 hight risk . And when I contact the Schufa they told me this score because I’m new in Germany and they don’t know about my kredit history . How that possible?? And why ?
Hey Marwan. Yes, that is not unheard of. This is why you need to populate your SCHUFA record as fast as possible.
Hi actually I want to ask a question I just buy a mobile from Vodafone on contract but I go back to my country and can’t come back to Germany now I am planning to apply for another Eu country does this Schufa have any effect on my visa because due to pandemic I can’t pay my installments
Hey Yousaf. Do you mean that you want to leave the country without paying for the phone fully? Not sure i understand…
Hi , If we pay minimum dues of the credit card properly on time, will it the scufa score will be reduced. Will that also be considered as payment missed? or will it be considered as payment paid?
Hey Pavithra. What do you mean by “dues”, you mean bills?
Hey, I was wondering if there is a standard “starting rate” for everyone?
I am in Berlin from a bit more than 2 years now, I have a good Job and always paid bills/rent on time, never had any trouble and my actual score is 257… is that good? Is this going to be better with time? I see the best score is below 200, do I have any chance to jump in the best class? How long it usually takes?
Thanks for any reply!
F.
Hey Francesco. Where do you take those values from? The one i am aware of in expressed in %.
Hey!
I have a question, I just got my Schufa check as I am planning to rent an apartment. However, they did not give me a score but only “Es liegen uns zum
ausschließlich positive Vertragsinformationen vor.” had this, and no score in terms of number. What does this mean, is it normal? Am I still able to use this to rent an apartment?
Thank you very much!
Hey Grace. Yes, this is normal. It only means that there is no data yes. You can still use this in my opinion. At least, it shows the landlord that you don’t have negative entries.
Hi! Thanks for providing all this helpful info!
Mine is a tough one to ask. I lived in Stuttgart for a period of 7 months. My 3 last months there i rented a small apartment. Having difficulties with the language at the beginning i ignored some letters from the TV licence company & the garbage service. On te 7th month i had a tragedy back home and i had to leave the country. Prior to that i got to de-register myself from the City council. I sent an email to my apartment agency to let them know i’m leaving & i closed my bank account. Unfortunately i didn’t think of taking care of the TV licence letters, the garbage service, i also left the electricity account on my name for the apartment, and didn’t close the health insurance (gesundheitkasse) neither. As i said it was a tough period of my life and i wasn’t making the right decisions. Do you think my debt is accumulated further more & if i want to return to Germany some day, will my credit score be on rock-bottom? Thanks a lot 🙂
Hey Bobby. Life’s not easy sometimes but there is no telling how the different companies reacted. As far as they can tell, you just stopped paying/replying so yes, there is a good chance there might be a debt mountain pilling up. That is unless those companies took steps to recover money and in the process realized you left the country and stopped there. There is no way to know for sure. Your SCHUFA score is probably going to impacted negatively either way though.
Hi,
I have a case where I received a Balif letter asking for 125 euros. Basically myself and my partner live in Switzerland and purchased an apartment in Leipzig but unfortunately they sent the land tax bill/document to the wrong address. We realised in March and called them and payment was done immediately. The Office in Leipzig confirmed everything was paid over the phone and quoted a reference.
Unfortunately the Balif letter received this month was for another identical amount to the one paid as they had split the original payment between myself and my partner. The bill was paid (including additional 40 euro for Balif) just in time so no court action is needed (would have been required to appear in person if not paid) but now I wonder if we can have this removed from the Shufa or if it even appears as we do not live In Germany?
Seems very unfair as they had sent all other letters to Switzerland.. would we need to contact the local Leipzig office to ask them to have this removed?
Many thanks,
Adam
Hey Adam. You can check your SCHUFA records first to see if it’s showing at all, then call an office to get it corrected if needed.
What about past slip ups before I’ve even received a Schufa score? I had a prepaid sim card ….I thought it deactivated with no debts owed. When I came back to German and use it again it shows unpaid debts. Will this factor into my Schufa score once I get one?
Hey Constance. That’s a great question and i simply don’t know. The best would be to call them and ask directly?