If you have moved to Germany, SCHUFA will decide more about your daily life than you expect. It is not a government body — it is a private credit bureau holding records on roughly 68 million people. Landlords, banks, mobile providers and instalment retailers all check it before they say yes.
The two scores — and why they differ
- Basisscore: the 0–100% figure you see. Updated every three months. Above 95% is excellent; below 80% causes problems.
- Industry-specific scores: banks, telecoms and landlords each see a separate 0–10,000 score. Your landlord and your bank are not looking at the same number.
Get your free report (Datenkopie)
Under Article 15 GDPR you are entitled to a free copy of everything held about you. It is called a Datenkopie.
- Go to meineschufa.de.
- Look specifically for “Datenkopie (nach Art. 15 DSGVO)”. Do not confuse it with the paid subscription products displayed more prominently.
- You will need ID verification.
- It arrives by post, typically in 2 weeks, sometimes up to 4.
New since the end of March 2026: SCHUFA now offers a free digital account — you can view your score online at any time and see the 12 criteria behind it, without waiting for post.
The mistake that costs newcomers the most
When comparing loan offers, always ask the bank for a “Konditionenanfrage” (conditions enquiry) — never a “Kreditanfrage” (credit application).
- Konditionenanfrage: does not affect your score and is invisible to other lenders.
- Kreditanfrage: recorded by SCHUFA, visible to other institutions for 12 months, and repeated applications lower your score.
Shopping five banks the wrong way can damage your score on its own, before you have borrowed anything.
The bigger problem: having no SCHUFA record at all
If you have just arrived, you have no SCHUFA history — and in practice that is treated almost as badly as a poor score. Landlords see “keine SCHUFA-Daten vorhanden” and read it as risk.
What actually helps:
- Request the Datenkopie anyway — a “no record” document beats no document.
- Attach your employment contract and last three payslips (Gehaltsabrechnung).
- Ask your employer for an Arbeitgeberbescheinigung (confirmation of employment).
- Get a Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung (proof of no rent arrears) from a previous landlord if you have one.
- Open a German bank account and pay bills on time — a positive record builds in 6–12 months.
Wrong entries — and how long records last
Errors are more common than people assume. If you see something you do not recognise, dispute it in writing; SCHUFA must flag the entry as disputed while it investigates. If that fails, complain free of charge to your state data protection authority (Landesdatenschutzbehörde).
Settled debts are deleted 3 years after the end of the calendar year in which you paid. Paying does not erase the entry immediately, but marking it settled improves your score.
How to improve your score
- Pay every bill on time — by far the strongest single factor.
- Close credit cards and bank accounts you do not use.
- Avoid stacking multiple instalment contracts at once.
- Update your address with banks immediately when you move.
- Request a Datenkopie once a year and clear out errors.
Source: SCHUFA Holding AG and Article 15 GDPR. The exact scoring formula is not published, so the criteria above reflect publicly documented factors.