What Credit Score Do I Need To Get A Mortgage?

In the UK, there are three main credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Each has its own scoring scale:

• Experian: 0 to 999. Good is 881 and above. Excellent is 961 and above.
• Equifax: 0 to 700. Good is 420 and above.
• TransUnion: 0 to 710. Good is 604 and above.

Your score may differ between agencies because not all lenders report to all three. It is worth checking at least two of them before you apply.

Most high street lenders run their own internal credit assessment. They look at your credit file, not just the headline score.

What they care about most is your payment history, meaning whether you have missed payments on any credit products, how much existing debt you are carrying relative to your credit limits, how long your credit history goes back, whether you have made multiple credit applications recently, and whether you are on the electoral roll.

Being on the electoral roll is one of the easiest things you can do to improve your credit profile. It confirms your identity and address, and most agencies will update your file within one to two months of registering.

A lower score does not automatically mean rejection. It means fewer lenders will consider you, and those that do may offer a higher rate.

A specialist mortgage broker can identify which lenders are most likely to accept your application based on your actual circumstances, rather than you applying to several high street lenders and collecting hard searches on your file each time.
Hard searches, the ones left by formal credit applications, are visible to other lenders and can temporarily lower your score.

Getting a mortgage in principle from most lenders only involves a soft search, which is invisible to lenders and has no impact.

Check your credit file with all three agencies. Errors are more common than people realise, and fixing one can move your score significantly.

• Register to vote if you are not already on the electoral roll.
• Pay down credit card balances where you can. High utilisation relative to your limit is a negative signal.
• Avoid making new credit applications in the three to six months before you apply for a mortgage.
• Do not close old credit accounts. A longer history is better than a shorter one.

The bottom line
Your credit score matters, but it is one input among several. Income stability, deposit size, and your overall monthly outgoings all play a role. A good broker will look at the whole picture before telling you which lenders to approach.

Sources: Money Saving Advice, Experian, Equifax, TransUnion scoring guidance, June 2026. This article is for information only and does not constitute financial advice.

If you are aged 18 to 39, the Lifetime ISA is one of the most efficient ways to save for a deposit. You can put in up to £4,000 a year and the government adds a 25% bonus on top: a free £1,000 a year, paid monthly so it earns interest on the government’s contribution throughout your saving period.

Check out our best Lifetime ISAs round up for more.

The property must be worth £450,000 or less, and you need to have held the account for at least 12 months before using it.

The LISA is being replaced by a new First-Time Buyer ISA in April 2028. Existing accounts are not being closed, and the 25% bonus continues until then. If you are eligible and do not yet have one, opening it now starts the 12-month clock.

The minimum is 5%. If you can stretch to 10%, you will likely get a better rate and lower monthly payments. If you can go further, the savings compound. But waiting years to save a bigger deposit while renting is not automatically the right call either, because you are paying someone else’s mortgage in the meantime.

The right deposit size depends on your income, how long saving will take, and what is available where you want to buy.

Use our Mortgage Calculator to see what you could borrow at different deposit levels.

Sources: ONS UK House Price Index March 2026; Moneyfacts June 2026. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage. This article is for information only and does not constitute financial advice.