How do I know my CIBIL score?

You keep hearing about the CIBIL score all the time. But did you ever wonder how you are going to get your CIBIL score. For starters, it is always good to keep reviewing your credit score once in 6 months as it gives you an idea of whether your score is deteriorating or improving over a period of time. There are various ways to your credit score. If your basic question is how do I know my CIBIL score or how do I check my CIBIL score online, then you must read on. This is just for you as it answers most of your questions.
 
Easiest way is to use your internet banking facility
 
The easiest way to check your credit score is through your internet banking facility. Once you log into you internet banking, you are given the choice of downloading your credit report directly. The moment you select the option to download, then your bank account is debited by a nominal fee of around Rs.500 and the entire report is available to you in PDF format. This is a simple process since the KYC for your bank account is already done and hence no further authentication is required from your side. The CIBIL report will not only show your score but also the history of payments, defaults (if any), your total indebtedness, your debt risk and a host of other credit analytics for you. Even if you do not have the internet banking facility, there other ways available to you for downloading your credit report. Here is how you can go about the other methods of getting your CIBIL report.
 
You can directly buy the report from CIBIL
 
You can do this directly from the CIBIL website. You can buy your credit report along with the credit score from CIBIL. There are two ways to get your credit report from Credit Information Bureau of India Limited (CIBIL). CIBIL will ask you to authenticate yourself and then will send the report to your registered email id after doing mobile authentication via a one-time password (OTP). You need to pay fees of Rs 500 to get your credit report. In addition, you can also download your CIBIL report from certain financial aggregator websites at no cost. Here also you will need to do the basic mobile authentication before you can access the report. Such reports are available with monthly updates also.
 
You can also get your reports online and offline
 
You can visit www.cibil.coma and download your credit report directly by logging into the secured section after the necessary authentications and OTP confirmation. Once this is done and the fee is paid online, you are eligible to download your credit report from the website directly. You can also write to CIBIL at their registered address with self-attested copies of your documents like PAN card, Aadhar card etc and accompany the request with a cheque / DD for the said amount. The CIBIL will be sent to you by physical mail. In this case, the courier charges will also be added to the cost of the report.
 
Process for checking your CIBIL score online
 
You need to log into the CIBIL website and follow the necessary process to access your credit report:
 

Fill the online request form submitting personal details like name, date of birth, permanent address, and identity and address proofs.

Now you will be redirected to the payment gateway. Here you will be requested to pay an amount of Rs 500 online through your credit card, debit card or net banking.

Once the payment is completed, you will be put through an authentication test. Here, you have to answer 3-5 questions related to your loans and credit cards and then you can instantly access your CIBIL score.

CIBIL provides 1 free credit report once a year to every individual. Anyone, wanting to download credit report from CIBIL more than once in a year has to pay the mentioned fees for each consecutive report after the first one.

The authentication test is to confirm that you are the interested person only. Hence, in the event of your not passing the authentication, you will have to upload your KYC documents along with the online payment confirmation form.

It is always advisable to download a copy of your CIBIL report at least once in 6 months and file it with your financial plan.