Metro 2 Account Type Codes (Field 15)
Identifies what kind of credit product the tradeline is, and pins it to a Portfolio Type.
56 codes documented · Base Segment · 2 characters at position 84–85 · CRRG Exhibits 1 & 2 (Account Type Codes)
All account type codes at a glance
How account type codes work
The Account Type code says what the account actually is: an auto loan, a bankcard, a conventional mortgage, a utility account, a collection placement. It is the most granular product descriptor in the Base Segment, and it is the field that determines whether the rest of your record makes sense. Report a mortgage account type and the bureaus expect mortgage-shaped data underneath it.
Every account type belongs to a Portfolio Type, and that pairing is not advisory. Portfolio Type is a single character (C for line of credit, I for installment, M for mortgage, O for open, R for revolving) and it drives which other fields are required. An installment account type expects Terms Duration and a Scheduled Monthly Payment. A revolving or line-of-credit account type expects a Credit Limit and makes utilization meaningful. An open account type resets each cycle, so a carried balance on one is usually a mapping error rather than a real balance. Reporting an account type under the wrong portfolio type is one of the most common structural errors in a first production file.
A handful of account types also change which supplemental segments you owe. Collection and debt-buyer types put the K1 Original Creditor Name segment in play, and if the debt was bought or sold, the K2 segment as well. Mortgage types are where the K3 segment matters. Lease and balloon products bring in the K4 Specialized Payment Information segment. The account type is the signal that tells a validator which of those to look for.
Pick the most specific code that is true. A code like real-estate-type-unknown exists for the case where you genuinely do not know which mortgage program the loan came from, not as a default for a furnisher who has not finished mapping their loan system.
Consumer Installment Loans
Closed-end consumer loans repaid in equal installments over a fixed term.
Unsecured Loan
A closed-end installment loan advanced on the borrower's signature alone, with no collateral pledged. The default account type for a personal loan.
Home-Improvement Loan
A closed-end installment loan advanced to pay for improvements to a residence, reported as an installment obligation rather than as a mortgage.
Installment Sales Contract
A retail installment sales contract: the consumer buys goods and pays for them over a fixed schedule, with the seller or its finance assignee holding the paper.
Note Loan
A closed-end loan evidenced by a promissory note, used where the lender's product does not map to a more specific installment account type.
Debt-Consolidation Loan
A single installment loan taken out to pay off several existing obligations, replacing multiple debts with one scheduled payment.
Attorney-Fee Loan
An installment loan taken out by a consumer to pay legal fees, repaid on a fixed schedule to the lender that financed them.
Secured and Collateralized Installment
Installment loans backed by specific collateral, including vehicles, equipment, and leases.
Auto Loan
A closed-end installment loan taken out to purchase a vehicle, secured by that vehicle. The most heavily furnished account type in the consumer file after bankcards.
Secured Loan (Non-Specific Collateral)
A closed-end installment loan backed by collateral the Metro 2 format has no dedicated account type for, such as a share account, a certificate of deposit, securities, or equipment.
Partially-Secured Loan
A closed-end installment loan where the pledged collateral covers only part of the amount advanced, leaving the remainder unsecured.
Construction Loan
A loan financing the construction of a building, typically drawn in stages against completed work and repaid or converted when construction finishes.
Recreational Merchandise
A closed-end installment loan financing recreational goods such as boats, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and personal watercraft, secured by the item purchased.
Auto Lease
A closed-end lease of a motor vehicle, where the consumer makes fixed monthly payments for a fixed term and the lessor keeps title to the vehicle.
Secured Home-Improvement Loan
A fixed-term loan for improvements to the consumer's home, secured by a lien on the property or on the improvements themselves.
Revolving Accounts
Cards and charge accounts that revolve a balance against a minimum payment.
Charge Account (Store Exclusive)
A revolving credit account usable only at one retailer or retail family, sometimes called a private-label card. The consumer can charge, pay down, and charge again.
Flexible-Spending Credit Card (No Preset Limit)
A charge or credit card with no preset spending limit, where the amount the consumer may charge flexes with their behaviour rather than sitting at a fixed line.
Credit Card (Bankcard)
A general-purpose revolving credit card accepted across a payment network. The highest-volume account type in the consumer file and the primary input to revolving utilization.
Secured Credit Card
A revolving credit card whose line is backed by a cash deposit the consumer places with the issuer, typically used to establish or rebuild credit.
Combined Credit Plan
A revolving arrangement where two network card accounts, historically a Visa and a MasterCard, are billed to the consumer on a single combined statement.
Lines of Credit
Draw-and-repay credit lines with a fixed limit, secured or unsecured.
Personal Line of Credit
An open-end personal credit line the consumer can draw against, repay, and draw against again, up to an approved limit, without a card as the access device.
Debit Card Backed by a Line of Credit / Overdraft Protection
A checking-account debit card or draft account with an attached credit line that funds transactions the deposit balance cannot cover. The credit line, not the deposit account, is what gets reported.
Credit Line, Secured (Non-Card)
A revolving line of credit that is collateralized by something other than real estate and is accessed by draft, transfer, or advance rather than by a credit card.
Commercial Line of Credit (Personally Liable)
A business line of credit on which an individual consumer is personally liable, so the obligation appears on that individual's consumer file.
Home-Equity Line of Credit
A revolving line of credit secured by the consumer's residence, drawn and repaid during a draw period and then typically amortized during a repayment period.
Business Line of Credit, Personally Guaranteed
A business line of credit that an individual has personally guaranteed, making the guarantor's file the place the obligation is reported.
Mortgage and Real Estate
Real-estate-secured loans, including agency programs and construction lending.
Real Estate, Type Unknown
A real-estate secured obligation where the specific mortgage programme is not identified. The Appendix A source directs furnishers to use the specific code (19, 25, 26, 6B, or 2C) whenever the type is known.
Manufactured-Housing Loan
A loan financing a manufactured or mobile home. The Appendix A source lists this code with two permitted Portfolio Types, I and M, because the same collateral can be financed as personal property or as real property.
Conventional Real-Estate Mortgage (Purchase-Money First)
A conventional first-lien residential mortgage with no government insurance or guaranty behind it. The default mortgage account type in most portfolios.
Open Accounts
Pay-in-full obligations that reset each cycle: utilities, rentals, support orders, and placements.
Debt-Buyer Account
An account purchased from another creditor by a debt buyer, furnished by the buyer as the current owner of the receivable.
Rental Agreement
A consumer or residential rental agreement furnished as a credit obligation, most often monthly residential rent reported by a landlord, property manager, or rent-reporting service.
Telecommunications / Cellular
A wireless, landline, internet, or cable service account billed in arrears, where the consumer owes the full balance each cycle rather than repaying an advance.
Returned Check
An unpaid obligation created when a consumer's check was returned unpaid, leaving the payee owed the face amount plus any returned-item charge.
Utility Open Account
A metered or recurring utility service account, such as electricity, gas, water, or waste, billed in arrears with the full balance due each cycle.
Government Obligations
Guaranteed and direct government loans, grants, overpayments, fines, and fees.
FHA Home-Improvement Loan
A home-improvement installment loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration, most commonly under the Title I program. The federal insurance is what separates it from code 04.
FHA Real-Estate Mortgage
A residential mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, originated by an FHA-approved lender and reported as a mortgage obligation.
VA Real-Estate Mortgage
A residential mortgage guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, available to eligible service members, veterans, and surviving spouses.
USDA (Rural Development) Mortgage
A residential mortgage originated under a United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development programme, guaranteed or made directly by the agency for eligible rural properties.
Government Unsecured Guaranteed Loan
A loan made by a private lender, guaranteed by a government entity, with no collateral pledged. The government stands behind the loan but did not originate it.
Government Secured Guaranteed Loan
A loan advanced by a private lender under a government guarantee, with collateral pledged by the borrower. Both a guarantor and collateral stand behind the debt.
Government Unsecured Direct Loan
A loan advanced directly by a government agency to the consumer, with no collateral pledged. The government is the lender, not a guarantor.
Government Secured Direct Loan
A loan advanced directly by a government agency with collateral pledged by the borrower. The agency is both the lender and the lienholder.
Government Grant
Grant funds that the consumer has become obligated to repay, typically because a condition attached to the grant was not met.
Government Over-Payment
Money a government entity paid to or on behalf of the consumer in excess of what was owed, which the consumer is now obligated to return.
Government Fine
A monetary penalty imposed on the consumer by a government entity and now owed as a debt.
Government Fee for Service
An unpaid charge for a service a government entity actually provided to the consumer, such as a permit, inspection, or municipal service charge.
Government Employee Advance
An advance made by a government employer to an employee, such as a travel or salary advance, that the employee is obligated to repay.
Government Miscellaneous Debt
A debt owed to a government entity that does not fit any of the more specific government account types. The residual category for the government block.
Government Benefit Over-Payment
Benefit payments made to the consumer in excess of entitlement, which the consumer is now obligated to repay.
Specialty and Industry-Specific
Account types that exist for one industry or one narrow product shape.
Agriculture Operating Loan
A closed-end installment loan financing farm or ranch operating expenses such as seed, feed, fuel, and inputs for a production cycle.
Business Loan
A closed-end installment loan made for business purposes that reaches the consumer file, typically because the consumer is the borrower or a personal guarantor.
Education (Student) Loan
A loan financing post-secondary education, whether federal or private. The Appendix A source lists this code with two permitted Portfolio Types, I and O.
Lease
A lease obligation other than a vehicle lease. The consumer pays for the use of property over a term without acquiring ownership through the payments.
Collection Agency / Attorney Account
A debt placed with a third-party collection agency or a collection attorney and furnished by that agency or attorney under its own subscriber code.
Family (Court-Ordered) Support
A court-ordered family support obligation, such as spousal support or a combined family support order, furnished by the agency or entity responsible for collecting it.
Agricultural Loan
A term loan made for a farming or agricultural purpose, repaid on a fixed schedule, where an individual is liable on the obligation.
Medical Debt (Installment or Collection)
A debt arising from health-care services, reported either as a provider's payment plan or as a medical balance being collected.
Child-Support Obligation
A court-ordered child-support obligation, furnished by the state or local agency responsible for enforcing and collecting it.
Related reading
Other Metro 2 code sets
Every CRRG code set has its own reference. The Metro 2 codes cheat sheet puts all of them on one page.
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