CRevolving Credit

    Portfolio Type C: Line of Credit

    Portfolio Type C means "Line of Credit". Revolving credit drawn against a fixed approved limit, including HELOCs, business lines of credit, and secured or unsecured personal credit lines. The consumer can draw, repay, and draw again up to the limit. It is reported in Portfolio Type (Field 14) of the Base Segment, 1 character at position 83.

    Specification

    CodeC
    MeaningLine of Credit
    FieldPortfolio Type (Field 14)
    RecordBase Segment
    Length / position1 char · 83–83
    CategoryRevolving Credit
    CRRG referenceCRRG Base Segment field definition, Portfolio Type

    What Portfolio Type C means

    • C describes a committed limit the consumer draws against on demand. The defining feature is re-usability: repaying a draw restores available credit, exactly as it does on a credit card.
    • The distinction from R is the product shape, not the mechanics. R is the card-and-statement world with a minimum-due calculation; C is the drawn-line world, typically accessed by check, transfer, or advance, and often with a draw period followed by a repayment period.
    • A home-equity line of credit is Portfolio Type C, not M, even though it is secured by real property. Account Type 89 carries the home-equity fact; the portfolio type carries the revolving behaviour. This is the single most common C-versus-M question.
    • C does NOT mean unsecured, and it does NOT mean the line is currently drawn. A line with a zero Current Balance and an active limit is still Portfolio Type C and still reports every cycle.
    • C does NOT mean an amortizing loan that happened to be disbursed in stages. A construction loan that converts to a fixed mortgage is M, not C, because the borrower cannot re-draw what has been repaid.

    When to report C

    • 1A credit union reports a $50,000 home-equity line of credit in its ten-year draw period, with Account Type 89 and a balance that moves up and down as the member draws and repays.
    • 2A community bank furnishes an unsecured $15,000 personal line of credit (Account Type 15) that the consumer uses for cash-flow smoothing.
    • 3A lender reports a deposit-secured line of credit where the limit equals the pledged certificate balance.
    • 4A business lender furnishes a revolving working-capital line personally guaranteed by the owner, reported with the appropriate ECOA code on the guarantor.
    • 5A HELOC enters its repayment period, draws stop, and the account continues reporting as C while the balance amortizes down.

    Reporting rules

    • Always populate Credit Limit. A line of credit without a stated limit is the defining defect of this portfolio type, and it silently distorts every utilization calculation the account touches.
    • Do not switch a HELOC to Portfolio Type M when it enters its repayment period. The obligation did not become a mortgage; report the changing balance and let Terms Duration and Terms Frequency describe the repayment phase.
    • Report a zero-balance open line every cycle. An undrawn line is an active tradeline, not a dormant one, and dropping it from the file looks like a closure.
    • Do not report a one-time advance that cannot be re-drawn as C. If the consumer cannot borrow the repaid principal again, it is I.
    • Keep Credit Limit at the contractual limit, not the current available credit. Available credit is derived by the bureau from limit minus balance.

    Codes and fields that must agree

    A file can be structurally valid and still be wrong. These are the cross-field conditions Portfolio Type C has to satisfy.

    • Valid Account Types include 15 (personal line of credit) and 89 (home-equity line of credit). Pairing C with 00 (auto loan) or 26 (conventional real-estate mortgage) is a portfolio-type-mismatch.
    • Credit Limit is expected and should be non-zero. Current Balance above Credit Limit is legitimate on a line that has been over-advanced or has accrued fees, but it trips the balance-exceeds-limit edit and should be verified before it ships.
    • Utilization is computed as Current Balance divided by Credit Limit. This is the same calculation as R, which is why C and R are the two portfolio types where a missing limit does real scoring damage.
    • Terms Frequency is normally M (monthly). Terms Duration is typically the draw-plus-repayment term for a HELOC and is often reported as an open-ended value for an unsecured line; it is not an amortization count in the way it is for I.
    • Scheduled Monthly Payment is a calculated minimum on a drawn line and may vary cycle to cycle. It is not subject to the scheduled-payment-missing-installment edit, which targets Portfolio Type I.
    • Highest Credit may be populated as the highest balance ever carried. Reporting Highest Credit as zero on an account that has been drawn trips the highest-credit-zero edit.
    • A HELOC reported as C does not carry a K3 (Mortgage Information) segment. K3 belongs to Portfolio Type M records.

    Common errors involving C

    B012
    Portfolio Type Mismatch
    The portfolio type does not match the account type or terms
    B009
    Balance Exceeds Credit Limit
    The current balance is greater than the credit limit/high credit
    B017
    Highest Credit / Original Amount Is Zero
    Highest Credit or Original Loan Amount is zero on an account that should carry one

    Vocabulary

    Portfolio TypeCredit Limit

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    Source: CRRG Base Segment field definition, Portfolio Type. Last reviewed 2026-08-25.

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    Metro 2 Portfolio Type C: Line of Credit