"No credit" and "limited credit" are often used interchangeably to describe people who either do not have any information on file with the major credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) or whose credit reports reflect less than three years of experience as the primary account holder on a credit card or loan.

Young people and recent immigrants just beginning financial autonomy in the U.S., are not the only ones typically classified as having "no credit." Unfortunately, recent divorcees and widowers can technically be "new to credit" as well, even if they once had robust credit histories, because creditors require up-to date-information about one's credit performance.

As opposed to "bad credit," which denotes poor credit management, "no credit" simply means that you have yet to establish a pattern of credit usage (either positive or negative).