Credit repair is a general term often applied to the practice of improving or rehabilitating one's financial reputation (creditworthiness) among creditors.

In more countries, there there are legislative provisions and rules implemented to protect consumer right to a free credit report and to improve the accuracy of such credit reports. There are numerous reports showing that sloppy practices of credit bureau or other credit reporting agency are at fault for errors in consumer credit reports. Inaccurate credit reports could damage 1 in 4 consumer's ability to buy a home, rent an apartment, obtain credit, open a bank account, or even get a job.

A credit repair campaign is most likely to show results if creditworthiness has been damaged due to incorrect or misleading information in a credit report. A credit repair campaign involves obtaining copies of one's credit reports and formally disputing erroneous or misleading information there found. In addition, much self-help information on credit repair has become available, providing the motivated individual the tools and knowledge to proceed with their own credit repair campaign. Just as an organization hired for this purpose, the individual would initiate the credit repair process by first obtaining copies of their credit report, reviewing the credit report for errors, omissions, and misleading information, and requesting corrections to such information by means of a formal dispute.

To improve a credit rating damaged by poor credit habits, in the long run only one thing will work: changing those habits. Making arrangements with the creditors to repay them is often one of the steps in improving one's credit habits. Creditors may accept slow payment schedules, as an alternative to writing off the debt. In some cases, creditors may accept a less-than-full repayment (pennies on the dollar). The key here is contact with the creditor and taking action to retire the debt.

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