To raise your credit score from 500 to 700 in Canada, the fastest levers are paying every bill on time, getting your credit-card utilization below 30%, fixing errors on your report, and letting positive history age. Most people who stay consistent move from the 500s to around 700 in 12 to 24 months — there is no overnight fix, but there is a reliable path.
Not sure what’s dragging your score down? A specialist can read your report with you, free.
- What a 500 credit score means in Canada
- What a 700 credit score unlocks
- How long it takes to raise your credit score to 700
- Why your Equifax and TransUnion scores differ
- What actually moves your score: the 5 factors
- 7 proven steps to raise your credit score from 500 to 700
- A realistic month-by-month timeline
- Mistakes that keep you stuck at 500
- When to get help raising your credit score
- Turning the climb into a habit that sticks
- Frequently asked questions
What a 500 Credit Score Means in Canada
Canadian credit scores from Equifax and TransUnion run from 300 to 900. A score of 500 sits in the “poor” band — below roughly 560 — which usually means a history of missed payments, high balances, a collection or two, or simply very little credit history to judge.
A 700 score, by contrast, lands in the “good” range. It is the level where mainstream approvals open up, deposits and conditions ease, and you stop paying the “bad-credit tax” on everyday products. Moving from 500 to 700 is a 200-point climb, and while that sounds steep, the scoring system rewards a handful of specific behaviours — do them consistently and the points follow.
Here is roughly how the bands break down in Canada:
| Score range | Rating | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| 800–900 | Excellent | Best terms; rarely declined |
| 720–799 | Very good | Strong approvals across the board |
| 650–719 | Good | Most mainstream products available |
| 560–649 | Fair | Approvals with conditions |
| 300–559 | Poor | Limited options; rebuilding needed |
For the official explanation of how scores are calculated and read, see the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s guide to credit scores.
What a 700 Credit Score Unlocks
It helps to know what you’re working toward, because the difference between a 500 and a 700 is bigger than the number suggests. At 700 you move out of “rebuilding” and into the range most mainstream products are built for.
Practically, a 700 score tends to mean fewer outright declines, smaller or waived security deposits on utilities and phone plans, easier approval as a renter, and access to everyday products that a 500 simply can’t reach. Landlords, insurers, and service providers increasingly check credit too, so the benefits of working to raise your credit score reach well beyond borrowing. None of this requires a perfect 850 — crossing into the 700s is the threshold where day-to-day financial life gets noticeably easier and cheaper.
How Long It Takes to Raise Your Credit Score to 700
The honest answer: usually 12 to 24 months of consistent habits to climb from the low 500s to around 700. Some moves work quickly — paying down a maxed card can lift your score within one or two statement cycles — while others, like aging your accounts and outlasting negative marks, take time you cannot rush.
Think of your score as a moving average of your financial behaviour. The further back the damage goes, the more good months it takes to outweigh it. The good news is that scoring models weight recent activity heavily, so the impact of a fresh streak of on-time payments and low balances builds faster than most people expect.
Set a realistic expectation up front and you’re far less likely to quit at month three when the climb feels slow. The people who successfully raise their credit score treat it as a routine, not a sprint — the same handful of habits, repeated every single month.
Why Your Equifax and TransUnion Scores Differ
Canada has two major credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion, and it’s normal for your score to differ between them — sometimes by 20, 50, or more points. That doesn’t mean one is wrong.
The gap happens because not every lender reports to both bureaus, and they may report on different dates. So a balance you just paid might show as updated at one bureau and stale at the other, or a collection might appear on one report and not the other. When you set out to raise your credit score, pull both reports rather than just the one a free app happens to show you — an error or stale balance hiding on the report you didn’t check can quietly hold you back. Fix issues at each bureau separately, since a dispute filed with one doesn’t automatically reach the other.
What Actually Moves Your Score: The 5 Factors
Both Canadian bureaus use similar scoring logic. Knowing the weight of each factor tells you exactly where to spend your effort when you want to raise your credit score efficiently:
| Factor | Approx. weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Payment history | ~35% | Whether you pay on time, every time |
| Credit utilization | ~30% | Balances versus your available limits |
| Length of credit history | ~15% | How long your accounts have been open |
| Credit mix | ~10% | A blend of revolving and instalment credit |
| New credit & inquiries | ~10% | Recent applications and hard checks |
Notice that the top two factors — payment history and utilization — control roughly two-thirds of your score. That is where a 500 becomes a 700. The seven steps below are ordered to attack the highest-impact factors first.
7 Proven Steps to Raise Your Credit Score From 500 to 700
You don’t need a hundred tactics — you need the right seven, done consistently. Here is the sequence we walk people through.
1. Pay every bill on time, without exception
Payment history is the single biggest factor, so this is non-negotiable. One 30-day-late payment can cost a fair score dozens of points, and missed payments linger for years. Set up automatic minimum payments on every account so a busy month never becomes a missed one, then pay more than the minimum whenever you can.
2. Get your credit utilization below 30% (then below 10%)
Utilization is the balance you carry versus your limit. A card with a $1,000 limit carrying a $700 balance is at 70% — a serious drag. Pay it down so the reported balance is under 30% ($300), and under 10% is better still. Because utilization has no memory, this is the fastest single move to raise your credit score: lower the balance and the points often appear within a cycle.
3. Don’t close your oldest accounts
Length of history helps your score, and an old card — even one you rarely use — props up your average account age and your total available credit. Closing it can quietly raise your utilization and shorten your history. Keep old, fee-free cards open and put a small recurring charge on them so the issuer keeps them active.
4. Check your report and dispute every error
Errors are common: accounts that aren’t yours, balances that are wrong, or a paid collection still showing as owing. Pull your reports from both bureaus and read them line by line. If something is inaccurate, dispute it — a removed error can lift your score with zero effort on the underlying debt.
You can request your report directly from Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. Our guide on how long bad credit stays on your report explains the timelines for each type of item.
5. Add positive credit with a secured card
If your file is thin or badly damaged, a secured credit card is the rebuilding workhorse. You put down a refundable deposit, use the card for a small monthly expense, and pay it off in full. It reports to the bureaus like any card, building a fresh trail of on-time payments that steadily helps raise your credit score.
6. Stop applying for new credit you don’t need
Every application triggers a hard inquiry, and a burst of them looks risky to the scoring models. Space out applications, and use lenders’ soft “pre-qualification” checks — which don’t affect your score — before you formally apply for anything.
7. Deal with collections strategically
A collection account is a heavy weight. Before paying, confirm the debt is yours and within the reporting window, get any settlement agreement in writing, and ask how the account will be reported afterward. If collections and overall debt feel unmanageable, that’s the point to bring in help — which is exactly what the next section covers.
A Realistic Month-by-Month Timeline
Here’s how a typical climb from the 500s toward 700 tends to unfold when someone follows the steps above. Your mileage varies with your starting point, but the shape is consistent:
| Timeframe | What you do | Typical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1–2 | Automate payments; pay maxed cards down under 30%; pull both reports and file disputes | First visible bump from lower utilization |
| Month 3–6 | Open a secured card; keep utilization low; errors start dropping off | Steady climb into the high 500s / low 600s |
| Month 6–12 | Perfect payment streak continues; accounts age; no new hard inquiries | Mid-600s becomes realistic |
| Month 12–24 | Negative marks fade; positive history compounds | Around 700 for most consistent rebuilders |
Mistakes That Keep You Stuck at 500
If your score has flatlined, one of these is usually why:
- Paying late even once a quarter — it resets the most important factor every time.
- Carrying high balances while making only minimum payments — utilization stays high and progress stalls.
- Closing old cards to “tidy up” — it shortens history and spikes utilization.
- Application-hopping — chasing approvals stacks hard inquiries and new, young accounts.
- Ignoring the report itself — an uncorrected error can hold you down for years.
None of these are character flaws — they’re just habits the scoring system happens to punish. Swap them for the seven steps and the needle moves.
When to Get Help Raising Your Credit Score
Some situations are bigger than a DIY plan. If you’re juggling multiple collections, your debt load is climbing faster than you can pay it, or you simply can’t tell what’s pulling your score down, a specialist can read your report with you and map out a realistic plan — including whether a structured option like a debt management plan or consumer proposal fits your situation.
FixMyCredit.ca is a free referral service — we connect you with a credit and debt specialist who reviews your situation and explains your options. There’s no cost and no obligation to find out where you stand. For the bigger picture on repairing damaged credit, start with our complete guide to fixing your credit in Canada.
Ready to build a plan to raise your credit score?
Turning the Climb Into a Habit That Sticks
The reason most people fail to raise their credit score isn’t that the steps are hard — it’s that they’re easy to forget. The fix is to make the right behaviour automatic so it doesn’t depend on willpower in a stressful month.
Three small systems do most of the work. First, automate at least the minimum payment on every account, then add calendar reminders to pay extra before each statement closes. Second, set a “utilization ceiling” for yourself — a dollar figure on each card you simply won’t cross — so balances never creep back up. Third, put one recurring date in your calendar each quarter to pull both credit reports and confirm everything is accurate and updating.
Do those three things and you’ve turned the entire plan to raise your credit score into a background process. The score climbs on its own while you get on with life, and by the time you check in each quarter, the trend line is usually pointing exactly where you want it. Consistency — not intensity — is what carries you from 500 to 700.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast can I raise my credit score from 500 to 700?
What raises a credit score the fastest in Canada?
Is 500 a bad credit score?
Does checking my own credit score lower it?
Will a secured credit card help raise my credit score?
How many points can I gain per month?
Do I need to pay a company to raise my credit score?
To raise your credit score from 500 to 700 is a marathon of small, repeatable choices — pay on time, keep balances low, fix what’s wrong on your report, and let good history accumulate. Start with the highest-impact steps today, stay consistent, and the score follows. And if collections or heavy debt are the real reason your score is stuck, don’t wait it out alone — a free, no-pressure assessment can tell you in one conversation whether a structured plan would help you raise your credit score faster than going it solo.
About the Author
Disclaimer: FixMyCredit.ca is a free credit-repair and debt-solutions referral service, not a lender or a credit-reporting agency. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. Results vary by individual situation. For your official credit report and score, contact Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada directly.
