Do you hold a valid PAN card? If not then you should apply it at the earliest, as having a PAN card is essential to check your CIBIL score and perform various banking and financial activities. Your PAN card acts as a Government-approved ID proof, which is linked with your financial accounts and tax payments. A PAN Card is a 10-digit unique identification alphanumeric number that is issued by the Indian Government to its citizens, mostly who pay taxes. Therefore, it is considered a mandatory document to check your credit score from leading credit bureaus. 

You can check your Free CIBIL Score by PAN card number from various online platforms and can download your CIBIL report as well. If you check your CIBIL score from India’s leading Credit Information Company (CIC) or credit bureau named TransUnion CIBIL, then it is free of cost only once per year and is paid service for the second instance and so on. 

Further discussed are the simple steps to check your CIBIL score for free within minutes and without any impact on your credit score. If you wish then you can also receive monthly updates of your CIBIL report on your registered mobile number via WhatsApp or on mentioned email address.

Steps to check your free CIBIL score using your PAN card

You may consider the below indicated simple steps while checking your CIBIL score from various online platforms:

Step 1: Check and click on an online form at the respective web platform eligible to offer a CIBIL score.

Step 2: Enter the mandatory details, such as your full name, PAN card number (Income Tax ID number), PIN code, date of birth and contact details, including your mobile number and email address.

Step 3: Verify your submitted details with One Time Password (OTP) shared to your registered mobile number.

Step 4: After the details are verified, you shall instantly receive your CIBIL score.

Step 5: You can further login to check or download your detailed CIBIL report.  

Importance of PAN Card while checking your CIBIL Score

Your PAN card holds a lot of importance and significance in checking your CIBIL score. Below-mentioned are a few key reasons why your PAN card is checked by the credit bureau before offering you CIBIL score or CIBIL report.

∙         Your PAN number is used to verify your identity and check your credit history

∙         Your PAN card is linked with all of your bank accounts and credit information making it an authentic source of document

∙         It is considered as a unique identification number that helps the credit information companies to locate and retrieve your credit information more effectively

∙         It assists financial institutions in detecting your existing or past loans or other credit instruments with bank(s) and other lenders

What is the CIBIL score for new PAN card?

Let’s assume, if you have received a new PAN card or you haven’t applied for any credit product, such as loan or credit card, a credit bureau won’t have any information regarding your payment history or credit behaviour. Therefore, it will mark ‘New to Credit’ against your profile in your credit report. The process is same across all credit bureaus such as TransUnion CIBIL, Experian, Equifax and CRIF High Mark. This tag shall not mean that the lenders will deny you any loan, credit card or other credit products but your eligibility for many premium credit products becomes limited.

Duplicate PAN card’s effect on your CIBIL score

If you have lost your PAN card or it is stolen and you have requested for a duplicate PAN card, it shall not negatively impact your CIBIL score. The reason for no score change is that your PAN number remains the same and moreover your past financial details shall remain alike and has not changed because of issuance of duplicate PAN card. 

However, if you have a second PAN card that was inadvertently opened by mistake or due to lack of proper information, you should surrender one PAN card to avoid any confusion in future. It is also recommended to get your other PAN card linked with Aadhaar at the earliest to avoid deactivation.

Key Takeaways: 

Checking your CIBIL score without your PAN card is not possible, as all financial institutions record most of the credit transactions against your PAN card. Therefore, if you do not have a valid PAN card then the possibility of availing loans or credit cards shall diminish. Almost every lender checks your CIBIL score before offering any credit product. If you maintain a high credit score then the chances of loan approval increases and you are even eligible to avail credit products at relatively lower interest rates along with additional benefits.